The New York Times - 30.07.2019

B12 N THE NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARIESTUESDAY, JULY 30, 2019

In the mid-1950s, early in his ca-
reer as a fashion designer, Arthur
McGee had an identity problem of
sorts.
“When I’d go to look for lines of
fabric, I’d go to the fabric com-
pany, and they’d say, ‘Well,
where’s the designer?’ ” he re-
called decades later when he was
being honored by the Metropoli-
tan Museum of Art. “They’d walk
right by me. And I’d say, ‘It’s me.’ ”
The slight, it seemed, was be-
cause of the color of his skin:
Black designers were exceedingly
rare at the time. As Newsweek put
it in 1992, “Until recently, African-
Americans were easy to find in the
garment industry: They were the
ones pushing the racks of dresses
along Seventh Avenue.”
Mr. McGee, who died on July 1
at a nursing home in Manhattan,
was a pioneer on that street, the
heart of the city’s fashion indus-
try: He was thought to be the first
black designer to run the design
room of an established Seventh
Avenue concern, the Bobbie
Brooks line. The cultural historian
Aziza Braithwaite Bey, who once
worked for Mr. McGee, said that
he died after a long illness result-
ing from a series of aneurysms.
He was 86.
Mr. McGee was a quiet force in
the business for decades, dressing
celebrities as well as creating
functional clothes for retail outlets
like Saks Fifth Avenue, Blooming-
dale’s and Bonwit Teller. Dr. Bey
said Mr. McGee had a talent for
blending ancient cultures and
contemporary style.
“His classic designs, whether
created in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s or
’90s, could be worn today,” she
said.
Along the way he mentored
other designers of color.
“Arthur was not a firebrand,”
Harold Koda, the former curator
in charge at the Costume Institute
of the Metropolitan Museum of

Art, said by email. “Instead his

confidence in his own talents was

like water seeping into the hard

rock of racism — effortless seem-

ing, but effective in breaking

through.”

Dr. Bey was one of those who

benefited from his guidance.

“He mentored working design-

ers and fashion students nation-

ally and internationally,” she said

by email. “He was my mentor

when I returned from studying

haute couture in Paris in 1965. He

taught me important skills of the

trade and how to navigate in a

fairly inhospitable industry.”

Though Mr. McGee helped

bring more diversity to the busi-

ness, he was clear in how he

wanted to be defined.

“We are not ‘black’ designers

but American designers, the way

Bill Blass is an American de-

signer,” he told Newsweek. “As

soon as you categorize us, you can

erase us.”

Arthur Lee McGee was born on

March 25, 1933, in Detroit. His fa-

ther, George, worked in road con-

struction. He cited his mother,

Rose, who was a skilled clothes

maker, as his earliest influence.

“She could make anything,” he

said in 2009 in a video made by the

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“She would take a piece of news-

paper and make it into a pattern,

then make a garment out of it.”

At 18, Mr. McGee won a design

competition sponsored by the

Traphagen School of Fashion in

Manhattan, earning him a schol-

arship to study there, and he also

attended the Fashion Institute of

Technology. His mother had loved

hats, and as a teenager he had

made her some, so he was put in

the millinery division there.

“I stayed in school for maybe

six months, then I quit,” he re-

called in the video, “because they

said to me, ‘There’s no jobs for a

black designer.’ ”

He had begun working for the

designer Charles James while still

at the institute, and was also doing

his own designing. In the early

1960s he opened a shop on St.

Marks Place in Manhattan. Later

he had a store in Miami. In the late

1960s and early 1970s he was head

designer for College Town of Bos-

ton and other lines.

Prominent figures from the

Dance Theater of Harlem, Broad-

way and Hollywood began to seek

him out. Cicely Tyson, an actress

who was once a fashion model,

was among the fans of his clothes.

“When I wore them, I always

felt like I was floating,” she said in

2009 at a tribute to him organized

by the Costume Institute.

In a 2018 episode of the PBS se-

ries “Antiques Roadshow,” some-

one brought in an outfit that Mr.

