Obituaries

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death Marine crew member Richard F. Simpkin, December 16, 2003, at age 73. He joined the WHOI staff in 1978, working aboard Research Vessel Oceanus, where he spent most of his career. He retired in 1996. Further information will be posted as available.

In Memorium, December 11, 2003, of Honorary Trustee Melvin A. Conant of Lusby, Maryland after a long illness at age 79.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death November 26, 2003, of retiree Peter P. O’Reilly, formally of Mashpee, in Phoenix. He was 77.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has received word of the death November 12, 2003, of retiree Samuel T. Simkins at Haborside Healthcare of Falmouth after a brief illness. He was 79. Sam joined the WHOI staff in 1968 as a research assistant in the Geology and Geophysics Department. He transferred to the Ocean Engineering Department in 1971 and to the Physical Oceanography Department in 1976, working with the Buoy Group until he retired in 1988. He then worked at WHOI on a casual basis from 1991 to 1993.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death October 30, 2003, of Patricia E. Thompson of Falmouth after a long illness with emphysema. She was 68.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death July 29, 2003, of Monika B. Grinnell after a long battle with cancer. Monika, a Senior Grants Administrator in Grant and Contract Services, died at her home in East Falmouth, MA, at age 61.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death July 1, 2003, of Frederick A. Brauneis of East Falmouth, MA at Falmouth Hospital. He was 79.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death June 20, 2003, of Honorary Member of the Corporation Walter N. “Bill” Rothschild, Jr. at Huntington Hospital on Long Island of complications from surgery. He was 83.