Pitt chemistry professor known for making learning fun
Lawrence “Larry” Epstein believed that learning should be fun.
His whimsical teaching style was famous among incoming science majors at the University of Pittsburgh, who fondly referred to his freshman chemistry class as “Laughing Larry and his Loony Lecture Series.”
The 94-year-old retired associate professor died March 28 in his Squirrel Hill home after a long battle with a blood disorder, but not before he made significant contributions to the world as a scientist, musician and beloved father.
“He had a remarkable life,” said Mr. Epstein’s daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy” Huffman of Mount Washington. “His family was very important to him.”
The son of the late Lena and Louis Epstein, Mr. Epstein grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Always a bright student, he graduated from Townsend Harris High School in the Bronx at the age of 16 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the prestigious Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1943.
Mr. Epstein delayed pursuing his graduate degree to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and fought in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was honorably discharged three years later as an electronic technician’s mate first class and went on to Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, where he received master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering.
It was during that time that a friend set him up on an unforgettable blind date with Miriam “Masha” Graboff.
“His fraternity brother had a car and was willing to give Dad a ride to the event but said that his date had to be [picked up] on the way there, so apparently Mom lived on the way,” Mrs. Huffman said.
The couple married March 24, 1946, and raised four children before Mrs. Epstein’s death in 2013.
“Growing up, my dad was the absent-minded professor and Mom took care of everything and everybody, and he went along with it,” Mrs. Huffman said.
The couple loved bridge and played at least once a week with friends, recalled daughter Laura Schlatter of Minneapolis.
“They were very attached and devoted to each other,” so much so that Mr. Epstein was the primary caregiver to his wife when she struggled with dementia for the last 17 years of her life, Ms. Schlatter said.
The family moved to Squirrel Hill in 1955, when Mr. Epstein began working at the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in Oakland. He went on to work as a researcher in physical chemistry at the Westinghouse Research and Development Center in Churchill before joining the Pitt faculty in fall 1967.
Mr. Epstein worked as a professor for about 20 years, his daughters said, and oversaw the freshman chemistry program at Pitt.
“He was devoted to teaching,” Mrs. Huffman said. “It’s amazing how many people I still run into who had my dad as a chemistry teacher.”
Mr. Epstein was a gifted musician as well. Their home was often the scene of impromptu concerts growing up, his daughters said.
“My dad was a fairly simple man and didn’t like to call a lot of attention to himself, unless he was in a musical, in which case he was the biggest ham on stage,” Mrs. Huffman said.
Mr. Epstein was an avid viola player who often sang and played in string quartets with friends. He could also play the harmonica and other instruments.
“He was one of those people who could pick up any instrument and play it by ear,” Ms. Schlatter said. “He had perfect pitch.”
Humorous and witty, Mr. Epstein always appreciated a good pun, his daughters said.
“He made us laugh a lot because you never knew what he was going to come up with,” Ms. Schlatter said.
Though he had vast knowledge of many things, he wasn’t always willing to give his kids the easy way out. He even outwitted the Trivial Pursuit board game, pointing out wrong answers when he saw them.
“He knew about stuff that I didn’t even know existed,” Mrs. Huffman said. “You didn’t need Google when Dad was around.”
“But he would never give us the answer to anything,” Ms. Schlatter said. “He would make us do the learning.”
His daughters said Mr. Epstein was a humble man who didn’t always recognize how extraordinary he was.
“Even when you asked him about the war, he would just say that he did what he had to do,” Mrs. Huffman said.
In addition to his two daughters, Mr. Epstein is survived by two sons, Kenneth Epstein of Arlington, Va., and Ralph Epstein of Philadelphia; seven grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren.
Ralph Schugar Chapel in Shadyside handled arrangements.