McGee had made for the saxo-

phonist Dexter Gordon to wear to

the Academy Awards when he

was nominated for an Oscar for

the 1986 film “ ’Round Midnight.”

Laura Woolley, the expert who as-

sessed the outfit, appraised it at

$5,000.

When not designing for celebri-

ties, Mr. McGee kept practicality

in mind.

“These clothes were all at a cer-

tain price range,” he said in the

2009 video, describing his gen-

eral-public designs, “and you

could always wear them, and you

could get new ones added to the

old ones. And that’s the way the

market looked then. Now you

can’t wear any of the stuff that you

buy; it costs two arms and three

legs, plus some more. It just does-

n’t work.”

Mr. McGee’s survivors include

a brother, Gordon.

Mr. Koda, who was leading the

Costume Institute when Mr.

McGee was honored, recalled a

particular creation.

“A quintessential design of Ar-

thur’s is an evening dress made

for a favored client,” he said. “He

had acquired an astonishing

length of mud cloth with its char-

acteristic airy, calligraphic geom-

etries. He whipped it into a ball

gown skirt with a sumptuous

shoulder wrap to be worn with a

shell or a sweater. Like a perfect

jazz riff, it was a spontaneous, un-

forced expression of its parts: the

relaxed vocabulary of American

sportswear animated by the aes-

thetics of African tradition.”

Arthur McGee, Fashion Designer Who Helped Diversify Industry, Dies at 86

A black evening dress that Mr. McGee designed, fourth from the left, at the Museum at F.I.T.

THE MUSEUM AT FIT

Arthur McGee, right, with another designer, Ed Austin, at a

party at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1979.

MARILYNN K. YEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

By NEIL GENZLINGER

A talent for blending

ancient cultures and

contemporary style.

Keith Lincoln, a star of the San
Diego Chargers in their early
years, whose sensational per-
formance in the 1963 American
Football League championship
led them to the only title in their
history, died on Saturday in a hos-
pital in Pullman, Wash. He was 80.
His son Lance said the cause
was congestive heart failure.
Lincoln was a slashing running
back and talented receiver who in
1963 had the best of his three sea-
sons with the Chargers, who had
drafted him out of Washington
State University.
The Chargers were an elite
franchise in the A.F.L., which was
established in 1960 to challenge
the long-established N.F.L. Sid
Gillman, the Chargers’ head
coach, devised an offense featur-
ing Lincoln, the flanker Lance Al-
worth and the halfback Paul
Lowe.
In the 1963 championship game,
at Balboa Stadium in San Diego,
the Chargers faced the Boston Pa-
triots, who had one of the league’s
top defenses. (They were re-
named the New England Patriots
in 1971.) The game became Lin-
coln’s stage.
On San Diego’s first series, Lin-
coln ran for 56 yards, setting up
the Chargers’ first touchdown. On
his second carry in a subsequent
series, he took a pitchout from the
quarterback Tobin Rote and
scampered 67 yards for a touch-
down. With the Chargers leading

the Patriots, 38-10, he scored a

second touchdown on a 25-yard

pass from John Hadl, Rote’s

backup. The Chargers won, 51-10.

“The whole game plan was built

around him because of the de-

fense Boston had,” Alworth said in

an article about Lincoln that was

posted on the Chargers’ website

on Sunday. “They were keeping us

from running wide with Paul

Lowe, so we were running right

up the middle on them and faking

wide — going up the middle — and

it was working.” Lincoln, he add-

ed, “had a good day.”

Lincoln accounted for 349 yards

— rushing for 206, catching pas-

ses for 123 and completing a pass

for 20 — a record for an A.F.L. or

N.F.L. player that stood until 1971,

when Ed Podolak of the Kansas

City Chiefs gained 350 yards run-

ning, receiving and returning

kickoff and punt returns in a divi-

sional playoff game against the

Miami Dolphins.

