Harry Schey Obituary

Name: Service for Harry Schey
Start: 2018-01-18T20:00:00.000Z
Location: Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel

Harry M. Schey, PhD, 87 Devoted son of the late Jerome A. and Ruth Schey. Loving brother of Dr. William (the late Sandra Zennie) Schey. Fond cousin of numerous relatives in the Lawrence Block and Robert Schey families. Professor of mathematics and physics and a dear colleague within the Department of Mathematics and Physics at Rochester Institute of Technology. Author of one of the longest standing textbooks in mathematics and physics ("Div Grad Curl and All That") and numerous other publications in mathematics and physics. Service Thursday, 2:00 pm at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd (at Niles Center Road), Skokie. Interment is private. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com

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Published by Chicago Tribune from Jan. 16 to Jan. 17, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Harry Schey

4 Entries

david williams

April 29, 2024

for a couple of years, as a teenager, i had a job as a gopher for the Education Research Center in bldg 20 at MIT. Dr. Schey had an office at ERC and a large group of us often had lunch at a table at Walker Memorial. he was quite the comedian and i am sorry to learn of his passing, though what made me google him out of the blue is unclear. heady company at that lunch table...Tony French, Judah Schwartz, Edwin Taylor, Philip Morrison once or twice, Ben Greene, Stefan Machlup and maybe once or twice Jerrold Zacharias.

Timothy J. Maloney

December 10, 2022

Many of us at MIT in the late 1960s remember Harry as our professor in 8.02, a physics course that covered Electricity and Magnetism as well as Special Relativity. He was sharp, witty, well-prepared and very popular with students, who were unhappy to learn that he was untenured faculty and would not be at MIT for much longer. I'll never throw out my notes taken in 8.02 class because I wrote Harry's jokes in the margins, and they're still funny. He was full of surprises, such as the time in class when he put down the chalk and announced, "There will be a brief interlude." A string quartet with chairs and instruments had silently filed in. As Harry made the announcement, they took their seats and played a classical chamber music piece for a few minutes. After the applause, they left and Harry tried to continue the lecture as if nothing had happened, with limited success, until he told us they were from the MIT Orchestra and would be performing soon at Kresge Auditorium. On the occasion of our first hour exam in 8.02 (high drama in Walker Memorial, as shown in numerous vintage photos), Harry cheerfully announced, "There's no reason to be worried about this exam, nothing depends on it except your entire future." HUGE laugh--as I said, he was popular. The exam (and my future) was fine and I think of it whenever I encounter special relativity. Harry must have been developing material for his Div Grad Curl book (published 1973) during this time (1968), because his chalk drawings and explanations of the concepts during the E&M part of 8.02 were extremely lucid and enlightening. I learned of the book and bought it around 2012 in honor of my persistent memory of Harry's introduction of those ideas to us. I'm saddened to learn of Harry's passing, almost 5 years ago now; what a wonderful man.

Stephen Umans

February 16, 2018

I am totally shocked to hear of Harry's passing. He was dear friend, starting with my freshman year at MIT
in 1966. I first got to know him through the MIT orchestra where he played cello. So many memories!
We often ate dinner together, including at his home in Arlington where he would boil lobsters. Harry
drove with me in the equipment truck on an orchestra tour one year. He had an wonderful knowledge
of and love for classical music. He was really insightful and funny. On one orchestra tour, following a
visit to the Chicago Art Museum which was featuring a Picasso Exhibit, he walked out of the museum
with his glasses askew ... inspired by Picasso. When our children Dalya and Ari were small and Harry
lived in Rochester, my wife Denise and I would stop to visit with Harry on our way to visit my family
in Cleveland. We have a wonderful video of Harry giving us a "tour" of his home there. Harry was
a wonderful man and he is greatly missed.

Jane shunney

January 20, 2018

Dear Bill. It saddens me to learn of your recent losses. To lose your dear wife and then your brother is truly overwhelming. I recently lost my husband Bill and the grief is inexplainable. I pray the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. Sincerely Jane

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