In Memoriam WITH SORROW, THE UNIVERSIT Y NOTES THE PASSING OF
1930s Maurice R. Sternberg, OD ’38, passed away on June 13, 2019.
1940s E. Robert Libby, OD ’43, passed away on February 19, 2019. Richard M. Goldrosen, OD ’48, passed away on December 8, 2019, at age 91. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he lived in Somerset for the past 15 years. Dr. Goldrosen maintained an optometry practice in Elizabeth starting in 1952. For more than 60 years he was an active member of the Elizabeth Port Lions Club and the Westfield Lions Club. He was also an active member of the men’s clubs of Temple Israel and Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael. He is survived by his son, Neil (Melissa) of Bridgewater; his daughter, Bari-Kim Goldrosen of Somerset; two grandchildren; and a first cousin, Eugene Tendler. Milton Schiffman, OD ’49, passed away on February 10, 2019.
Gilda Coppola Crozier, OD ’43, FAAO (1921-2020) Gilda Coppola Crozier, OD ’43, FAAO, a trailblazer, innovator and teacher extraordinaire at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), passed away Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, at the age of 99. Dr. Crozier, wife of George H. Crozier, OD ’49 — who she met at PCO and taught upon his return from military service and who would later become associate dean of Academic Affairs and leave a lasting mark on PCO — began her academic career as a clinical instructor at the College before joining the faculty in the field of anatomy in 1945. Her father-in-law was John E. Crozier, OD, FAAO, a founding member of PCO. Her brother-in-law was John J. Crozier, OD ’48, FAAO, former vice president and dean of Student Affairs. Over the years, she taught ocular anatomy, micro anatomy, neuroanatomy and vertebrate embryology. Dr. Crozier developed and introduced a number of courses, including normal and abnormal development of the eye and ocular biology. Along with Dr. Onofrey “Rybie” Rybochok and Harold Simmerman, OD ’30, FAAO, Dr. Crozier was also responsible for changing the curriculum and introducing neuroanatomy at PCO, which continued thanks in part of the work of Lorraine Lombardi, PhD, professor emerita. “For those of us who had the privilege of being one of Dr. Crozier’s students, we will remember her as being incredibly intelligent, appropriately demanding, innovative,
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SALUS UNIVERSITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE
kind and very approachable,” said Salus president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE. “She, along with her husband Dr. George Crozier and his brother Dr. John Crozier, formed the backbone that helped to propel PCO to the forefront of optometric education.” Dr. Mittelman wasn’t the only future University president that Dr. Crozier taught. When Thomas L. Lewis, OD ’70, PhD, FAAO, arrived at PCO in 1966, both George and Gilda Crozier were among his teachers. “She taught in a way that didn’t make you feel intimidated. She was very caring and understanding, yet at the same time, she demanded that you learn the material,” said Dr. Lewis, who would go on to be president of PCO and later Salus University from 1989 to 2013 and who is now president emeritus. When Dr. Lewis returned to PCO in 1975 after graduation, he became department chair and worked closely with Dr. Crozier. Dr. Lewis and his wife Harriet became close friends of George and Gilda Crozier and the couples sometimes vacationed together. “She was almost like a second mother to me. And, George was maybe my closest friend at the time he passed away (in 1988),” said Dr. Lewis. “Gilda was just a special person. They often called her ’Saint Gilda’ because she was so kind and considerate to everybody. I never met anybody who would have a bad thing to say about her.” The family is asking for contributions to be made to the Crozier Memorial Scholarship Fund at Salus University. READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/GILDACROZIER