The Chargers returned to the

A.F.L. championship game the

next season, facing the Buffalo

Bills. Lincoln started well, burst-

ing through the Bills’ defense for a

38-yard run that helped the Char-

gers take the lead, 7-0. But mid-

way through the first quarter, Lin-

coln broke a rib on a crunching

tackle by Mike Stratton, a Bills

linebacker. Lincoln did not return,

and the Bills won the title, 20-7.

“Buffalo still loves that hit,” Lin-

coln said with a laugh in an inter-

view with the newspaper The

Spokesman-Review in Spokane,

Wash., in 1995.

Keith Payson Lincoln was born

on May 8, 1939, in Reading, Mich.,

and moved to Monrovia, Calif.,

when he was young. His father,

Payson, was a rancher, and his

mother, Ernestine, was a home-

maker. Keith turned down a schol-

arship from U.C.L.A. to attend

Washington State, in Pullman,

where he set what were then ca-

reer records for rushing and punt-

ing average at the university.

While there, he was nicknamed

the Palouse Moose, a reference to

a pastoral region in the North-

west.

Lincoln was drafted by the

Chargers and the Chicago Bears

of the N.F.L. in 1961 and chose to

play nearer to home. He recalled

scrimmaging against the Bears as

a member of the College All-Star

team before a preseason game in

1961 against the Philadelphia Ea-

gles.

“We kicked the hell out of

them,” he told The Spokesman-

Review.

It was the ideal attitude for the

rivalry between the A.F.L. and

N.F.L., which announced their

merger in 1966 but did not finalize

it until 1970.

Lincoln never played in the

combined league. He was traded

to the Bills in 1967, where he had a

productive season, but they

waived him near the end of the

1968 season, and he returned to

the Chargers, where he played in

one game.

Over eight seasons, he rushed

for 3,383 yards and caught passes

totaling 2,250 yards. He was a two-

time All-Pro selection.

After retiring, he was an assist-

ant coach at the University of

Idaho and then at Washington

State in the early 1970s. Soon after,

he was hired as associate director

of Washington State’s alumni as-

sociation and in 1978 became its

executive director, serving until

2003.

In addition to Lance, who was

named after Alworth, Lincoln is

survived by another son, Keith,

who is known as Kip, and five

grandchildren. His wife, Bonnie

Jo (McKarcher) Lincoln, died this

year.

After the Chargers’ victory in

the 1963 A.F.L. title game, one of

the losing Patriots had nothing

but praise for Lincoln.

“Lincoln is the best back in the

league — bar none,” Bob Dee, a de-

fensive end, said. “About five of us

hit him and couldn’t bring him

down.”

Keith Lincoln, 80, Chargers Running Back

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

Lincoln, a two-time All-Pro selection in the A.F.L., being pursued

by Sherrill Headrick of the Dallas Texans during a game in 1962.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Racking up 349 yards

in the team’s only

championship victory.

Keith Lincoln set records at

Washington State University.

WASHINGTON STATE ATHLETICS

Fabrikant, Michael

Flintoft, Ann

Friedman, Ben-Ami

Grossman, Robert

Heller, Agnes

Jacobs, Howard

Kessler, Bruce

Klinger, David

Rosenblum, Rhoda

Stone, Richard

Talmadge, Jonathan

Wolff, Rosalie

FABRIKANT—Michael J,

died at his home, with his

wife, Carol Dallos at his side.

Predeceased by first wife, Eli-

zabeth MacDonald. Survived

by daughter, Jane Amsden

and son Peter Fabrikant and

granddaughter Eleanor Am-

sden, step-daughter Lisa Dal-

los, step-sons Andrew Dallos

(Laurie) and Jeffrey Dallos,

grandchildren, Annalese,

Jared, Adrienne, Ashley and

Emily Dallos. Memorial ser-

vice at a later date. Dona-

tions can be made to Central

Park Conservancy or to

Martha's Vineyard Hospital.

FLINTOFT—Ann Mack.

