The Class Notes section of the Reed magazine Summer 2009 reports on some Reed chemists:
- Over the past few years, Leo MacDonald ’97 has undertaken a variety of life-changing events. In 2006, he married Joan Ramage, a professor of geology and remote sensing at Lehigh University. He started his own business, Independent Products LLC – a company devoted to invention and development of new technology. (To date, three patents have been filed on new technology developed.) Leo and Joan have a daughter, Iona Hirschland, born in January 2008. They all live on a farm in eastern Pennsylvania, and Leo says he prefers not to be called “Old Macdonald” until he is quite a bit older …
- On Inauguration Day, Emily Metcalfe Rugg ’97 and Aaron Rugg ’98 welcomed a son, Henry James, in Washington D.C. Weighing in at a whopping 11 pounds, 9 ounces, he quicly earned the moniker Hank the Tank. “He’s a handsome and cheery little devil.” In other news, the family is moving to Colorado.
- Elliot Levin ’04 and Amanda Cort ’07 are “ridiculous” says Elliot. He is mastering public policy, while Amanda is becoming a master of nursing. The planned a June wedding, “and planning weddings makes people crazy.” They planted their entire backyard with flowers, which should provide them with some beautiful comfort.
The In Memoriam section of the magazine also reported the passing of Alfred Stanley Levinson ’54, December 10, 2008, in Portland. Al received his BA from Reed in chemistry, and then entered the master’s program in chemistry at Wesleyan University. “I had no intentions of going to grad school up to that point, but [Reed professor] Arthur Scott helped me make up my mind and I went.” In 1958, he married Amy Perlson Levinson ’54 and went to Indiana University for graduate work. Their two daughters, Rebecca and Ellen E. Levinson ’84, were born during the time that Al completed his doctorate and post-doctorate work in chemistry and Amy had a full-time position in microbiology. In 1963, he joined the faculty of Portland State College. He retired as professor emeritus of organic chemistry in 1994. Survivors include his daughter Ellen; a sone; and his cousin, Toinette H. Menashe MALS ’72.