McGinnis, Bucci, LaDuke, Rescher, Simmons, Beck, Posvar, Reichblum, Donley, Rocco, Snyder, Rierson

Gerald “Jerry” McGinnis, 89
A celebrated biomedical engineer, McGinnis turned a fledgling medical device company founded in his kitchen in 1976 into Respironics, a global empire that was later bought by Royal Phillips for $1.5 billion. He was the inventor of the first mass-produced breathing machine — a device now used worldwide for sleep apnea and one of his 12 patents. McGinnis first managed Westinghouse’s bioengineering department, researching ways to produce an artificial heart. As the director of surgical research at Allegheny General Hospital, he was interested in developing technology that could improve patient care. Known for his commitment to safety, McGinnis was upset by recent evidence that Royal Phillips knew the breathing machines could release hazardous chemicals.

Linda Bucci, 78
For years, Ruth Young was the boutique of choice for fashionable women in Shadyside. Linda Bucci partnered with Young in 1999, buying her out three years later, continuing the tradition of selling elegant clothing. She also employed many women who had worked in fashion elsewhere, including Saks Fifth Avenue, which closed its Pittsburgh store in 2011, a year before Bucci closed Linda Bucci Boutique after a 15-year run. Bucci was active in the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, Humane Animal Rescue, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Public Theatre and Civic Light Opera.

Lance LaDuke, 56
LaDuke’s passion for music was enhanced at Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in music education. He played the euphonium and trombone in the Air Force Band in Washington, D.C., where he had top security clearance and played for presidents. He can be seen in the movie A Clear and Present Danger. LaDuke moved to Pittsburgh to join the River City Brass Band and later toured extensively with Boston Brass, an internationally renowned brass quintet. His career culminated at Carnegie Mellon University, where he served as an assistant teaching professor of euphonium and the director of the Modern Musicking Lab.

Nicholas Rescher, 95
An internationally renowned philosopher who helped establish the University of Pittsburgh’s philosophy program as one of the world’s best, Rescher came to America at age 10 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. At 22, he became Princeton’s youngest-ever Ph.D. in philosophy. Rescher was at Pitt for more than 60 years, publishing over 200 articles and 100 philosophical books, 22 of which have been translated into 11 languages. He was awarded honorary degrees by eight universities on three continents, and elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, and many more. In his 60s, he added Spanish to his knowledge of Arabic, English, French, Latin and German, and in his 80s, he took up contract bridge and became a National American Bridge Championship Master.

Gwendolyn Simmons, 98
A Virginia native, she graduated with honors from Virginia Union University and received an M.A. from Mount Holyoke College, later teaching at Allen University and South Carolina State. She spent more than 40 years as a community volunteer, chairing the Washington County Hospital Authority and serving on the boards of the Urban League of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Southwestern Pennsylvania Easter Seal Societies, the Mon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, Monongahela Valley Hospital, the Washington County Historical Society, Washington and Mon Valley YWCAs, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services, Pittsburgh Multicultural Arts Initiative, and as president of the Mon Valley United Way.

Nancy Flaherty Beck, 84
The former first lady of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1977, Beck was married to the late Mayor Pete Flaherty. After their divorce, she became a Howard Hanna Real Estate agent and later served as director of development for The Abraxas Foundation, which assists those with addiction. From 1982 through 1990, she was the executive director for the Extra Mile Education Foundation. Beck was instrumental in working with the foundation to fund inner-city Catholic schools, helping thousands of children of every denomination get a better education.

Mildred Miller Posvar, 98
She was a glamorous opera star who performed 21 roles during a legendary 24-season career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The mezzo-soprano’s signature role was the page Cherubino in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, which she repeated 60 times. She also appeared regularly on The Bell Telephone Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show. But in Pittsburgh, she was the wife of former Pitt Chancellor Wesley Posvar, moving here in 1967. While busy as the official hostess for Pitt, and a mother of three, she founded Pittsburgh Opera Theater, now called Pittsburgh Festival Opera, to support young singers. Many, including Renee Fleming, went on to major careers. Posvar also taught voice at CMU, retiring at 95.

Charles “Chuck” Reichblum, 95
His nickname was “Dr. Knowledge” (his wife and sidekick Audrey was “Miss Information”) and he was virtually a human encyclopedia with a lifelong habit of collecting facts. Reichblum shared them through his syndicated newspaper columns and radio broadcasts for KDKA and the CBS Radio Network, as well as in the dozen books he wrote. At the time of his death, he was promoting his magnum opus, The All-Time Book of Fascinating Facts, the final of his Knowledge in a Nutshell and Dr. Knowledge Presents books. He was also still broadcasting a weekly “daily minute” on KDKA every night. Reichblum earned a degree in radio broadcasting from Syracuse University where in 1947 he co-founded (Reichblum graduated in ‘48) WAER on campus as the first low-power FM radio station in the country.

Richard Donley, 73
Donley was a hang glider, classic car and boat enthusiast, woodworker, trumpeter who marched with his high school band in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, squash and tennis player and scuba diver who met his wife, Maribeth Donahue, while on the water ski team at the University of Miami. He worked first at Westinghouse and then in commercial real estate, eventually starting his own development company and winning several Developer of the Year awards from NAIOP. The father of 10 was known for his generosity, sense of humor and ability to fix anything in his basement workshop.

Therese Rocco, 97
During her 45-year tenure with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, from her start as a 19-year-old clerk to her retirement as the first woman to rise to the rank of assistant chief in the city, Rocco crossed every barrier. She started in the missing persons division, and that’s where her heart remained. It’s estimated that she helped reunite thousands of children with their parents and caretakers through the decades. She joined the bureau at a time when women weren’t given uniforms or guns and everyone in the missing persons section was female. Ms. Rocco became a sworn officer in 1952 and became a captain and then commander in 1986. In 2009, the conference room in police headquarters on the North Side was dedicated as the Therese L. Rocco Conference Room.

Dan Snyder, 63
Everyone who dined at the Duquense Club knew Dan Snyder. But more importantly, Snyder knew everyone. For 31 years he greeted members, and often their guests, by name as they arrived at the Duquense Room. He had an extraordinary memory for faces, families and friends. As Director of Dining Room Services, he did so much more, overseeing a la carte dining, training staff and sharing his knowledge of wine. His dedication to the club was profound ­— he rarely took a vacation and worked until the day before he died.

Hannah “Nancy” Richmond Rierson, 94
Hers was a life filled with world travel and a love of learning. She worked as the director of communications for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Chatham before starting her own public relations firm in Pittsburgh. Rierson served as a trustee of Wheaton College and The Ellis School and was a member of the Garden Club of Allegheny County and the Garden Club of Dublin, New Hampshire. She was awarded a prestigious Garden Club of America award for Garden History and Design and volunteered as a docent for several botanical gardens, which she also photographed as a hobby.