In Memoriam: Alumni Classes of 1980 - 1989

Christopher Allen, Ph.D.’83, of Newburyport, Mass., a longtime political science professor at the University of Georgia, died on Feb. 14 after an extended illness. He was a specialist in the comparative politics of industrialized democracies. He leaves his wife, Katherine; his father, Franklin; three sisters, Mary, Katherine and Nancy Vaughn; and two brothers, Timothy and Peter.

Russell Stapleton, M.A.’84, Ph.D.’89, of Quezon City, Philippines, died on Jan. 2. He taught Old Testament and Hebrew at the Asian Theological Seminary. He also lectured at Bible colleges in Mongolia and Korea. He leaves his wife, Lynn; two sons, Nathaniel and Christopher; a daughter, Katherine; his parents, Richard and Marian; three brothers, Michael, Kenneth and Richard; and two sisters, Mary and Ruth.

Leslie A. Baldwin, M.A.’85 of Brighton, Mass., died April 18. She leaves a sister, Lynn.

Peter Lieberson, Ph.D.’85 of Santa Fe, N.M., a world-renowned composer whose music was deeply inspired by Buddhism, died April 23 in Tel Aviv, Israel, of complications from lymphoma. His most widely acclaimed work of his later years was the “Neruda Songs,’’ which he wrote for his wife, the celebrated mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who died of breast cancer in 2006. The work was co-commissioned and later recorded by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Peter grew up in New York, the son of Goddard Lieberson, the longtime head of Columbia Records, and Vera Zorina, an actress and noted ballerina. He leaves his wife, Rinchen, and three daughters, Katherine, Christina and Elizabeth.

Elan Prystowsky ’86 of Queen Village, Pa., a real estate developer, died of multiple myeloma on March 2. He operated two firms, Queen Village Development Co. and Gimme Shelter, with partners Cliff Grunes and Chris Dadaris. They bought and renovated properties for residential use in Queen Village and in Northern Liberties, where they converted a former factory into condominiums. They also built a single-family home in Bucks County. He is survived by his wife, Galila; his parents, Rabbi Seymour and Cochava; a son, Tal; a daughter, Liron; and a sister.