Deaths
September 22, 2009, Volume 56, No. 04	Print Issue

Memorial for Dr. Edwards

A memorial gathering for Dr. G. Roger Edwards, curator emeritus, Mediterranean Section, at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will be held in the Museum’s Rainey Auditorium at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 4, 2009. Dr. Edwards, professor emeritus of classical archaeology and curator emeritus, passed away June 9 at age 94 (Almanac July 14, 2009).

Reminiscences by colleagues and friends; reception afterwards. For information call (215) 898-2680 or e-mail events@museum.upenn.edu.

Ms. Crossin, City and Regional Planning

Kathleen Crossin, a retired academic coordinator who worked in the department of city and regional planning at the School of Design (formerly the Graduate School of Fine Arts) for 35 years, passed away September 14. She was 70 years old.

Ms. Crossin worked under several department chairs, for numerous faculty and advised countless numbers of students.  As current department chair, Dr. John Landis noted, “Kathleen was a wonderful friend to generations of PennDesign students, faculty and staff. She was always there to advise students about the right courses to take, how to solve their registration problems, and how to get the most out of their time at Penn.  For faculty, she was always a gentle voice of continuity and responsibility who could tell us when something hadn’t worked before, and when it had.  To the staff, she was always a discrete and trusted friend, who knew how to chuckle at the incongruities of working in academia administration, and would always come through when things were important.” Ms. Crossin retired in 2008.

Ms. Crossin is survived by her sons, Gene, Sean, Steven and Daniel; her daughter-in-laws, MaryEllen and Joanne (a Penn employee); three grandchildren; a sister; and a brother.  

Memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of Fatima Church, 1 Fatima Dr., Secane, PA 19018 or St. Francis de Sales Parish, 4625 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143.

Dr. Hedges, Ophthalmology

Dr. Thomas Reed Hedges, Jr., professor emeritus of ophthalmology in the School of Medicine, passed away September 10 at age 85.

Dr. Hedges was a 1944 graduate of Ohio State University. He earned his medical degree in 1947 from Cornell. During this time he was a V12 Naval Reserve midshipman. He was an intern at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, a fellow at Cleveland Clinic in neurology and a fellow in neuro-ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University through 1949.  After completing his residency in ophthalmology at Penn, he became a captain in the US Army and was assigned to be chief of ophthalmology at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center until 1952.

In 1954 Dr. Hedges started his ophthalmology practices in Philadelphia and Moorestown, New Jersey. He established and ran the section on ophthalmology at Pennsylvania Hospital for over 30 years. At this time he was appointed to Penn’s faculty and was later promoted to professor of ophthalmology in 1973. He became emeritus in 1998. Dr. Hedges also taught at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey until his retirement in 2002. His research at Louis Coriell Laboratory in Camden on the effects of intracranial pressure on the optic nerve lead to multiple papers in medical journals and acceptance to the American Ophthalmological Society in 1964. He was a Senior Honor Award recipient from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He was co-founder of The International Neuro-ophthalmology Society. Dr. Hedges’ portrait was installed in the Great Court of the Pennsylvania Hospital in 2005.

Dr. Hedges is survived by his wife, Ann; son, Thomas R. Hedges, III; grandsons, T. Reed Hedges; G. Shonnard Hedges; Daniel W. Hedges; Duncan F. Hedges; and great-grandson, Zephan Isaac Zuser-Hedges.

Donations may be made to the Thomas R. Hedges, Jr. MD Fund, Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19017.

To Report A Death Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students, and other members of the University community. However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Room 545, Franklin Building, (215) 898-8136 or e-mail record@ben.dev.upenn.edu.