Mary L. Wilson
Mary L. Wilson, a 20-year employee of U-M Hospital, died Jan. 28 at her home in Ypsilanti. She was 70.
Wilson was born in Ypsilanti Sept. 3, 1937, the daughter of Virgil and Evelyn Mary (Townsend) Rockwell. On Dec. 14, 1959, she married Russell Wilson.
She retired from U-M Hospital in 2000. She was a member of Gold Wing Road Riders Association, Ann Arbor chapter, and a member of the Community of Christ in Ann Arbor.
Wilson was a former hair stylist, maintaining her license for more than 40 years.
Coworkers say they will remember Wilson for her love of bowling and crocheting, and for baking beautiful wedding cakes.
Survivors include her husband, son Russell C., daughter Betsy Smith, 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, daughters Cheryl and Soo Lynn, sister Shirley Fields and great-granddaughter Desi.
William LeVeque
William LeVeque, former professor of mathematics from 1949-71 and department chair from 1967-70, died Dec. 1, 2007, in Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Born in 1923 in Boulder, Colo., LeVeque earned his doctorate in mathematics from Cornell University. He was an instructor at Harvard before joining U-M as the first number theorist on the mathematics faculty.
LeVeque’s research areas included transcendental numbers, uniform distribution and Diophantine approximation. His two-volume 1956 monograph “Topics in Number Theory” was highly influential in the development of number theory in the United States, as was the MAA monograph he edited called “Studies in Number Theory.”
In 1960 he conceived the idea of updating L. E. Dickson’s “History of the Theory of Numbers” that covered the subject from antiquity to 1910. In 1974 he accomplished part of his goal by publishing a six-volume collection “Reviews in Number Theory” containing all reviews in number theory that appeared in Mathematical Reviews (MR) from 1940-72 assembled by topic, for easy reference and for ease in seeing historical developments. The Special Libraries Association gave him an award for this effort.
When Ann Arbor was chosen in 1964 as the new site for MR, LeVeque took on the task of relocation, finding space as well as recruiting and training a staff. In June 1965 MR moved and LeVeque served as executive director for the next 15 months.
During his time at U-M, LeVeque was active in faculty governance. He mentored four graduate students, and for many years he played a leadership role in the mathematics honors program. LeVeque left U-M in 1971 for a position at Claremont University.
In 1977 he became executive director of the American Mathematical Society — a position he held until 1988 when he retired. He led the society to become a major publisher of books and journals. He also pioneered the use of computers in printing and funded the development of LaTex, a specialized typesetting program for mathematics. LeVeque encouraged the computerization of the MR database, creating the online searchable database MathSciNet.
While regarded by colleagues as an immensely imaginative and successful administrator, LeVeque never lost his love and interest in number theory. In 2001 he made a gift to U-M to establish the LeVeque Excellence in Number Theory endowment in the Department of Mathematics. His gift provides funds for travel, seminar speakers, conferences and related activities.
—Submitted by the Department of Mathematics
Naomi Lohr
Naomi (Nonie) Lohr, emeritus assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology, died Nov. 21, 2007, in Ann Arbor at the age of 72.
She grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, and since 1957 resided in Ann Arbor. She retired in 2000 from U-M.
Lohr received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa, and completed a master’s degree and doctorate in clinical psychology at U-M. After retiring from the University, she continued her private practice as a psychotherapist and her clinical supervision of doctoral students at the Psychological Clinic until the time of her death.
Lohr joined the U-M faculty in 1963. She served as associate chair of the clinical area of the Department of Psychology from 1986-91 and was associate director of the Personality Disorders Program in the Department of Psychiatry from 1987-2000. Her work was published in more than 40 scientific publications and book chapters.
She was part of the team that studied the dexamethasone suppression test in melancholic depression. Her most recent research involved the study of the impact of early trauma on representations of interpersonal relatedness as manifested in psychological testing in patients with borderline personality disorder.
Colleagues say up until her death she was a dedicated supervisor, teacher and mentor to generations of clinical psychology graduate students and psychiatry residents. A woman of many talents and psychotherapeutic skills, she was known for her ability to treat and supervise the treatments of a wide range of patients including those with severe psychopathology.
She was chair of numerous dissertation committees and was a member of the Division of Psychoanalysis of the American Psychological Association as well as the Michigan Society for Psychoanalytic Psychology.
An avid sports fan, she rarely missed a men’s basketball or football game, and was a frequent attendee of Final Four tournaments and Rose Bowl games. She enjoyed travel, theater, art, music, literature and long conversations over dinner with friends.
She is survived by her mother, Frances Woodbury Lohr of Naples, Fla.; sister Nancy Lohr (Claudia Borders) of Ann Arbor. Her father, Quigg Lohr, preceded her in death.
Contributions may be sent to U-M, Stratford Festival of Canada, American Diabetes Association or a charity of choice.
— Submitted by Kenneth Silk and Alan Eiser, Department of Psychiatry, and Nancy Lohr
