In passing

Elsa Hilger, 101, noted cellist

Elsa Hilger, 101, the first woman in the world other than harpists to be a permanent member of a major symphony orchestra, died May 17 in Shelburne, Vt.

Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski hired her as a cellist in 1934. She never missed a performance, except the day her son was born, until retiring in 1969. She retired because of union rules. Born in Austria, Hilger gave her last recital at age 98.

Thurl Ravenscroft, 91, ‘Tiger’ voice

Thurl Ravenscroft, voice of Tony the Tiger whose Kellogg’s Frosted Flake pitch “They’re g-r-r-r-e-a-t!” became a slice of Americana, has died. He was 91. Ravenscroft, of Fullerton, Calif., died Sunday of prostate cancer. Many remember his rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” in the TV special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” airing since 1966.

Keiiti Aki, 75, earthquake expert

Keiiti Aki, a founder of the Southern California Earthquake Center at the University of Southern California and arguably the greatest seismologist of the last 50 years, died May 17 on the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean. He was 75. During his 50-year career in the United States and Japan, Aki “studied a tremendous variety of scientific problems and made substantial contributions in almost all of them,” said Thomas Jordan of the USC earthquake center.

E. Harris Nober, 77, innovator

E. Harris Nober, who ensured the sound level of residential smoke alarms was loud enough to awaken the deepest of sleepers and who designed flashing smoke detectors for the deaf, died May 23 of liver cancer at his suburban Arlington, Va., home. He was 77. Nober, a professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, tested how loud a home alarm should be and how long it would take a family to respond to the alert. His 1978 research was undertaken just as home detectors came on the market; several communities had just required homes to have smoke detectors after early studies showed they lowered deaths from fires.

William Seawell, 87, commander

William Seawell, a former brigadier general who served as commandant of cadets at the Air Force Academy and later as president and chairman of now-defunct Pan American World Airways, died Friday. He was 87. Following his military career, Seawell worked for American Airlines, Rolls Royce Aero Engines and Pan American World Airways where he served as president and CEO until 1981. Seawell was born Jan. 27, 1918, and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In World War II, he received the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and Croix de Guerre with palm awarded by France.