Obituaries

Timothy Blair Burnight, 28, a doctoral candidate in the Program in Physical Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine, died unexpectedly Sept. 4, 2015, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Neil Bernstein, JD, professor of law emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis, died Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. He was 83.

Ernst K. Zinner, PhD, research professor emeritus of physics and earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, died Thursday, July 30, of medical complications of mantle cell lymphoma. Among many other accomplishments, in 1987 Zinner identified for the first time material in the laboratory that predated the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago.

Mary Dell Olin Pritzlaff, a trustee emerita of Washington University in St. Louis, died Saturday, July 18, 2015, surrounded by family at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif. She was 85.

​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.