Betty Tishler Celebrates 97th Birthday at Wesleyan
Olivia Drake  |
 Pictured at top, from left, Gina Driscoll, associate director of stewardship, Penny Apter; Betty Tishler, and Philip Bolton, chair of the Chemistry Department and professor of chemistry. Pictured at left, President Doug Bennet reads a Proclamation to Tishler. (Photos by Olivia Drake and by Roslyn Carrier-Brault) |
| Posted 12/20/06 |
| Betty Tishler, wife of the late Professor Max Tishler, celebrated her 97th birthday Dec. 14 in the Exley Science Center. Tishlers family and friends, Wesleyan affiliates and students attended.
During the two-hour party, President Doug Bennet presented Tishler with a Mayors Proclamation that acknowledged Tishler for her contributions to the greater Middletown community. Tishler, who was married to Max Tishler for 55 years until his death in 1989, raised two sons, Peter and Carl, and has three grandchildren. She was a partner in her husbands productive and distinguished career at Merck pharmaceuticals from 1937 to 1970. Max Tishler led the development of new drugs and vitamins, which culminated in his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Honor from President Reagan. His developments included products for heart disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, mental depression and infectious diseases. The Tishlers came to Middletown in 1970. They had an immediate and lasting impact on Wesleyan, especially the Chemistry Department, to which Betty Tishler remains especially devoted today. She has established prizes at Wesleyan for art, music and for an annual piano competition, and most recently a Research Chair in Medicinal Chemistry in honor of her late husband. In addition, she is a regular and generous supporter of the Middlesex County United Way. Over the past 36 years, Tishlers vitality, resilience, curiosity, generosity, and engagement have marked her as a special citizen of Wesleyan and Middletown. |
Sarah Parke
Editorial Staff
Mike Mavredakis