John Andrews-Labenski, Psychology

John Andrews-Labenski, a retired electronics engineer and an instructor in Penn’s department of psychology for more than three decades, died on May 2 at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania, from complications of surgery for lung cancer. He was 68 years old.

Dr. Andrews-Labenski was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He graduated from State College Area High School, then went on to earn his BS in electronics engineering from Thomas Edison State College, his PhD in education from Madison University in 1995 and his MSEd in culture & society from Penn’s Graduate School of Education in 2000.

Dr. Andrews-Labenski joined Penn’s department of psychology in 1982. He served as electronics engineer, designing and building equipment that facilitated scientific progress by researchers in several departments within the School of Arts & Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine. For about 15 years, he also taught graduate students in these two schools in a well-regarded course, Electronics for Scientists, for which he converted a part of his shop into a technological learning environment. His skills extended from electronics to working in wood, plastic and metal, and the technologically up-to-date shop that he maintained was much used by students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty, often under his guidance.

In 2012, Dr. Andrews-Labenski was accepted as a senior member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers. In 2013, he retired.

He is survived by his wife, Beth Ann Johnson; his brothers, James P. Labenski and Richard Labenski (Sue); his son, Ben Watson (Kim); and two grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be directed to Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 26, Huntingdon, PA 16652.

Qi He, Penn Graduate Student

The body of missing Penn graduate student Qi He was found in Washington on Sunday, July 2. Mr. He had been missing since June 5. He had been glissading down Aasgard Pass, a hiking area near Seattle, Washington, when he slid into a waterfall hole. His body was found under snowpack in the Enchantment Wilderness.

He was 24 years old.

Mr. He, a Chinese citizen, was a student in the master of computer information technology program in Penn’s School of Engineering & Applied Science. In 2014, he earned his BA in mathematics from Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and his BS in economics and finance from the Wharton School.

Donations in his memory may be made at https://www.gofundme.com/qihefamily

Jerome Fisher, Emeritus Trustee

Jerome Fisher, W’53, Honorary Emeritus Penn Trustee, died June 23 in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 85.

Through his leadership and philanthropy, Mr. Fisher helped the University of Pennsylvania both honor its past and innovate for the future.

Mr. Fisher served the Penn Board of Trustees and its Development Committee during his tenure, 1996-2000. He was also a member of the Penn Medicine Board, the Wharton School’s Undergraduate Executive Board and Board of Overseers and the College House Advisory Board.

He made many gifts to transform Penn’s physical and academic landscape. The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, which he endowed in 1995, is a renowned model of interdisciplinary learning that paved the way for signature Penn programs such as the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business and the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management.

His gift to name the Jerome and Anne Fisher Fine Arts Library, a national historic landmark (Almanac October 20, 1992), helped restore the grandeur of the University’s first library building and secure its vitality for future generations.

As one of the lead donors of the four-year Quadrangle Renewal Project, he helped Penn transform the Quad into a vibrant neighborhood of College Houses designed to build community and foster learning outside the classroom. As a result, the Fisher-Hassenfeld College House and the Fisher-Hassenfeld Gate are now a lasting testament to his generosity.

He impacted students and faculty on an even more personal level by spearheading a Trustee Challenge program for scholarship donations, creating the Anne Fisher Graduate Fellowship in Architecture, supporting the Arthur H. Rubenstein MBBCh Professorship at Penn Medicine, and the Jodi Fisher-Horowitz Professorship in Leukemia Care Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center in memory of his late daughter, Jodi, who predeceased him in 2009.

Mr. Fisher, along with his wife, Anne, was a well-known philanthropist who championed many organizations. Mr. Fisher worked with his daughter, Jodi, to co-found the Fashion Footwear Association of New York’s Shoes on Sale gala and shoe sale to support breast cancer research. It became the shoe industry’s largest fundraising event, and they were honored by FFANY as Humanitarians of the Year in 2003 for their efforts. That annual event has provided significant to advance the work of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center.

Mr. Fisher had long been a leader in America’s shoe industry. The son of a successful shoe manufacturer, he worked in his father’s factories as a teenager, sold shoes while he attended Wharton and wrote a thesis on the demise of the New England shoe manufacturer. He went on to co-found Nine West, which he developed into one of the country’s leading shoe designers and retailers. 

He is survived by his wife, Anne, a former PennDesign Overseer, his sons, Marc and Jeffrey, and his grandchildren, Elizabeth, C’10, Alexandra, C’01, Jared, C’13, Adam, C’06, Amanda, C’08, Samantha, Harrison, Lauren and Tate.

George J. Merva, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

George J. Merva, CCC’55, a retired laboratory administrator of nearly 60 years in the department of pathology & laboratory medicine in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, died on March 11. He was 88 years old.

Mr. Merva was born in Morrisdale, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Marines toward the end of World War II; after the war ended, he was stationed at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard. He joined the Penn staff in 1953 while still in the reserves and finished his service as a second lieutenant. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn in 1955.

A polymath for the laboratories in the John Morgan Building, Mr. Merva served on the Penn Med staff for 58 years, assisting in research administration and the education of medical students. For many years, he put together the course guide for Pathology 101. Known to hundreds of medical students and many researchers and faculty, he was instrumental in creating the student course-evaluation forms (HAMSTER). Before the advent of computers, he collated all of the statistics by hand. He was a medical history buff: he was responsible for salvaging 19th-century wax anatomy models that are now part of the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians. He retired from Penn at age 84 on Veterans Day in 2011.

Mr. Merva is survived by six children, Mary Ellen Kenworthey, Nu’76, George J. Merva, Jr., Michael Merva, FA’82, GFA’88, Jean M. Bulmer, Nu’80, GNu’85, John R. Merva, W’85, and David Merva; three grandchildren, Beau, Claire and Grace Anne; and a brother, John Edward, “Ed.”

Donations may be sent in his name to the Friends of Black Moshannon State Park, c/o Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation, 1845 Market Street, Suite 202, Camp Hill, PA 17011.

Valerie A. Peña, Penn Libraries

Valerie Ann Peña, a retired staff member who spent her career of nearly 40 years within the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, died on June 1. She was 74 years old.

Ms. Peña was born in Philadelphia. She received her BA in Spanish in 1965 and her MA in Romance languages in 1973, both from Penn. She earned her MS in library science from Drexel in 1973. She joined Penn Libraries in 1971 and became a department head within the Vet School Library in 1973. In 1987, she became the chief medical librarian.

While at Penn, she served on the Almanac Advisory Board; the University Council; the Administrative Assembly, which she chaired; and the staff grievance panel. She was a member of the Library Diversity Team, which received a 2006 Models of Excellence Award (Almanac February 21, 2006). She retired in 2008.

She is survived by her daughter, Alethea, who works in Penn Medicine, and her partner, Kim Mollo; her companion, Patrick McCarney; and her former husband, Aniano (Cindy Creekmore).