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| Volume 49, Number 3, Fall 2000 |
IN MEMORIAMAudrey Likely
Audrey helped to make science writing the profession it is today. In the 1960s and 70s she established science-writing awards at AIP, worked to get more science on TV and radio, and instituted seminars to bring scientists and journalists in close contact. As if to testify to her strong ties to both writers and researchers, one can point to the fact that her AIP retirement party in 1982 was co-hosted by Walter Sullivan of the New York Times, then dean of science writing in the US, and Norman Ramsay, Harvard professor and Nobel laureate. Awards for science writing are by now plentiful, but not for the science public-information enterprise. If such recognition is ever granted, especially for lifetime service, Audrey's name should appear at the top of the honor roll. She often played vivacious host to many of New York's brightest writers, both in physics pressrooms and in her elegant Manhattan penthouse apartment, and always made you feel that you were her favorite guest. Audrey exuded energy and panache. She didn't just smoke, she smoked Camels. She took vacations on the Island of Capri or sailed up the Nile. She took a cab everywhere, even for the 10-block commute to work, which actually makes sense since it would otherwise have been a difficult hike in her trademark high heels. She threw smashing New Year's Eve parties, had the glamorous good looks of Lauren Bacall, and married five times. She is survived by her companion, Lawrence Bickford, and her son, Roger Shelley. How can one compress such zest into something as prosaic as a resume? A lifelong New Yorker, she started in 1956 in the AIP typing pool, a job for which she was utterly unqualified. She never did learn to type but did successfully sally forth into the world of big science and big journalism. Audrey became head of press relations in 1971 and retired in 1982, although she continued as a consultant to AIP for 10 more years. Married to NASW Executive Director Worth Likely, Audrey was of course closely involved with the life of NASW and CASW. What I said about Audrey making everyone feel special applies to me especially and I cannot forgo recounting her important role in my life. Twenty-one years ago she hired me to work at AIP, a job I have to this day. I remember well my first press release, which Audrey covered with editorial marks. The most prominent red mark, more a gash really, pointed from the bottom of the page, where I had carefully sequestered the principal findings, to the top of the page. Her admonition--and it has been the most valuable writing tip I've ever gotten--was to assert that the most important thing, the news, should be said in the first paragraph, probably in the first sentence. Life is short and a reader may not have time to accompany you the rest of the way if his or her interest has not been engaged near the beginning. Audrey's tips were not restricted to writing but extended to other areas of life germane to a young man new to New York--things such as finding a place to live, how to order in fancy restaurants, and even courtship rituals. So, if Audrey wants to claim credit, as she often did (only partly with tongue-in-cheek), for my job, wife, kids, home, and career, then I am not going to argue with her. Audrey, wherever you are, thanks for everything. (Contributed by Phillip F. Schewe) William Kaufman, M.D., PH.D.Dr. William Kaufman, a physician and life member of NASW, died August 24. Born in New York City in 1910, Kaufman was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He received an M.A. in chemistry at the University of Michigan in l932, a Ph.D. in Physiology in l937, and an M.D. cum laude in l938. At the University of Michigan he did research in physiology, and later, at Yale Medical School, did research in electrocardiography. An internist in the private practice of medicine for many years in Connecticut, he later was an executive with a medical information company in New York City until his retirement in 1981. Kaufman was a prolific writer with many published articles dealing mostly with arthritis, nutrition, food allergy, and psychosomatic medicine. He served for many years as American editor-in-chief of the International Archives of Allergy and Applied Immunology. In addition, he wrote numerous articles for national popular magazines such as McCall's and Collier's. He also wrote a number of plays and was a lecturer and prize-winning artist. In the 1940s he published two important monographs about his work with the vitamin niacinamide, describing how niacinamide improved joint mobility, muscle strength and muscle working capacity, and greatly reduced or eliminated joint pain in hundreds of patients with debilitating osteoarthritis. Today, many physicians and scientists are confirming the significance of his discovery of the value of niacinamide. Nobel laureate Linus Pauling cited Kaufman as a pioneer in vitamin therapy for osteoarthritis and arthritis in his book How to Live Longer and Feel Better. Throughout his professional career, his wife of 60 years, Charlotte, was also his research associate. A communications specialist, Mrs. Kaufman shared her husband's many interests and their life together was a joyful and fascinating adventure. (Source: Obituary in the Winston-Salem
Journal) Dian Dincin BuchmanNASW member and a stalwart of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Dian Dincin Buchman died September 6 of lymphoma. A former ASJA president and the founder of the Council of Writers Organizations, she had a productive but too short life. Diane had many books to her credit, often in the altrenative health field. Recently, she brought two of her out-of-print books to iUniverse and was looking forward to their re-publication. (Source: ASJA Newsletter) |
Audrey Likely was a force field.
Longtime head of the public information department for the American
Institute of Physics (AIP), she died in New York in August at
the age of 85 after a long illness.