1942-2019. Our mom, Omi, sis-

ter, aunt and great friend

passed away peacefully at

home. Beloved wife of the

late Gerald James, she

leaves behind her sister Hilla

Benson, her sons Mark (An-

ja), Gerald Patrick (Janette)

and Thomas (Ingrid), and her

grandchildren Chelsea, Ste-

fan, Collin, Caroline, Aidan,

Benno and Alex. A service

will be held on Friday, August

2 at 10am at St. Joseph's

Church, 404 East 87 Street. In

lieu of flowers, please consi-

der a donation to The St. Da-

vid's School, The Alzheimer's

Association or Visiting Nurse

Service of NY.

FRIEDMAN—Ben-Ami,

city planner, avid gardener,

and self-taught historian, died

on Sunday, July 21, 2019 at Mt.

Sinai Hospital surrounded by

his family. Born on April 10,

1935 in Boyle Heights, Los An-

geles, CA, Ben-Ami was the

sonofMeyerandAdina

Friedman who escaped the

pogroms in Eastern Europe.

As a leader in Habonim Dror,

he grew up with the ideology

of Tikkun Olam, Hebrew for

“mending the world” and fo-

cused his career on commu-

nity/urban revitalization and

historical/environmental pre-

servation. He attended Roos-

evelt High School, Cal Poly

SLO and USC and worked at

the Pasadena Redevelop-

ment Agency, Great Western

United Corporation, William

L.PereiraAssociates,the

PortAuthorityNewYork/

New Jersey, and New York

City Office of Strategic Plan-

ning. Later in life, he dedicat-

ed his efforts to preserving a

beautiful watershed in Otse-

go County, New York, envi-

sioning the Butternut Valley

Alliance. He is survived by his

wife, Carla, four children: Jes-

sica, of Davis, CA; Ilana and

her husband Bryan of Bea-

con, NY; Jacoband his

wife Robin of Scarsdale, NY;

and Matthew and his wife

Laura of New York, NY; and

four grandchildren: Asher,

Charles, Samara and Sage.

In lieu of flowers, donations

may be made in his name to

the Butternut Valley Alliance,

111 County Highway 10, Mor-

ris, NY 13808.

GROSSMAN—Robert.

Died peacefully on July 28,

2019. Survived by his wife Su-
      san and children Eric and
      Lori Grossman, Cheryl and
      the late Richard Sloofman,
      Jill and Greg Blum. Grand-
      children Dan, Nicole, Adam,
      LisaandJoshGrossman,
      ScottandJakeSloofman,
      Alex andMatthewBlum,
      four great-grandchildren and
      brother Michael Grossman.
      Services Wednesday, July 31,
      1:45pm at Sinai Chapel, 162-05
      Horace Harding Expressway,
      Fresh Meadows, New York.

HELLER—Agnes.

The New School for Social

Research mourns the loss of

Agnes Heller, Professor

Emerita of Philosophy and

world-renowned philosopher.

A Holocaust survivor,

Budapest School core mem-

ber, and dissident in commu-

nist Hungary, she went into

exile and later taught at NSSR

for 25 yearsasHannah

Arendt Professor of Philosop-

hy. Her intellect, courage, and

unflinching advocacy for

liberal democracywillbe

missedbycolleagues, stu-

dents, and supporters from

around the globe.

David Van Zandt, President,

The New School

Tim Marshall, Provost,

The New School

William Milberg, Dean,

The New School for

Social Research

Faculty, The New School

for Social Research

JACOBS—Howard Spencer.

Howard died peacefully on

July 27 after a brief illness

surrounded by his loving fa-

mily. He is survived by his

wife, Arlene, daughters Lau-

ra and Michelle, their hus-

bands Bob Girvin and Randy

Prager, his sister Phyllis

Smith and brother-in-law

Robert. ServicesTuesday,

July30,1pm,Gutterman's

Memorial Chapel, Woodbury,

NY.

JACOBS—Howard.

To our childhood friend,

we've shared many happy

memories. You will be deeply

missed.

Hedy & Arthur Goldberg

KESSLER—Bruce.

Born in Brooklyn on Februa-

ry 1940, died, July 2019. Play-

wright at La Mama,

1963-1971. Memorial TBA.

