Brandeis Magazine

Evert Makinen ’61, of Walnut Creek, California, died on Oct. 21 after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012. Sharon Mills ’63, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, a passionate tennis player and longtime member of Longwood Cricket Club, died on Dec. 26. She leaves her brother, Laurence; her aunt, Carol; and her partner, David. Katie Spitz Ellis ’65, of Davisville, Ontario, Canada, a longtime Toronto Star editor, died on Dec. 17 after a brief battle with lung cancer. After graduating from Brandeis, she worked at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, helping to turn its alumni newsletter into a full-fledged magazine. In 1974, a friend and former editor of McGill University’s alumni magazine was so taken with Katie’s work that he recommended her for a job at his new workplace, the Toronto Star. She passed her Canadian citizenship test after pointing out that a politician’s name was misspelled on the exam. She leaves her stepdaughters, Tara, Lisa and Lara; her sister, Jill; and five grandchildren. Vivienne Kalman, MA’65, of Weston, Massachusetts, a member of the first cohort of what became the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis, died on Aug. 26. She was active in her temple and a number of Jewish organizations, including the Brandeis National Committee, the American Jewish Congress and Hadassah. She served on Weston’s Board of Health and Council on Aging, where she was deeply involved with elder-care issues. She leaves her children, Jamie, Norma and Ross; her sister, Paulette; and nine grandchildren. John Ober, MA’65, PhD’66, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, a professor who studied under the legendary Herbert Marcuse at Brandeis, died of a stroke on Dec. 13. At Brandeis, he earned his doctorate in philosophy and the history of ideas under Marcuse, with whom he remained close. Marcuse recognized John’s contribution to his writing in his preface to “One-Dimensional Man,” one of the most influential 20th-century works of political theory. John was a professor of the history of ideas at Connecticut College and Antioch College, and taught and served as dean of students at Simon’s Rock College. He leaves his brother, Robert. Jacques Roumani ’65, of New York City, a scholar and practitioner in the field of international development, died on Dec. 11 after a 10-month illness. He earned a master’s degree and a doctorate at Princeton. He worked at the World Bank (1970-85) and the Inter-American Development Bank (1991-2006), and was a senior fellow at Hebrew University’s Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace; a senior lecturer at Bar-Ilan University; and a visiting professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Jacques leaves his wife of 46 years, Judith; his children, David and Elisa; siblings Maurice ’64, Elisa and Vivienne; and his grandson. William Levin ’67, of Rockville, Maryland, a psychologist, died on Nov. 2. William leaves his wife, Randi; children Janine and Adam; siblings Robert and Terrie; and five grandchildren. Ron Johnston, MFA’68, of New York City, died on Oct. 24, 2015, a few days after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage. He was among the first actors invited to enter the MFA program in theater arts at Brandeis. His performances as a graduate student were legendary, notably that of Ariel in “The Tempest” opposite Morris Carnovsky. A much-admired character actor, he enjoyed many stints at regional theaters; a national tour of “Amadeus” directed by Sir Peter Hall; and appearances on Broadway in “Born Yesterday,” with Madeline Kahn and Ed Asner, and in “Wild Honey,” with Sir Ian McKellen. He maintained close friendships with fellow Brandeisians, especially Professor Charles Werner Moore, whom he considered his only acting teacher as well as his mentor. Ron was predeceased by his wife, Cynthia, who had taught dance at Brandeis. Barbara (Wiener) Raisbeck, PhD’69, of Scarborough, Maine, a journalist who later became a professor of biology and conducted research in the field of insect physiology, died on Sept. 24. She worked as a newspaper reporter and published many short stories and poems. While raising five children, Barbara pursued her doctorate in biology at Brandeis. She went on to work as a professor and researcher. She leaves her children Michael, Lucy, Alison and James; 12 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.