Theta Xi - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

ALPHABET SOUP www.alpha6294.com Theta xi 5 Matt Abbatte '22 (A1750) Yorktown, N.Y. Matty Behar '22 (A1747) Armonk, N.Y. Jacob Bubb '22 (A1758) Syracuse, N.Y. Tim Budding '22 (A1760) Arlington, Mass. Evan Cama '22 (A1759) Sloatburg, N.Y. Joe Canale '22 (A1756) Bay Shore, N.Y. Thomas Cesard '22 (A1754) Toms River, N.J. Chris Flory '22 (A1757) Bayville, N.Y. Quinn Gangagharan '22 (A1761) Brookline, Mass. Vish Kasinath '22 (A1755) Basking Ridge, N.J. Chase Olsen '21 (A1751) Vail, Colo. Marc Perez '22 (A1749) Wayne, N.J. Luke Smith '22 (A1748) Astoria, N.Y. Zack Stankovics '22 (A1752) Toms River, N.J. Jeff Wenner '22 (A1753) Glastonbury, Conn. Chapter Eternal Dr. Herbert V.W. Bergami- ni '46 (A642) passed on to Chapter Eternal on April 9. He served the tri-lakes com- munity for more than 54 years, providing devoted and skillful care to his patients. He was an active member of the Lake Placid Memorial and Saranac Lake Hospital staffs since 1957, where he held a variety of of- fices, including medical staff president. He was the sometime-president and decades-long sec- retary of the Essex County Medical Associa- tion, and in the last 25 years of his working life, he was medical director of Adirondack Cor- rectional Facility, including Camp Gabriels. He maintained a private practice until he was 85 and retired from prison medicine at 90. He is survived by his wife, Laurie; his four children, two stepchildren, and 14 grandchildren. James R. Petters '47 (A669) passed on to Chapter Eternal on February 15 in Viera, Fla. Aer graduating from RPI in two and a half years, he trans- ferred to the Navy Supply Corps School at Harvard Busi- ness School. Upon graduation, he was transferred to serve on the Navy De- stroyer, USS Strong (DD758), operating in the Atlantic Ocean during WWII. At the end of the war, the Destroyer sailed into the Charleston Naval Shipyard for decommissioning. It was at this time that he met his wife, Grace "Rusty" Esco. Soon aer, Jim and Rusty married on August 14, 1947, and they moved to Buffalo, N.Y., where he began working as a design engi- neer for Linde Air Products. Later he accepted a position as the head ordnance engineer at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Va. In 1954, he was selected for a position to fulfill his desire of working on missiles. He held various positions in the aerospace industry, including serving as the chief engineer on the Polaris- project, a nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile. Jim is preceded in death by Rusty, and his son, David. He is survived by his son, Richard; son-in-law and daughter, Randy and Lori Hicks; and three grandchildren: Sa- vannah, Jennifer, and Caroline Hicks. Malcolm B. Romeiser '57 (A876) passed on to Chapter Eternal September 29, 2018. He was most proud of his 30 years of contributions in tele- communications research and development during Bell Telephone Laborato- ries heyday in the 1960s to 1980s. He worked on a variety of transmission technologies and was passionate about the development of opti- cal fiber systems technology. He led a research group in the 1980s whose work demonstrating the value of fiber optics in telecommunica- tions transmissions contributed to the explo- sive growth in high-speed communications the world has experienced in the last 30 years, including telephone, internet, and cable tele- vision. Aer his retirement from Bellcore he moved west and became a professor of engi- neering in Prescott, Ariz., at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he authored a textbook on fiber optics. In his second career, he loved developing the next generation of en- gineers and working with students to achieve their potential. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, two children, five grandchil- dren, a nephew, two nieces, many friends in Arizona and New Jersey, and the hundreds of his students who are now contributing to the world using their own special talents. If the measure of a man is how much he is missed, he was a very great man. Alumni News Arthur J. Katz '71 (A1115) retired in 2017 as advisory engineer with Bectel Marine Propul- sion Corp. He says, as a "typical retiree I've done some traveling: Switzerland, Italy, and Iceland in 2018 and Croatia, Montenegro, and Costa Rica in 2019." Arthur lives in Clif- ton Park, N.Y. Stay connected with Arthur at ajkatz164@verizon.net. Rob Rivera '00 (A1464) shares, "on Monday April 15th, I lined up for the running of the 123rd Boston Marathon. is was my first Boston Marathon, and my 13th marathon overall. My goal going in was first to have fun, but also to try to break the three-hour mark. I succeeded in the first goal, as this race was amazing; the atmosphere, the fans, the city. All of it was awesome." He ended up with a time of 3:03:43, which while not breaking three hours, it was a personal record for him. at time also automatically qualified Rob for the 2020 Boston Marathon, which he plans to attend! Next up is the New York City mara- thon in November, which will be his third "major" marathon, out of the six majors. He and his family are also expecting their second (and final) child in August. Congratulate Rob at rob.rivera@charter.net. Jonathan Didas '21 (A1744) makes use of the study room in the chapter house. It was created this semes- ter for the brothers to have a quiet place in the house to focus on their academics. Brothers gather in the basement for a recruitment and risk management presentation from then- Alumni Association President Graham Cabrey '12 (A1617) to prepare for the spring semester. WELCOME TO THE BROTHERHOOD!

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