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Remembrances

Chemists who have lived or worked in the St Louis area have made their marks in many ways: in discovery/research, as educators/mentors, by outreach/volunteerism. Many of us know them; some of us may not know their stories; any of us may be interested in knowing more.

On this page, we have collected the archive of posts announcing members’ and colleagues’ deaths. We don’t always hear about chemists who have “shuffled off this mortal coil”, so we welcome submissions from anyone who might know of someone who should be included here. Please provide as much information as possible, professional as well as personal, and a photo if you can.

The members, colleagues, teachers, friends we have lost

Vincent Spaziano, professor of chemistry at SLU dies

Vincent Spaziano had retired just last month! He had been a member of the faculty at Saint Louis University since 1973, rising to the rank of professor in 1986. He was chair of the department of chemistry from 1987 to 2002, and associate dean of the Colle...
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Jai Nagarkatti, Sigma-Aldrich CEO, in memoriam

Jai Nagarkatti, CEO of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, died quite unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack on November 13. He had worked for Aldrich Chemical Company and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation his whole professional life, starting as a bench chemist in 1976...
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Walter Stern, chemical engineer at the founding of Sigma Chemical Company, dies

On November 21, 2009, Walter Stern died. Walter was a chemical engineer who, in 1946, helped design the production process for saccharin, the first product of Sigma Chemical Company. When Monsanto entered the saccharin market, Sigma almost foundered. In s...
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Robert E Keller dies

Another long-standing member of the American Chemical Society and the Saint Louis Section has died. Robert E Keller had been a member of both since 1949. He was 86. Keller served as a Pharmacist’s Mate in the Navy during WWII, then returned home to earn B...
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Donald G Leavitt dies

It is with sadness and sympathy for his surviving children and grandchildren that we note the passing of a 62-year member of the ACS. Donald G Leavitt died on December 31, 2008, at the age of 84. Don was a patent attorney specializing in chemical and phar...
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