John Gilbert, ’62, spent the majority of his adult life entertaining Seattle audiences on the stage, especially as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. He trained at the UW drama school and went on to join the original acting ensembles at both the Seattle Repertory Theatre and Intiman Theatre in a career that spanned four decades. Gilbert was also an activist for social justice. He died in early November at the age of 67 after battling cancer and emphysema.

Communication Professor Deborah Kaplan was raised to approach social justice issues critically. Born in Chicago to activist journalist parents, Kaplan pursued degrees in sociology and journalism, joining the UW as associate professor of journalism three years ago. She brought many years of experience in the field of immersion journalism. She wrote her thesis on the homeless population in the American Southwest by living with them for extended periods of time. She covered the subject of illegal immigration by attempting to cross the border from Mexico to Texas in the middle of the night. Her focus was giving a voice to the disenfranchised Americans so often forgotten by the media. She had two book contracts and was writing about homelessness, politics and the media at the time of her death on Nov. 12. She was 53.

Harvey Manning, ’46, an outspoken conservationist and influential Northwest writer, died Nov. 12 of colon cancer. After receiving an English literature degree from the UW, Manning went on to work for the school in various communication jobs during the 1960s, including a stint as editor of The Washington Alumnus, the predecessor of Columns. Manning edited a different type of alumni magazine, one that often commented on social issues of that era. “In this spring of 1968, with President Lyndon Johnson warning us the coming summer will be longer and hotter than that of 1967, optimism is hard to come by. Perhaps no black man or white man who sees clearly into the future of race relations in the nation, the State of Washington, the City of Seattle—or the University of Washington—likes what he sees,” he wrote at the beginning of 1968. Manning’s nature writings, including 100 Classic Hikes in Washington, which he co-authored with Ira Spring, and The Wild Cascades, were his passion. The writing and photography in the latter book boosted efforts to create the North Cascades National Park. He was 81.

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Professor Emeritus Gary Tucker was a pioneer in the field of neuropsychiatry. He directed the psychiatry division of the Navy’s Aerospace Institute for three years and taught at Yale and Dartmouth before holding the position of chair of the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences for over a decade. He served as the head of seven national psychiatry organizations and wrote several books, including the definitive Behavioral Neurology. Even after his retirement in the late 1990s, Tucker continued to teach several days a week until a seizure and cardiac arrest left him brain-damaged three and a half years ago. He died Dec. 6 from long-term illness. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Sharon, two children and two grandchildren.

Walter B. Williams, ’43, took his father’s local company, Continental Mortgage and Loan Co., and expanded it as Homestreet Bank, with 30 branches in four states. But he never lost sight of his civic responsibilities. Williams served two years in the state House of Representatives and eight years in the state Senate, and in the 1980s chaired the bond campaign to revitalize the Woodland Park Zoo. He was president of several community service organizations, including the Rotary Club of Seattle and the Economic Development of Puget Sound. In 1997 he was named “First Citizen,” an award honoring outstanding public service in a King County resident. Williams died on Nov. 8 at 85 years of age. He is survived by their four children.