In Memory

Elizabeth Wilcox (Schickele) - Class Of 1924

Elizabeth Wilcox (Schickele)

Elizabeth Wilcox Schickele  '24 

Elizabeth Wilcox Schickele, an environmental and social leader, died Tuesday, September 3, 1996 in Berkeley.  She was 88.  Mrs. Schickele earned her master's degree in physics during a time when, as she said, "girls didn't major in physics."

During World War II, she conducted research for the Army Quartermaster Corps, studying how people react to different climates.  She and her team originated the concept of the wind-chill factor.  From 1954 to 1965, Mrs. Schickele was the head of the science department of the American Overseas School in Rome.  She also performed forensics experiments at the University of Ceylon in what is now Sri Lanka.

In Berkeley, she began working for the League of Women Voters and became active in envronmental policymaking.  She headed several of the league's committees, dealing with such issues as hazardous materials, energy, and waste disposal.

Mrs. Schickele's husband, Rainer, an agricultural economist, died in 1989.  She is survived by sons Peter, of New York City, and David, of San Francisco; four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

San Francisco Chronicle, September 6, 1996