Skip to content ↓

Obituaries

ELEANOR L. BARTLETT

Eleanor L. Bartlett of Arlington, VA, a former librarian with MIT Libraries, died August 13 at age 81. She retired in 1977 after 24 years at the Institute. Names of survivors were unavailable.

JACQUELINE M. FANO

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, Oct. 3 in the MIT Chapel for Jacqueline M. Fano, wife of Professor Emeritus Robert M. Fano and a longtime supporter of MIT. Mrs. Fano, 78, died of ovarian cancer at her summer home in Chatham on August 6.

Mrs. Fano majored in home economics at Simmons College and studied at the Modern School of Fashion Design, where she taught until her marriage in 1949. She was fluent in French and Spanish, and was a gifted fashion designer and seamstress who designed and made both of her daughters' wedding dresses.

Professor Fano, a native of Torino, Italy, came to the United States in 1939. He was the first director of Project MAC (now the Laboratory of Computer Science), the Ford Professor of Engineering and associate head of electrical engineering and computer science before assuming emeritus status in 1984 .

Besides her husband, Mrs. Fano is survived by two daughters, Paola Nisonger (SM '79) of Nilford, MI, and Linda Ryan (SM '82) of New Canaan, CT; a son, Carl of Chatham; her twin brother, Paul Crandall (SB '42) of Littleton, MA; and five grandchildren.

The MIT memorial service will be conducted by Professor Emeritus Louis D. Smullin, former head of EECS and a longtime friend of the Fanos, who attended their wedding. Donations may be made in Mrs. Fano's memory to the MIT Medical Department Inpatient Fund, c/o of Mary Smith, MIT Rm E23-308, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139.

MARGARETE PALAZZI

Word has been received of the June 21 death of Margarete Palazzi, 67, of Cambridge, a former section head in the MIT Libraries. She joined MIT in 1963 and retired in 1995. Names of survivors were unavailable.

ANTONIO RAINHO

Antonio Rainho, 55, of Medford, a custodian in Physical Plant, died on August 25. He was hired at MIT in 1985 and was on long-term disability at the time of his death. Survivors include his wife, Maria; a daughter, Carla Rainho; and two sons, Antonio and Marco, all of Medford.

HELEN SHEEHAN

Helen Sheehan, 97, of North Fort Myers, FL, died on August 3. She was a secretary at Draper Laboratories who was hired in 1947 and retired 20 years later. Survivors include a daughter, Marylou Morrison of North Fort Myers; a son, John Sheehan of Daytona, FL; nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

WENDY STONE

A memorial service will be held in the MIT Chapel on Friday, Oct. 2 at 1:30pm for Wendy Stone, 47, assistant director of systems for Physical Plant, who died on August 16. The service will be followed by a reception in McCormack Hall on Amherst Street.

Ms. Stone started at MIT in the General Purchasing Office in 1981. She subsequently transferred to Information Systems and then to Physical Plant in 1987. She is survived by her husband, Suresh Bhatia; her mother, Anne Stone; a brother, Michael Stone; and a nephew and niece.

A service for Ms. Stone was previously held in Levine Chapel in Brookline on August 18. She was buried in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Memorial donations may be made to the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, 24 Cresent St., Waltham, MA, 02453.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 23, 1998.

Related Topics

More MIT News