Elgin High honors 39 notable alumni

A Nobel Prize-winning chemist, other distinguished scientists, actors and journalists are among 39 Elgin High School graduates recently inducted into the school's Alumni Hall of Fame.

More than 20 inductees and family members attended a celebration Thursday, coinciding with homecoming week and featuring entertainment by the high school pep band. Three deceased alums were posthumously honored. Inductees' names and photos were etched on plaques that adorn a wall at the school.

"This Wall of Fame reflects the strong legacy of EHS and shows how far we've come," said Principal Jerry Cook, a 1991 graduate of Elgin High. "Our esteemed alumni inspire today's students and it's extremely exciting to be able to share this program with our students, staff, graduates, and especially the families of our inductees who have shared their loved one's journey."

In 1980, then-Elgin High principal Richard Felicetti proposed the idea of recognizing the accomplishments of graduates from the school, founded in 1869. Later, five members of the class of 1960 volunteered to start gathering archives of newspaper clippings, sports programs and yearbooks. Over the years, community members have shared lost treasures found in garages, basements and attics with volunteer archivists who continue the work.

Inductees by order of graduating class are:

• 1883 - Max Adler, benefactor of Adler Planetarium, vice-president of Sears & Roebuck, concert violinist, 1866-1952.

• 1901 - Jennie Christine "Jane" Peterson, renowned painter and artist, 1876-1965.

• 1907 - Helen Miller Malloch, founder of the National Federation of Press Women, 1888-1963.

• 1908 - Edna D. Geister, national recreation director of the YWCA

• 1917 - Mildred A. Engelbrecht, bacteriologist, University of Alabama

• 1918 - Gail M. Dack, of Elgin, bacteriologist, University of Chicago, and renowned authority on food-borne diseases.

• 1920 - John M. Qualen, character actor in more than 100 films and on television

• 1921 - Frank O'Beirne, vice admiral in the U.S. Navy, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

• 1922 - Trygve Rovelstad, of Elgin, renowned sculptor and medalist.

• 1923 - James M. Roche, CEO of General Motors Corporation.

• 1927 - Paul F. Flory, polymer chemist and recipient of the 1974 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

• 1934 - John R. Tobin, of Elgin, dean emeritus of Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine.

• 1935 - Alfred Y. Kirkland, Sr., of Elgin, U.S. federal judge.

• 1945 ­- Charles "Chick" L. Peterson, world class watercolor artist.

• 1946 - Ray A. Barnhart, federal highway administrator and a Texas politician.

• 1946 - James P. Kramer, U.S. Department of Agriculture research entomologist.

• 1946 - John P. Kramer, entomologist and professor, North Carolina State University and Cornell University

• 1946 - John R. Mink, founding faculty member of the Dental School at University of Kentucky.

• 1946 - Charles E. Swanson, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica.

• 1948 - Marshall I. Goldman, professor of economics, Wellesley College and Harvard University, author and researcher.

• 1949 - Dietrich "Jack" C. Bauer, microbiology scientist, Indiana University.

• 1949 - John "Jack" S. Shales and Marlene "Kane" Shales, of Elgin, philanthropist and civic leader.

• 1951 - Douglas B. Nash, NASA geologist, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Division of Space Sciences.

• 1951 - John W. Teets, CEO Greyhound, Dial and Armour.

• 1953 - Wesley K. Foell, environmental scientist/scholar, University of Wisconsin.

• 1955 - Samuel A. Werner, professor emeritus, department of physics and astronomy, University of Missouri.

• 1960 - Sara Melissa Hart, of Golden Valley, Minnesota, Miss Elgin 1962, Second City alumni, and a Tony Award-nominated actress who played a leading character in the traveling production of the Broadway musical "Cabaret."

• 1962 - Tom W. Shales, television critic for The Washington Post and winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for criticism.

• 1963 - Brian Oldfield, of Elgin, Olympic shot putter and world record holder.

• 1965 - Richard M. Hoover, Tony Award-winning production designer.

• 1969 - Daniel M. Brewbaker, of New York City, renowned composer.

• 1969 - Richard "Rick" W. Sund, NBA executive.

• 1971 - Deborah A. Lathen, of Milwaukee, bureau chief at the Federal Communications Commission

• 1972 - Harold "Hal" Getzelman, of Seabrook, Texas, NASA's capsule communicator chief engineer.

• 1973 - Jay Geldmacher, executive vice president of Emerson Electric.

• 1974 - Joseph Incandela, particle physicist.

• 1976 - George A. Lesieutre, professor of aerospace engineering, Pennsylvania State University.

• 1978 - Nina Burleigh, journalist and best-selling author.