Harold Aaron Wittcoff Ph.D.

Wittcoff, Harold Aaron, Ph.D. Born July 3, 1918 - Died March 11, 2013 Born in Marion, Indiana, resident of Minneapolis, New York, London and Omer, Israel. Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Acclaimed scientist, noted educator, author, lecturer and intrepid traveler. Dr. Wittcoff attended Marion High School, graduated magna cum laude from DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Northwestern University. He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of Harvard University and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Phi Eta Sigma honorary fraternities. Harold began working as a chemist for General Mills in 1943 and retired as Vice President and Director of Corporate Research in 1979. During this period he became the author/co-author of 130 patents and published the first of his eight books and more than 60 technical publications. Dr. Wittcoff was an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota from 1973 to 1982, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel from 1980 to 2005, lecturer at Oxford University, Oxford, U.K. and visiting professor at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand from 1995 to 2005. From 1979 until 1982 he was the Director of Research and Development at Koor Chemicals in Be'er Sheva, Israel. From 1982 to 2009 he served as the Director for Process Evaluation and Research Planning for Chem Systems of Tarrytown, NY, which became Nexant of White Plains, NY. As Scientific Adviser to Nexant, he developed more than 300 three-day short courses in industrial chemistry which he presented in twenty-eight countries around the globe. Harold Wittcoff was preceded in death by his parents, Morris Wittcoff and Bessie Pruss Wittcoff; and his sister, Nettie Wittcoff. He is survived by his wife of sixty-seven years, Dorothy Brochin Wittcoff; sons, Michael (Adele) Sherman, Ralph (Mikel Clifford) Wittcoff, and Ted (Cindy) Wittcoff; grandchildren, Ron Sherman, Mark Sherman, Wendy Downes, Michelle Kuhl, and Bessie Goldberg; and great-grandchildren Rebecca, Hannah and Ari Sherman, Jordan and Zeke Kuhl, and Odelya Goldberg. Funeral service Thursday 11 AM at ADATH JESHURUN CONGREGATION, 10500 Hillside Ln. W., Mtka. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Harold Wittcoff be made to the Dorothy and Harold Wittcoff Fund for Science Education at the Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park, MN 55416. SHIVA, Roitenberg Residence, 3610 Phillips Pkwy, St. Louis Park (Thurs. 6 PM and Sat. 7 PM). Hodroff-Epstein 612-871-1234 www.hodroffepstein.com