June 29, 2025

Harry Mark Makler was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1953 to Dr. Mark Makler and Bettina Makler. Over the course of his childhood, Harry lived all over the world: in Boston, New York City, Vermont, South Africa, England, and Portland.

At ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤, Harry earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and completed a thesis on the escalator clause with advising by Professor Carl M. Stevens ’42. A Renaissance man in the making, Harry rehearsed for a production of The Mikado while taking his junior qual—and received good news during intermission, when Professor George Hay [economics 1956–83] told him, “By the way, I believe you passed.”

July 12, 2025

Herbert Semler was a pioneering cardiologist, inventor, and entrepreneur. Born in Portland in 1928, he was raised with three siblings—including Alysmae Nudelman ’46—and attended ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ for a short period, going on to earn his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 1949 (and obtaining his medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School, now Oregon Health & Science University, in 1953).

After completing an internship at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Herbert served in the United States Air Force with the Strategic Air Command at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, until 1956. On a blind date orchestrated by his mother, he fell head over heels for Shirley Lesman, at the time a model at Meier & Frank. They married in 1955, and while Herbert was stationed at Fairchild, the first of their five children was born.

July 6, 2025, in Pullman, Washington.

Judy was born in 1928 in Wisconsin to Isabelle Bacon LaFollette and Phillip Fox LaFollette, who served two terms as governor of Wisconsin. After high school graduation, Judy moved out west to pursue an education at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤, where she remained for two years before returning to her home state.

After a year at the University of Wisconsin and a secretarial course in New York City, Judy moved to Minneapolis, where she worked for several years for Sears and met her first husband, geologist Ronald Sorem. Judy and Ronald married in 1953 and lived in the Philippines for two years, where their daughter Kaia was born.

May 31, 2025, in Berkeley, California, of ALS.

Erin Merritt lived for the stage. Her involvement with theatre began early, when, as a middle schooler, she was cast in the title role of Berkeley High School’s production of Peter Pan. Flying through the air above a cast of older kids proved decisive.

At ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤, Erin was an actor, a director, and a producer. In addition to her work with the theatre department, she arranged roving mummer performances at Renn Fayre and a night of short Brecht pieces rehearsed over Paideia (and was a frequent contributor to Midnight Theater).

October 30, 2025, in Portland, Oregon, from complications related to multiple sclerosis.

A dedicated cultivator of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ traditions, Mela Kunitz was born and grew up in Davis, California. She transferred to ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ from Berkeley after visiting her then-boyfriend for one weekend. The relationship didn’t last, but she discovered she was a ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ie.

Mela majored in political science, writing her thesis, “This Issue Path: An Analysis of Abortion,” with advising by Professor Stephen Kapsch [political science 1974–2005]. In 2001, she obtained a master’s degree in organizational communications from Marylhurst University.

February 16, 2025, in New York City, from complications of heart failure.

Robert Richter was an independent filmmaker, a producer of nearly 90 documentaries, and one of the last surviving producers of CBS Reports (launched as Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly’s See It Now). He received three Oscar nominations, an Emmy Award, multiple Peabody Awards, and three duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism awards, TV’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Born and raised in New York, Bob was the son of Irving S. Richter and Nadia Atlas, who fled Ukraine’s post–World War I epidemics. He began his filmmaking career at Occidental College, participating in an experimental Telluride Association Program, and studied general literature at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤, writing his thesis (“The House of Atreus in Four Modern Plays”) with advising by Professor Frank W. Jones [literature and humanities].

September 17, 2023, in Portland, Oregon.

Mike Russo was an acclaimed blues guitar and piano player who often performed on the ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ campus during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1937, Mike was the son of well-known artists Michele Russo and Sally Haley. Together with his parents, he moved to Portland in 1947. As a child Mike was a musical prodigy, playing the violin and mandolin skillfully. In the 1950s he began performing locally on his guitar and was soon playing concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest

Mike often performed on Campus with banjo player Ron Brentano, but also with many of the well-known roots musicians and blues guitar players of that time, including Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, and Mance Lipscomb. During some of the many off-campus jam sessions that occurred after concerts and at other times as well, Mike played with Doc Watson, the Reverend Gary Davis, B.B. King and others.

December 12, 2023, in Portland.

Priscilla was born in China to missionary parents in 1933. She acquired both English and Mandarin as her first languages, living under Japanese occupation with her family before being forced to flee to the United States.

After World War II, the family returned to China, only to flee amid the Communist revolution. They settled in Oregon, where Priscilla’s father became a pastor at Medford First Presbyterian Church and Priscilla emerged as a prodigy at the keyboard. She grew to be a tall teen, complaining that the boys wouldn’t dance with her because of her height.

2024, in San Francisco.

Cory loved working at bilingual crossroads in technology and publishing. Born in 1969, he studied French literature at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤. His thesis, “Le Breton soluble et son poisson reconstitué”: Essai sur André Breton et l’écriture automatique, written under Prof. Samuel Danon [French, 1962-2000], focused on the French writer and surrealist André Breton. Cory continued his study of French literature at the American University of Paris and later founded GiantChair, a company that helps publishers leverage the latest digital technologies. He is survived by his daughter, Rose.

October 28, 2023

A leading economist and respected expert on finance, Ravi received a bachelor’s degree in economics from ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤ and a PhD in economics from Columbia University. At ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ÕŽòè¤, he wrote his thesis, “Trade Strategies and the Industrial Development of Sri Lanka since 1970,” with advising from Prof. Jeffrey Summers [economics 1987-92].

In the early 1990s, Ravi interned at the World Bank. He became a dependable coworker, an invaluable member of the South Asian economists’ team, and a friend to many. Years later, he was appointed senior economist at the World Bank for South Asian countries.