Deaths

• William Alrich, Wharton Quarterly
• Manuel Doxer, Provost's Office
• Tom McMahon, Wharton Quarterly
• Edward Shils, Wharton Entrepreneurial Center

William Alrich, Wharton Quarterly

Mr. William M. Alrich, retired senior staff writer and editor of the Wharton Quarterly, died on October 26, at the age of 87.

Mr. Alrich was a native of Pittsburgh, and received his undergraduate degree from Wooster College in Ohio and taught English in India for more than five years.

Before joining Penn, Mr. Alrich was employed by Lewis Gilman & Kynette in public relations and had been editor of the magazines The Spectator and Presbyterian Life. He came to Penn in 1968 as a news officer and editor of the Wharton Quarterly. In 1976 he became a senior staff writer and retired from that position in 1983.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley Charlton Alrich; sons Thomas and William C.; daughter Susan Stair; and six grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the City Lights Program at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 E. Lancaster Ave., Wayne, PA 19087.

Manuel Doxer, Provost's Office

Mr. Doxer came to Penn in 1962 as a business administrator in the physics department; in 1970 he began working in the SAS Dean's Office. In 1979, then-SAS Dean Vartan Gregorian was named provost. At Dr. Gregorian's request, Mr. Doxer followed his boss to the Provost's Office, becoming executive director of administrative affairs. He served seven provosts in that capacity for 17 years. In June 1996 after some 34 years of service to Penn he retired, but then became a special consultant to the provost. His wife, Meryl, had been a secretary in the School of Medicine and in the physics department for many years before she too retired the same summer he did.

He is survived by his wife Meryl; daughter, Elyse Saladoff; son Edward; and four grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the American Red Cross.

Tom McMahon, Wharton Quarterly

Mr. Thomas J. McMahon, associate director at Wharton Publications, died on November 14 at the age of 54.

Mr. McMahon was a graduate of Loyola College in Baltimore and received a B.A. and M.A. in English language and literature from the University of Oxford, U.K. in 1975 and 1977 respectively. He did work toward a Ph.D. in English at Penn in 1978.

He worked at Johns Hopkins University, 1985-86, as a special projects editor and was responsible for editing presidential speeches and letters to alumni, faculty, and friends. Previous to that, he held positions as the assistant director at the New World Marketing Corporation, was an instructor in English at Temple and Drexel, was a teaching fellow in English at Penn and a tutor in English as a foreign language at Oxford.

He joined Penn in 1987 as an editor/writer, editing recruitment materials for Wharton's internal newsletter and Wharton's three degree-granting divisions. He developed writing projects for the dean's office and edited the annual report among other publications in the School.

Mr. McMahon is survived by his mother, Catherine L. McMahon; brother, Neil M.; sisters, Kathleen McMahon, and Marilyn Duff. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Attn.: Reverend John Ahern, Maryknoll, NY 10545.

  Almanac, Vol. 51, No. 13, November 23, 2004

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