Shannon Tompkins:
The Chronicle’s Shannon Tompkins, who earned a master’s in public policy from Rice, was honored by the Texas Wildlife Association for lifetime achievement. Read more.
Lee Mary Kobayashi (1929-2021):
On July 10, Lee Mary Kobayashi passed away. A native Texan, she earned a BA from Rice in 1950 and a Master’s in Library Science and a PhD (ABD) in Children’s Literature. She “worked as a school teacher, medical research librarian and school librarian sharing her love of learning with everyone she met”. Also, she was an active Rice alumna as a charter member and former president of the Rice Historical Society and a very involved member of the Faculty Women’s Club.
In 1951, she was married to Wally Lovejoy ‘50. After his unexpected passing in 1970, she married Riki Kobayashi ’44, the long-time distinguished Chemical Engineering professor. He predeceased her in 2013. She “was a truly fine, wonderful person and will be mourned by many”. Click here for the Chronicle obituary.