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Hugh Goldhammer ’68

April 19, 2018, in Topeka, Kansas.

Hugh was the son of Earl Goldhammer ’35 and Elsie Willer Goldhammer, who worked as executive assistant to the president of Reed College from 1955 to 1965, serving under Acting President Frank Loxley Griffin [1954–56] and President Richard Sullivan [1956–67]. Three of Hugh’s uncles attended Reed, including Bernard Goldhammer ’37, who married Elsie after Earl’s death. Majoring in math, Hugh wrote his thesis, “Nets and Filters in Topology,” with Prof. Larry Edison [math 1964–70] advising and went on to graduate school at the University of Oregon. Tragically, while at Reed, Hugh contracted a schizoaffective disorder that afflicted him through the rest of his life. He worked for Kansas Power and Light Co. (later Westar) as a systems analyst for more than 20 years and enjoyed photography. For years, he contributed to the Bernard Goldhammer Fund endowment at Reed, which supports both the Bernard Goldhammer Grants for Research on Economics and Natural Resources, and the Bernard Goldhammer Memorial Lecture Fund, focusing on economics, public policy, and resource management.
Hugh is survived by his sister, Joan Hart.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2018

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