KLINGER—David.

Passed away at 91. Beloved

husbandofGloria.Loving

father of Alan (Susan) and

Robyn (Jeff) Klinger Winik.

Devoted grandfather of

Zachary, Sara, Jesse, Joshua

and Emily. Cherished compa-

nion of Harriet Rosenberg.

Respected podiatrist, adored

by patients, friends and fami-

ly alike. Services Thursday,

August 1, 2019 at11am,

Temple Israel of Great Neck,

108 OldMillRoad,Great

Neck, NY. For information

contact Riverside Nassau

North Chapels, (516) 487-9600.

KLINGER—David.

UJA-Federation of New York

mourns the passing of David

Klinger, beloved father and

father-in-law of our friends

Alan M. Klinger and Susan D.

Wagner. We extend our con-

dolences to the entire family.

Amy A. B. Bressman,

President; David L. Moore,

Chair of the Board;

Eric S. Goldstein, CEO

ROSENBLUM—Rhoda.

Rhoda died peacefully after a

short illness on July 29, 2019,

surrounded by her loving fa-

mily. She is survived by her

husband, Dr. Charles, sons,

Kenneth (Tara), Jay (Robin)

and Daniel, and her beloved

grandchildren, Jacob, Mi-

chael, Jane and Maxine. She

is also survived by her broth-

er, Arthur Conning, and her

nephew and niece. Rhoda de-

voted her life to making a dif-

ference in the lives of every-

onesheencountered,and

especially in the lives of the

childrenandfamiliesshe

servedinherprofessional

career. A service will be held

on Wednesday, July 31, 2019

at 12pm, Riverside Memorial

ChapelinManhattan,fol-

lowed by a private burial.

STONE—Richard Bernard,

loving husband to Marlene

Stone for 51 years of mar-

riage, cherished father,

grandfather and great -

grandfather, devoted brother

and dear friend to so many,

passed away peacefully in his

sleep July 28, 2019. He was the

eldest son of Alfred and Lily

Stone born on September 22,

1928, in Brooklyn, NY and

raised in Miami Beach, Flori-

da. Richard grew up one of

five brothers (Nathaniel,

Robert, Joseph and Benja-

min) living in the Blackstone

Hotel, which was built by his

father and grandfather. His

grandfather was turned away

from many hotels on Miami

Beach because he was Jew-

ish. He determined to build

theBlackstonetoaddress

these restrictivepractices.

Richard attended Dade Coun-

ty Public Schools until during

thewarheconvincedhis

parents to send him to Geor-

gia Military College in Mil-

ledgeville, Georgia to com-

plete his high school educa-

tion. He attended and gra-

duated with honors from Har-

vard College and Columbia

Law School. He returned to

his home state and was ad-

mitted to the Florida Bar in

1955.HemarriedMarlene

Singer on June 30, 1957 who

was the love of his life and his

invaluablecompanionuntil

her passing on August 29th,

2008. Forty years of public life
      took the Stones from Miami,
      to Tallahassee, to Washing-
      ton, D.C. and to Denmark. He
      practiced law with his friend
      and partner, Jordan Bittel at
      the firm they formed, Stone
      andBittel.Duringhislaw
      career he also served as Mia-
      miCityAttorney.In1967,
      when a new Florida Senate
      seat was created in District
      48, Richard resigned as Mia-
      mi City Attorney (1966-67) to
      begin his campaign for the
      Senate seat. He served as
      Florida State Senator
      (1967-70) In 1970 he ran for
      and won statewide election to
      serve as Florida's Secretary
      of State until 1974. Richard
      Stone had the distinction of
      being the first Jewish Senator
      from the south elected by
      popular vote, serving as Flor-
      ida's U.S. Senator from 1975-


