February 2009 Class Notes

Raymond Fitzmaurice

Raymond F. Fitzmaurice died Dec. 25, 2008 after a brief illness. He was 85. His last known address is P.O. Box 849, Newburyport, MA 01950-5549. At age 19 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he became a night fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater, serving from 1942 to 1946. He attended MIT on the G.I. Bill and after graduating began his career testing concrete used in the construction of the United Nations buildings. He served as chief engineer on several building projects in the Boston area. In 1960 Ray founded the Fitzmaurice Construction Company and in 1980 he founded Ray Fitzmaurice Associates, specializing in the architectural design of commercial and industrial buildings, structural design and construction management.
Ray is survived by Sandra, his wife of 20 years, four children, two stepchildren, and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Francis Von Muller passed away on January 6, 2009. His last known address is 153 State Street, Brooklyn NY, 11201. After graduation, Francis was employed by the Sperry Corporation. He then worked for the New York City Board of Education, specializing in the design and maintenance of specialized teaching facilities such as kitchens and mechanical shops. He was also a part-time inventor, with several patents for safety devices for firearms. His hobby was the restoration of antique automobiles.
Francis is survived by his wife Margaret and a son, Francis.

Carol Ray Berninger, wife of Edward Berninger, died December 30, 2008, at home in Short Hills, NJ. She was 79. Carol graduated in 1950 from Wellesley College. Before she and Ed were married, Carol was a writer and assistant editor at Look Magazine. Later she volunteered as a docent at Vizcaya Museum in Miami, FL and at the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum in Sanibel Island, FL. In 1993, Carol received a PhD from Drew University in 19th Century Studies. In addition to Ed, her husband of 52 years, Carol is survived by 2 daughters, 2 grandchildren, and a sister.

Walter Max Kisner, SM 1950, died Friday, January 16, 2009 at Crest Health Center, Davenport, IA. Walter grew up in Dorchester, MA. He was a WW II US Army veteran serving with the Combat Engineers from 1942 – 1946. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University in 1948 and a Master’s Degree in Metallurgy in 1950 from MIT. He also received a MAE from MIT in 1951. Walter was employed at the Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA from 1951 – 1967. In 1967, he transferred to the Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill., where he retired in 1988 as Director of Science and Engineering. He had 40 years of government service.
Walter was preceded in death by Helen, his wife of 50 years.

We hear from Nancy and Bob Whitney:
Bob wants me to tell you about a new device he got in the Fall and to share this information with others in the class in case they or someone they know would be interested.
He has used an AFO (ankle foot orthotic) for the last 20 years because of a stroke caused by a stapedectomy operation on the ear. The brace worked very well, enabling him to walk and do many things. However, he learned about a Bioness L300 and found that he qualified for it, so started the therapy needed for it and learned how to use it. It is a device, approved by the FDA in 2007, that stimulates by electrodes the perroneal nerve going to the foot. As a result, his drop foot can now rise and fall as if walking normally. The electrodes are in a cuff (about 2 inches wide) that wraps around the leg just under the knee cap, so is much lighter. The muscle that runs along that nerve and has not worked for 20 years is now working and the leg is becoming larger to match his left leg. Getting around is much easier! This marvelous device is for those who have drop foot as a result of a stoke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and incomplete spinal cord injury. We attended a clinic at Harmarvillle Health South in Pittsburgh where people with all those problems attended and saw the difference in them when a model was applied to them to try it out. So many smiles!
Information about it is on the internet under Bioness. We hope this will be helpful to someone!
Happy New Year to you. I hope it gets better than it is beginning.
Nancy and Bob

An announcement from President Mel Gardner:

After more than eight years as Class Secretary, Joe D'Annunzio has asked to be relieved of the primary responsibility for this position. He has done a marvelous job of encouraging communications from classmates and is responsible for making our class web site one of MIT's most viewed.
Tom Keane who has been Assistant Class Secretary for well over a year will now be Class Secretary and Joe will be Assistant Class Secretary. They are essentially reversing roles.
Please join me in thanking Joe for his many years of constructive service and congratulating both Tom and Joe on their new class positions.

Mel Gardner

There were quite a few responses to Mel’s announcement. Here they are, in chronological order:

Harry Dreicer replies:

Mel,

I second the motion and extend my congratulations to Tom and Joe in their new reversed roles!
I very much appreciate the effort Joe has expended to keep us abreast of what is happening in the Class of 1950 and at MIT, and I wish him the best.

Harry Dreicer

And a word from Ken Sawyer:

Mel, I join you in appreciation and admiration of the services of Tom and Joe. Well done.

Ken Sawyer

And from Joseph McCluskey

Mel,

Consider me joined. These are essential but much unappreciated jobs.

Joe Mc

Phil Bagley replies:

Subject: Thanks for your service
To Joe:
Thanks for your years of service as class secretary. It's a tough job, cajoling people to report, and even tougher having to report on classmates who have passed on. You've earned your rest.

My little report follows:
I built a big worktable in the MIT Hobby Shop, one day a month for a year. A thing of beauty it was, six feet by three feet, of 1 inch plywood, covered with battleship linoleum lovingly surrounded by aluminum edging such as that used for kitchen counter tops. It had angle irons bolted to the underside to keep it from flexing. The left corner had a shelf to hold my Royal typewriter in just the right position. The greatest feature was a two-bulb flourescent fixture suspended overhead by rigid electrical conduit, putting plenty of light exactly where I needed it. (The fixture was salvaged, or rescued, from Building 22, the plywood palace which served as our dorm.) I built one big drawer slung below on the right side. The legs were steel pipes.

Tom Keane would like to add a few words:

Joe has done a wonderful job. He is a tough act to follow. Under his leadership, we have (in my humble opinion) the best class notes of any class. The key to this is each one of you. We are an amazingly diverse and interesting group, and each of us has a wonderful story to tell. So please let Joe and me hear from you in 2009.

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