ALFRED BENOIT
Alfred Benoit, a retired research staff member at Lincoln Laboratory, died May 3. He was 68. Benoit was hired in 1962 and retired exactly 36 years later. He is survived by his wife, Jane, of Northboro.
CARMEN CARDENAS
Carmen Cardenas of Newton died April 22 at age 85. Cardenas was hired by MIT in March 1967 and retired in 1983 as a senior library assistant. Information on survivors was unavailable.
JOSEPH GIBBS
Joseph Gibbs, a retired supervisor in the paint shop, died May 5 at age 70. The East Kingston resident began working at MIT in 1966 and retired in 1991. He is survived by his wife, Helen.
JEREMIAH P. HAFFIN
Jeremiah P. Haffin of Arlington died May 1 at age 82. The former head custodian of Physical Plant was hired in 1979 and retired in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Katherine.
JAMES W. MEYER
James W. Meyer, an employee of Lincoln Laboratory for 22 years, died May 3. He was 81.
Meyer was a physicist who joined Lincoln Lab in 1952, where he served as associate head of the Radar Division, a member of the Lincoln Laboratory Steering Committee, associate head of the Solid State Division and head of the Radio Physics Division. During a two-year leave of absence, he worked for Education Services Inc., making physics films. He returned to Lincoln Lab in 1967 and worked on numerous studies.
Meyer also worked at the Center for Space Research and the Energy Laboratory and helped develop the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and received the U.S. Air Force Commendation of Meritorious Civilian Service. He retired from MIT in 1980.
Meyer is survived by his wife, Carol, now of Dover, N.H., and four daughters: Sue Lundy of Colchester Vt.; Sara Meyer of Minneapolis, Minn.; Sandra Meyer Lovell of York, Maine; and Sharon Bourne of Williston, Vt.
His daughter Sara wrote that "for the past 22 years during his retirement, he has been a faithful and avid reader of Tech Talk ... as I am sorting through some of his things, I find that he kept quite a few [copies] that contained articles he thought he would want to read again, or send to a friend or member of the family (often with annotations about whether or not he agreed with the writer).
"As it turns out, Tech Talk was kind of an important part of our family. I saved his May issue of the Physics Today magazine and the most recent Tech Talk as remembrances of him. MIT was a big part of our family. It helped to pay for his four daughters' college educations, and we are forever grateful."
WILLIAM D. SHEEHAN
WIlliam D. Sheehan of North Grafton, a former member of the technical staff at Lincoln Laboratory, died May 11 at age 83. He was hired in 1962 and retired in 1985. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy.
MILDRED SHUTE
Mildred Shute, of Louisa, Va., a former senior office assistant in Haystack Observatory, died April 23. She was 74. Shute began working for MIT in 1980 and retired in 1993. Information on survivors was unavailable.
MANUEL F. SOPAS
Manuel F. Sopas of Arlington died March 20 at age 75. He began working at MIT in 1962 and worked as a dormitory maintenance mechanic at his retirement in 1991. Information on survivors was unavailable.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 5, 2002.
