Obituaries

Jared H. Ford, a former research chemist at Upjohn, died on Jan. 20 at the age of 93.

Born in Oberlin, Ohio, Ford graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College in 1931. He earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1935 from the University of Illinois.

Ford worked at Kilgore Development in Washington, D.C., from 1936 to 1941 on the development of insecticides targeting mosquitoes and cockroaches. He then worked at Upjohn from 1941 to 1976 on the separation and purification of pharmaceuticals. Two of the compounds he worked with became commercial: cycloheximide, a fungicide for golf greens, and antithymocyte globulin, which is used to prevent rejection of organ transplants.

Ford was preceded in death by his wife, Katherine. He is survived by a son, a daughter, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1934.

Gerald M. Jaffe, who helped develop the anti-Parkinson's disease drug l-dopa, died on Feb. 8 following complications from coronary bypass surgery at the age of 87.

A native of Philadelphia, Jaffe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in 1938, an M.S. in 1939, and a Ph.D. in 1942. He worked as a fellow at the Mellon Institute before joining Hoffmann-La Roche in 1947.

At Hoffmann-La Roche, Jaffe was a key player in the development of isoniazid, a medication still used for the prevention of tuberculosis in people who have been exposed to the active disease. He also became an expert on vitamin C. From 1959 to 1983, Jaffe was head of the process study department at Hoffmann-La Roche, which designed production for vitamins and other pharmaceuticals, including l-dopa.

Jaffe retired from Hoffmann-La Roche in 1983 and formed a consulting firm, Inter-Tech, with clients in the U.S. and Israel. In his personal life, he was an accomplished amateur sculptor and an active member of his synagogue, Congregation Beth Am of Verona, N.J. He served as synagogue president from 1973 to 1975, and was on the boards of trustees of the Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center and of the Jewish Community Center, MetroWest. He was also past chair of the Israel Program Center at the MetroWest Federation.

Jaffe is survived by his wife, Hilda; a son; a daughter; and five grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1940.

Richard Kithil, an industrial chemist retired from Upjohn, died on Sept. 12, 2004, at the age of 92.

Born in Morgantown, W.Va., Kithil spent his childhood years in Denver where his father, Karlos, worked as a geologist, miner, and entrepreneur.

Kithil's mother, Edith, was head of the geology department at the University of West Virginia and discoverer of the syncline-antisyncline geologic theory used to locate petroleum reserves.

Kithil graduated from the University of Virginia and attended Mellon Institute, in Pittsburgh, to study inorganic chemistry. He was first employed by Union Carbide Chemical Co. in New York City and later joined Carwin Co. in North Haven, Conn., as vice president of sales. When Upjohn acquired Carwin, Kithil remained to serve in international sales and marketing.

Kithil's experiments with the family stove yielded the first formulation for polyisocyanurate insulating foam, a widely used product in commercial, household, and industrial insulation. He retired to Colorado in 1968, where he became active in local environmental and civic affairs. In 1985, Kithil and his wife moved to Tubac, Ariz., where he donated much of his time to public affairs in Santa Cruz County.

Kithil is survived by his wife, Virginia, and three sons. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1940.

John T. Stock, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Connecticut, died on Feb. 6 after a brief illness. He was 94.

Stock was born in Margate, England, and received a B.S. in chemistry, physics, and mathematics in 1939 and a B.S. with honors in chemistry in 1941 from London University. He went on to earn an M.S. in electrochemistry in 1944, a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1949, and a D.Sc. in analytical and electrochemistry in 1965, all from London University.

Following extensive periods in industry and with the British Ministry of Supply, Stock became vice principal of Norwood Technical College, London. He received the Robert Blair Award for overseas study in 1954 to conduct research at the University of Minnesota.

Stock joined the University of Connecticut faculty in 1956 and led an active program in electrochemical research in addition to teaching analytical chemistry. Stock made his own electronic instruments and devised new analytical techniques, many of which were published in the Journal of Chemical Education.

After retiring from full-time teaching in 1979, Stock continued to indulge his lifelong study of the history of chemistry. He was a prolific writer who published several books on the history of chemical instrumentation. He was also an honorary research fellow for the London Science Museum and a frequent presenter at ACS national meetings.

For his work, Stock received the 1992 Dexter Award for outstanding achievement from the ACS Division of the History of Chemistry. He also received the division's 2001 Certificate of Appreciation. Most recently, Stock received the Chemical Heritage Foundation's first Donor Appreciation Award.

An emeritus member, Stock joined ACS in 1956.

Sidney L. Vail Jr., former lab chief at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans, died on Dec. 29, 2004, of a pulmonary embolism following bypass surgery. He was 76.

A native of New Orleans, Vail received a B.S. in chemistry from Tulane University. He went on to earn an M.S. in organic chemistry from Louisiana State University, then returned to Tulane for a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.

Prior to joining SRRC, Vail worked for Dow Chemical, Freeport, Texas; the Army Chemical Center, Edgewood, Md.; and American Cyanamid, Fortier, La.

At SRRC, Vail's research focused on textile chemistry, and he eventually became chief of the cotton textile chemistry research laboratory. He also worked in crop protection and applied spectroscopy.

In addition to his work at SRRC, Vail served as an adjunct professor of textile chemistry at North Carolina State University and gave more than 200 technical presentations in the U.S. and abroad.

After retirement from SRRC, Vail served as a consultant for various companies. In 2001, he joined the Louisiana State chemistry department as a volunteer visiting scientist, doing bench chemistry synthesis of base amino acids that were ultimately used in an Alzheimer's research project. He also tutored chemistry students and taught classes at the Lagniappe Continuing Education program.

Vail is survived by his wife, Margaret; four children; and nine grandchildren. An emeritus member, he joined ACS in 1951.

Obituaries are written by Victoria Gilman. Obituary notices may be sent by e-mail to v_gilman@acs.org and should include a detailed educational and professional history.