Richard Terrell, a life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation, died of a brain tumor on December 4 in Naples, FL. He was 81.
Mr. Terrell joined General Motors in 1937 as a messenger for the company's photographic staff and retired as vice chairman of the board in 1979.
The Dayton, OH native served in the Army Air Corps in Panama, and as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II. Between his two stints in the armed services and afterwards, Mr. Terrell worked in the Electro-Motive division of GM in La Grange, IL. By 1968, he was executive in charge of GM's non-automotive and defense group in Detroit. In 1970 he was promoted to executive in charge of the truck and car and assembly divisons group, and two years later, to executive vice president of the group. He was made vice chairman of the board in 1974.
Mr. Terrell served on the boards of General Mills, Philips Industries and Reynolds Metals, among others. He was known for his key involvement in the revitalization of the neighborhoods around GM's headquarters in the late 1970s.
Although his only college degree was the SE (a three-month degree for senior executives) earned from the Sloan School in 1958, he served on the boards of MIT, the University of Dayton, Wilberforce University, the Tuskegee Institute and Roanoke College.
At MIT, Mr. Terrell joined the Corporation in 1974, working as a member of the civil and environmental engineering and Sloan School visiting committees during his 26 years of service to the Institute.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Marian of Naples, and two sons, John and Timothy.
Other Obituaries
EULOGIO GALLARDO
A funeral Mass was held at St. Catherine's Church in Westford on December 29 for Eulogio "Tab" Gallardo, 53, of Westford, who died on December 23. The former radar systems engineer at Haystack Observatory began working for MIT in 1975. He received the NASA Award for outstanding contribution on the Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres Project.
Mr. Gallardo leaves his wife, Marilyn; his mother, Genevieve U. Gallardo of Somerville; two sons, Jeffrey and Brian; and a daughter, Julie E. Gallardo, all of Westford; two sisters, Marcella U. Gallardo of Holland, MA and Genevieve Gallardo of Somerville; and an uncle, M.V. Del Rosario of Somerville.
Memorial donations may be made to the Tab Gallardo Westford Youth Baseball Scholarship Fund, c/o Enterprise Bank, 237 Littleton Rd., Westford, MA 01886, or the American Heart Association, 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701-4688.
DOROTHY M. GRIFFIN
Dorothy M. Griffin, 75, a former administrative staff member at Lincoln Laboratory, died on November 29. She was hired in 1955 and retired in 1982. Information on survivors was unavailable.
PRISCILLA MEAD
A memorial service was held on December 15 in the First Church of Belmont Unitarian-Universalist for Priscilla Mead of West Acton, a former administrator in Human Resources, who died on December 11 at the age of 84. She retired in 1978 after 36 years at MIT.
Ms. Mead leaves a friend, Eleanor Voorhies of West Acton; a brother, Varnum Mead of Oak Bluffs; two nieces, two grandnieces and agrandnephew. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Church of Belmont Unitarian-Universalist, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478, or the Acton Historical Society, 300 Main St., Acton, MA 01720.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 31, 2001.
