In Memoriam

PEOPLE WE HAVE LOST

Don Bourque

Professor Emeritus d. October 12, 2022

Don Bourque, age 79, died on October 12, 2022, peacefully at home in Depoe Bay, Oregon. He grew up in Long Island, New York, son of Philippe and AnnaBelle Bourque.

A 1960 graduate of West Babylon High School in New York, he received his BA in Biology from Johns Hopkins University and his MS and PhD in Botany/Zoology/Biochemistry from Duke University. In 1973, Don joined the University of Arizona faculty, serving continuously as a tenured Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology until 2011, when upon retirement he became Professor Emeritus.

Don joined the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO) in 1973 and was a member of the TSO bass section until his passing. Don originally trained as a violinist and renewed his violin playing in the mid-1990s. In 1996, he joined the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra, alternating between bass and violin sections, as well as serving as concertmaster. Don was a proud union member of the American Federation of Musicians.

In 2004-2005, Don was a Visiting Scholar in the U.S. State Department, in the Nonproliferation Bureau, Office of Proliferation Threat Reduction. His work was focused in the Russian Federation, helping to redirect former Soviet biological weapons scientists to develop new therapeutic drugs and vaccines. After completing this assignment, he returned to the University of Arizona and the Tucson Symphony.

Don enjoyed camping and fishing from an early age and especially loved fly fishing with his daughter in Arizona’s White Mountains. Don was the life of the party, loved food, wine and conversation, and will be greatly missed by all those who had the good fortune of knowing him.

Gisele (Rosin) Green

MS Chemistry, 1961 d. May 11, 2022

Gisele Green passed away suddenly after a long illness. Born in France, she escaped the Nazi invasion as a young child and settled with her family in New York City. The family later moved to New Jersey, where Gisele attended Drew University. It was there, in the Chemistry Department, that she met her husband-to-be, Maurice. The chemistry between them lasted for 66 years.

Gisele earned an MS degree in Chemistry from the University of Arizona with Prof. Cornelius Steelink in 1961 and then worked as a research assistant with Prof. Gordon Tollin.

Margaret “Marty” Ann Fox Yslas

d. January 16, 2022

Marty (Margaret) Yslas passed away on January 16, 2022, at the Tucson Medical Center at the age of 78. Many will remember Marty as the smiling face greeting you at the BSW 3rd floor lobby. Marty is survived by her “Prince Charming” Max Yslas, who was a mail courier for the department, come rain or shine.

Read more about our retirees and about Gisele Green’s and Marty Yslas’s lives in the Catalyst Online: cbc.arizona.edu/alumni/catalyst