For Immediate Release


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Pitzer College Mourns Longtime Benefactor Jean Pitzer

Claremont, Calif., June 5, 2000 -- Jean Elizabeth Mosher Pitzer, a dear friend and 
longtime supporter of Pitzer College, died of natural causes in her Berkeley, Calif., home 
in April.  She was 86.
Mrs. Pitzer was the wife of the late Kenneth S. Pitzer, whose father Russell K. 
Pitzer, was a founding trustee of Pitzer College in 1963, and a benefactor of Pomona 
Valley Hospital and many other local causes. Kenneth Pitzer, who died Dec. 26, 1997, 
served as president of Stanford and of Rice universities and as dean of the College of 
Chemistry at U.C. Berkeley. He gained a national reputation as a researcher in the fields 
of physical and theoretical chemistry, where he was known for his work predicting the 
thermodynamic properties of molecules. 
Mrs. Pitzer was born Sept. 2, 1914, in Pomona, Calif., the youngest of three 
daughters.  Her father was a local high school teacher and principal.  She attended 
Pomona Junior College and Pomona College, graduating in 1935 with a degree in 
sociology.  She married Kenneth Pitzer, her high school sweetheart, in July 1935.  
(more)
Jean Pitzer Obituary/add 1-1-1

The couple moved to Berkeley, where Mrs. Pitzer later took up archeology and published 
several papers.
"Mrs. Pitzer had deep roots in this area," said Pitzer College President Marilyn 
Chapin Massey. "With brilliance and humor, she would describe to me her memories of 
escaping the dorm at Pomona early in the morning and walking through the beauty of 
what is now the Bernard Field Station.  Pitzer is most grateful for her generosity, 
especially her and her husband's gift of the Jean M. Pitzer Professorship in 
Anthropology."
She is survived by her three children -- Ann E. Pitzer of La Jolla, Calif.; John S. 
Pitzer of McLean, Va., and Russell S. Pitzer of Columbus, Ohio -- and five 
grandchildren.  Russell Pitzer is a trustee of Pitzer College.
The family has asked that any memorial donations be to the Archeological 
Conservatory, 5301 Central Ave. NE, Suite 1218, Albuquerque, N.M., 87108.
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