Obituaries

​Frank K. Flinn, PhD, an outspoken expert on religious freedom and the constitutional rights of fringe religious groups, died Saturday, July 4,2015. He was 76.​

​Barry R. Schactman, professor emeritus of drawing and painting in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, died at his home Friday, July 3, 2015, surrounded by family and friends, after a long bout with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 85.

​Washington University in St. Louis rising senior Jacques de Villiers died July 3, 2015, of cancer. He was 21. Diagnosed with cancer as a high school student in Cleveland, De Villiers arrived at Washington University ready to engage in campus life. He studied economics and biomedical physics, played club hockey, joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and cooked elaborate meals for friends.

Marie Cendrine Taris, assistant to the chair of the Department of Mathematics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died after a sudden illness Tuesday, June 2, at St. Mary’s Health Center. She was 46.

​Raymond Kline, PhD, professor emeritus of electrical engineering, died May 31, 2015.  He began his career ar Washington University in 1962.

James “Ely” Shrauner, PhD, a theoretical particle physicist and professor emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease Monday, June 1, 2015, in Chesterfield, Mo. He was 82.

Grant W. Farmer, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate at Washington University School of Medicine and an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University, died unexpectedly April 7, 2015, at his home in Richmond Heights. He was 36.

John W. Olney, MD, the John P. Feighner Professor of Psychiatry and professor of pathology and immunology, died Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at his home in St. Louis after a battle with lung cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 83.

David C. Beebe, PhD, the Janet and Bernard Becker Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, died at his home in St. Louis on Friday, March 27, 2015, from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 70.

David B. Gray, PhD, died Feb. 12 of an apparent heart attack. He was 71. Gray became motivated to change what it means to be disabled after he was paralyzed in an accident in 1976. He joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1995 to conduct research and teach courses on social issues and disability.