Obituaries

Kathleen Finneran, senior writer-in-residence in the Department of English in Arts & Sciences, and author of the celebrated memoir “The Tender Land: A Family Love Story” (2000), died Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. She was 68.

Senior Ella Elizabeth Johnson of Belmont, Mass., died Jan. 14 after a difficult struggle with mental health challenges. Johnson, 21, was studying psychological and brain sciences and Spanish in Arts & Sciences.

Donald “Don” E. Clayton, a former associate vice chancellor of Medical Public Affairs at WashU Medicine, died Jan. 8 after a respiratory illness. He was 71.

Steven L. Teitelbaum, MD, a nationally recognized leader in bone biology research at WashU Medicine, died Dec. 15 in St. Louis. He was 87.

Brian A. Van Tine, MD, PhD, a nationally recognized leader in sarcoma research at WashU Medicine, died Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital following an acute illness. He was 53.

Kenneth (Ken) Franklin Kelton, the Arthur Holly Compton Professor Emeritus of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis, has died following complications from lymphoma treatments. He was 71.

J. Claude Evans, a professor emeritus of philosophy in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died in St. Louis July 26. He was 79.

James “Jim” Clark Ballard, a former senior lecturer and director of the Engineering Communication Center in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, died Sept. 29 in St. Louis following a sudden cardiac arrest. He was 79.

Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD, the David C. and Betty Farrell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, in St. Louis from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 88.

William H. Webster, an honorary emeritus trustee at Washington University in St. Louis, died Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Warrenton, Va. He was 101.