Horace Mann - Spring 2010 - (Page 61)

H Memorials memorials versies (who was) best known for rulings in the 1970s and ’80s in the Southern District of New York that forced the city to come to grips with horrendous conditions in its jails and violations of the constitutional rights of prisoners that ‘would shock the conscience of any citizen who knew of them.’” Judge Lasker knew of jail conditions through his own visits to “the Tombs,” the notorious Manhattan House of Detention for Men, and to Rikers Island, the City’s prison complex in the East River, which housed thousands of detainees awaiting trials. In 1970, when the Legal Aid Society filed the first of many class-action lawsuits on behalf of inmates, prisoners faced acute overcrowding and regular beatings by guards. Judge Lasker ordered the city to improve conditions. In 1974, after repeated warnings the Judge ordered the Tombs closed. They were rebuilt and reopened in 1983, with windowed, air-conditioned cells, a library, a commissary, a nurse’s station, a television area and other amenities. In the 1980s the city spent $1 billion to expand and modernize jail facilities, but still had to house inmates on barges and in prefabricated structures. Judge Lasker ordered hundreds of inmates released or transferred to state prisons, and threatened officials with contempt when they resisted. Judge Lasker was born in Hartsdale, N.Y., on July 17, 1917. He graduated from Harvard in 1938 and Yale Law School in 1941. After serving in the Army Air Forces in World War II, he joined the New York law firm Battle, Fowler, Levy & Nearman. He was named to the federal bench by President Lyndon B. Johnson. When Judge Lasker’s retirement from full time judiciary service was mandated, he was reluctant to retire and took senior status in 1983. A decade later he was transferred to Massachusetts district court, moved there, and continued to work for 15 years. Judge Lasker never formally retired, but maintained a full court calendar until two years before his death, and presided over non-trial cases as a court-appointed mediator until last summer. Judge Lasker is survived by his wife, the former Helen Schubach, the couple’s four children, Harry M. Lasker III, David E. Lasker, Kristen Lasker, and Timothy W. Lasker, nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. orace Mann School mourns the deaths of the following members of our community. We invite readers to share their memories and reflections with one another in these pages by writing to alumni@horacemann.org. T. Ames Wheeler ’27 Smithsonian Financial Chief T. Ames Wheeler ’27, a retired treasurer and chief financial officer at the Smithsonian Institute, died of a heart attack on February 24, 2009 at the age of 97, in Washington D.C. Horace Mann School expresses condolences. Towson Wheeler joined the Smithsonian in 1968 and helped modernize the institution’s financial planning, accounting and business capabilities and upgraded museum restaurants and gift shops. Wheeler was responsible for introducing the popular catalogue sales of gift shop items, which became a model for the museum industry. He was recognized with the Smithsonian Secretary’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service upon his retirement in 1979. Wheeler graduated from Harvard in 1932 and from Harvard Business School in 1934. He worked in the steel industry for more than 25 years, serving as vice president-international at Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. in Pittsburgh before joining the Smithsonian. After retiring from the Smithsonian he volunteered for the International Executive Services Corps. Survivors include his wife of 72 years, Alma Wilson Wheeler, three daughters, Sue Mason, Sara Forster, and Laurie Brown, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Judge Morris Lasker ’34 HM Distinguished Alumnus Who Forced Prison Reform With sadness Horace Mann School reports the death of Judge Morris E. Lasker ’34, on December 29, 2009, in Cambridge, Mass, at the age of 92. Morris Lasker was a federal judge in New York and Massachusetts for four decades who was best known for forcing city officials to alleviate the brutal conditions in New York City jails and for upholding prisoners’ rights. In 2001 Judge Lasker shared the Horace Mann School Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement with Judge Helen Lehman Buttenwieser ’23. Judge Lasker joined the federal judiciary in 1967 and presided over many high-profile cases during his 25 years on the bench in Manhattan and nearly 15 years in Boston. Writing in The New York Times Robert McFadden described Judge Lasker as “a softspoken jurist who often found himself at the center of controphoto by Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe John Halpern ’35 Pianist and Arts Enthusiast Horace Mann School regrets to share news of the death of John Halpern ’35. Halpern, who lived in New York City, died on August 29, 2009 at the age of 91. Following HM he attended Dartmouth College and studied piano at The Julliard School of Music. He served in the U.S. Navy in WWII. He was a pianist, composer, linguist, poet, writer, photographer, food enthusiast and wit, and a friend and mentor to many. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Cecilia C. Halpern, his children Cecilia Morgan and John Halpern, Jr., five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2010 61

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Spring 2010

Horace Mann - Spring 2010
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento
Toward a Sustainable School, and a Sustainable Society
News of the School
Alumni Council Corner
Alumni News
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Spring 2010

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