2009. Upon leaving the Sen-
      ate,Stone'spublicservice
      continued as Ambassador at
      Large for Central America
      under President Ronald Rea-
      gan and Ambassador to Den-
      mark under President
      George H.W. Bush. Richard
      Stonechampionedpolicies
      and laws which continue to
      have a positive impact today
      Some of his many accom-
      plishmentswereoriginally
      sponsoring the government
      in the sunshine laws, cleaning
      up of the Miami River, co-
      sponsoring the Taiwan Rela-
      tionsAct,sponsoringthe
      creation of a US embassy in
      Vatican City, negotiating for
      peace in El Salvador as Am-
      bassador at Large in Central
      America. As Ambassador to
      Denmark he honored mem-

bers of the Danish Resistance

during WWII. Even after retir-

ing from politics, Stone advo-

cated for the passage of a

Senate resolution recognizing

the international importance

of the cleanup of the Jordan

River. Richard Stone was a

mentortomany,listening

and giving empathetic coun-

sel. He also enjoyed weekly

Bible studies with family for

many years led by Rabbi Da-

vid Rose and Rabbi Barr. He

leavesbehindhischildren

Nancy and Joel Poznansky,

Amelia Stone, Elliot and Bon-

nie Stone and his five grand-

children William Poznansky

(NaSheena), David Poznan-

sky, Deborah Poznansky, Lily

Stone, Elizabeth Stone, and

great - granddaughterLena

Poznansky, daughter of Wil-

liam and NaSheena. His sur-

viving brothers and sisters-in-

law Nathanial Stone (Bever-

ly), Robert Stone (Lynn) and

Cheri Stone. Funeral services

will be held on Wednesday,

July 31st, at 11am at Etz Hay-

im, 2920 Arlington Blvd., Ar-

lington, Virginia 22204. Inter-

ment at King David Memor-

ial Gardens. Family will be

observing shiva at the res-

idence of Nancy and Joel

Poznansky starting Wednes-

day afternoon. In lieu of flow-

ers, please honor his memory

with contributions to the Jew-

ish Museum of Florida or the

charity of your choice.

TALMADGE—Jonathan.

It is with great sadness that

Jonathan's family announces

his death. An Emmy Award

winning writer and news pro-

ducer, Jonathan is survived

byhismother,hissister,

Micki, and his two nieces,

Sophie and Hannah.

WOLFF—Rosalie Solow:

July 4th, 1930 to July 29th,

2019. Of Scarsdale and Man-
      hattan. The family of Rosalie
      Solow Wolff mourns the pass-
      ing of their beloved mother,
      grandmother and sister. Ro-
      salie was the director of the

SolowArt&Architecture

Foundation. She was a Phi

BettaKappa graduateof

Washington Square College,

and earned an MFA from the

Institute of Fine Arts, where

she was ABD in Egyptology.

At the age of 60, she entered

Yale University as a PhD stu-

dent in renaissance art. This

was soon after she was the

first to identify a painting by

the great Renaissance pain-

ter Sandro Botticelli. Portrait

of a Young Man holding a

Medallion (c. 1480-1485) now

resides at the Metropolitan

Museum of Art, after a long

residence at the National Gal-

lery in Washington, DC,

where it hung next to a paint-

ing by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The painting was part of the

National Gallery's landmark

exhibition Virtue and Beauty,

in 2001. In her earlier years,

Wolff worked at the Jewish

TheologicalSeminary,the

publishing house R.R. Bow-

ker, and also at The Jewish

Museum, where she helped

curate a show by Marc Cha-

gall and, according to lore,

used to take walks with him in

Central Park — where he

would sketch her. The Rosa-

lie Solow Chair in Modern Art

History was established at

the IFA in 2002. Survivors in-

clude her children Lawrence

Wolff and Jennifer Wolff, and

threegrandchildrenGillian

and Harrison Wolff and Zoe

Perrine. Services will be held

at Riverside Memorial Cha-

pel, 180 W 76th Street on

Tuesday, July 30th 2pm. Shi-

va to follow on Tuesday and

Wednesday.

MAKOS—Jill Klepper.

Always remembered

and loved.

James Makos

WITENKO—Barbara.

Girlfriend, still miss you like

crazy, Happy Birthday.

Love, Diana

Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths

In Memoriam