Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Deaths

Jerry Boardingham, 72, of Rantoul, Illinois, died June 20 at Heartland Health Care in Champaign. He worked at the university in custodial services and in food service. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Lux Memorial Chapel, 1551 E. Grove Ave., Rantoul. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.

William H. Erwin, 75, of Champaign, died June 4 at home. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Grandview Memorial Gardens, Champaign, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, Champaign. A licensed architect, structural engineer and associate professor of architecture, Erwin taught in the School of Architecture at the university from 1979 to 2015.  Memorials: Faith United Methodist Church.

Stanley Friedman, 91, of Urbana, died June 16. He first served as a research associate at the university before departing for other work, returning in 1964. He served as the head of the entomology department for 17 years, beginning in 1976. He also served as an associate director of the School of Life Sciences before retiring as a professor emeritus in 1992.

May Berenbaum, the current head of the department of entomology, wrote: “The UIUC entomology community lost one of its most cherished members …. A groundbreaking contributor in the field of insect nutritional physiology, he was appointed head of the department of entomology in 1976 and served until he retired in 1992. During his tenure, the department hired Stewart Berlocher, Fred Delcomyn, Barry Miller, Hugh Robertson, Gene Robinson, Susan Fahrbach and me – he was enormously influential in making the department what it is today and he was my model and inspiration for serving as head. Whatever you think I might do well in the position, it’s likely the result of Stanley’s influence.

“For as long as I’d known him (more than 37 years), Stanley was always open to new ideas, invariably fair-minded, scrupulously honest, funny in a smart and understated way and kind, thoughtful and devoted as a friend. … May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.”

Plans for a memorial gathering are unknown at this time. Memorials: Josh Gottheil Memorial Fund for Lymphoma Research.

Cynthia A. James, 83, of Champaign, died May 29 in Atlanta. She worked in the university’s ticket office as a seasonal employee for almost a decade. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, July 1, at Renner Wikoff Chapel, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana, IL 61802, followed by a memorial service. Memorials: American Cancer Society.

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