Class Notes Category: In Memoriam
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Stanley Gartler ’48
Stanley M. Gartler ’48, a pioneering geneticist who made groundbreaking discoveries that transformed the fields of human genetics and cancer biology, passed away on May 25 at the age of 102. After graduating from UCLA, Gartler went on to build an extraordinary career in human genetics. As a faculty member at the University of Washington,…
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Mary K. Wolff, M.A. ’75
Mary K. Wolff, M.A. ’75, of Arlington, Massachusetts, died Aug. 23, 2026, following a years-long battle with metastatic breast cancer. Wolff was born in Dayton, Ohio, on Sept. 3, 1946, and attended Corpus Christi Grade School and Julienne High School. She received a bachelor of arts degree in history and philosophy from Duquesne University, a…
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Robert Settlage, M.D. ’63, M.P.H. ’69
Robert Settlage, M.D. ’63, M.P.H. ’69, passed away on April 18. He was 87. Robert “Rob” Hurd Settlage was born to Arnold Fredrick Ernest Settlage and Katharine Hurd Settlage on August 30, 1938, in Akron, Ohio. Settlage knew from a young age he would become a doctor as he was to be the fifth generation…
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Billy G. Mills ’51, J.D. ’54
Billy G. Mills ’51, J.D. ’54, the first Black graduate of the UCLA School of Law and the first black elected in a regular general election to the Los Angeles City Council, passed away June 27 at his home in Leimert Park. He was 96. A co-chair of the Democratic National Convention in 1968, he…
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Penny Poplin Gosetti ’76, Ph.D.
Penny Poplin Gosetti ’76, Ph.D., Maumee, passed away March 25 at age 71. After majoring in psychology at UCLA, she earned an M.S. in counseling from Cal State Long Beach and a Ph.D. in instructional leadership from the University of Oregon. In 1994, she accepted a position in the Higher Education Program at the University…
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John Monteverde ’47, M.A. ’50, Ph.D. ’56
For John Monteverde ’47, M.A. ’50, Ph.D. ’56, his time at UCLA was a defining period in his life. UCLA was the place that set the course of his career, where he made lifelong friends, and established indelible memories. Monteverde passed away on June 19, peacefully at home, a month after his 100th birthday. A…
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Samy Allal ’21
Samy Allal ’21, who majored in mathematics of computation, passed away unexpectedly in April 2025, just days before his 25th birthday. His family, who moved to the U.S. from North Africa so that he could attend UCLA, provided this remembrance of a young man taken far too soon. Samy was a proud alumnus of UCLA…
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Peter Hamilton Raven, Ph.D. ’60
Peter Hamilton Raven, Ph.D. ‘60, a botanist who transformed the Missouri Botanical Garden into a global leader in plant science and became one of the world’s most prominent advocates for biodiversity and conservation, passed away April 25 in St. Louis. He was 89. Raven served as president of the Missouri Botanical Garden for four decades,…
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Biruté Galdikas ’66, M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’78
Biruté Galdikas ’66, M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’78, one of the world’s most prominent researchers in Orangutans, passed away March 24 at age 79. On Facebook, the Center for Great Apes posted a remembrance, stating, “While her loss leaves a void in the forests of Borneo, her legacy lives on in many Indonesian sanctuaries who work…
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Sherrill D. Luke ’50
Sherrill D. Luke ’50 UCLA’s first – and America’s second – black student body president, a tireless foe of discrimination from his student days who went on to become a lawyer and judge, passed away in early March. He was 97. Born Sept. 19, 1928, Luke was a child actor, with appearances in four films…