GS Class of 1978

Elaine Mary Margaret Bell ’78 AM, of Coudersport, Pa.; Mar. 11. She was a technical writer independently and for several firms throughout the Northeast. She wrote plays, short stories, song lyrics, and poetry over a span of 60 years. She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, a brother and sister-in-law, two nephews, and a cousin.

Steven A. Haaser ’78 AM, of Jonesborough, Tenn.; Nov. 15. He began his professional career at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a research scientist. He later worked as a biohydrologist for The Nature Conservancy. His final years of professional work were as a subcontractor to DOE supporting their environmental restoration program in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He enjoyed traveling, photography, gardening, growing orchids, music, and cooking. He is survived by his wife, Helen; two brothers-in-law; and a niece and nephews.

George T. Marshall ’78 AM, of Newport, R.I.;  Nov. 1. He was the founder and producing director of Flickers, the Newport Film Society & Arts Collaborative, a nonprofit organization producing arts programming and providing creative outlets for filmmakers and visual/performing artists. Flickers produces the acclaimed Rhode Island International Film Festival, one of only 19 film festivals in the world that qualifies films for the Short Films Academy Award in both the narrative and documentary categories. He specialized in branding and identity building, strategic planning, development of synthetic business relationships, nonprofit management, team building, writing and concept creation, program development, and marketing and public relations. He founded G.T. Marshall Communications, an agency specializing in creative advertising, video/film production, and collateral projects. From 1986 to 2000 he created, produced, and hosted the television program Between Takes, which earned national recognition. As a producer, director, and writer, he won five New England Emmy Awards, four national Telly awards, and three national Communicator Awards for Excellence. He taught mass media communications, film studies, television, field production, digital newsgathering, public speaking, and acting for camera courses at various colleges and universities throughout the area. He also served as a media/marketing consultant to businesses and nonprofit organizations and frequently contributed to industry panels and seminars exploring the evolution, culture, growth, and future of independent film and media literacy. In addition, he was a film professor at Roger Williams University (RWU) and taught at the University of Rhode Island. At RWU, he was instrumental in starting the film studies program after he began teaching as an adjunct professor in 1999. He also taught communications and public speaking courses at RWU. He is survived by his husband, Lawrence Andrade; a brother and sister-in-law; and a nephew.

Nina Perlina ’78 PhD, of Bloomington, Ind.; May 23, from complications following heart surgery. She helped create the Dostoevsky Literary Memorial Museum in Leningrad, where she worked until 1974. After emigrating to the U.S. and earning a Brown degree, she taught Russian literature at Macalester College and Rutgers University before joining the department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Indiana University. She authored several articles and books, including Writing the Siege of Leningrad: Women’s Diaries, Memoirs, and Documentary Prose; Varieties of Poetic Utterance: Quotation in The Brothers Karamazov; and Olga Freidenberg’s Works and Days. She is survived by two cousins.

Vito Buonomano ’78 ScM, of Narragansett, R.I.; June 6. A retired dentist. He served in the U.S. Army Dental Corp and was a member of the board of directors for St. Mary’s Home for Children. He volunteered at various local organizations and enjoyed carpentry, gardening, and spending time with his family. He is survived by his wife, Louise; five children; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.