Kevin Charles Sontheimer

1938 - 2025

Kevin Charles Sontheimer was born March 6, 1938 and died at age 86 in Tucson, Arizona on February 3, 2025. He was the 11th and youngest child of Frederick W. Sontheimer and Mary I. Mitchell. Kevin grew up in the Elliott neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked his way through college at the University of Pittsburgh, earning a Bachelor's degree in Physics in May 1960. On July 4, 1960, he married Carol Ann Normand, also of Pittsburgh. He later earned a Master's degree in Economics from Penn State University (1963) and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota (1969). After holding faculty positions at Virginia Tech and SUNY-Buffalo, he moved to the Department of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh in 1978, where he served on the faculty until his retirement in 2006.

Throughout his career he pursued research in microeconomic theory with articles published in Econometrica and other top academic journals. He was also a visiting Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and at the University of Mannheim in Germany.

At Pitt, he served as department chair for eight years, where he made transformative contributions to faculty recruitment and other efforts. He also secured a Mellon Foundation grant to co-found the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE) at Charles University in Prague in 1991. After Czechoslovakia split into the Czech and Slovak Republics, Kevin also worked with Academia Istropolitana Nova and Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, helping to rejuvenate the teaching and study of economics in Eastern Europe at a time of tremendous economic transition. After retiring, he and Carol divided their time between Pittsburgh and Bradenton, Florida, and then moved to Tucson in December of 2013.

Kevin was an avid educator, youth math tutor, student, reader, world traveller, and food enthusiast. He enjoyed hiking, biking, backpacking, camping, and sailing. He was an accomplished scuba diver, reaching Rescue Diver certification and logging dives across the Caribbean Sea and Fiji. He was kind, selfless, and generous in every sense of the word. His remarkable life and accomplishments will remain bright in our memories, and continue to be felt both at home and abroad as his familial and professional legacies evolve and flourish.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Carol Sontheimer of Tucson; daughter Leigh Ellen Sontheimer of Tucson; son Erik Sontheimer and daughter-in-law Catherine Brekus of Newton, Massachusetts; son Steven Sontheimer and daughter-in-law Morgan Triplett of Sewickley, Pennsylvania; grandchildren Claire Sontheimer, Rachel Sontheimer, and Tanner Sontheimer; and brother Adrian ("Dink") Sontheimer and sister Sue Wilmot.

A gathering to celebrate Kevin's life will be held at a later date. Donations in Kevin's memory can be directed to the Alzheimer's Association, or to the Department of Economics at the University of Pittsburgh.