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Henry Kucera
2/15/1925 - 2/20/2010
Inventor of original “spell check” program dies at 85
Henry Kučera, born Jindřich Kučera, was a Czech linguist and pioneer in corpus linguistics and linguistic software and the inventor of the original “spell check” software program.
He died peacefully at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, RI, on February 20, 2010.
Born on February 15, 1925, in the former Czechoslovakia in the town of Trebarov, Kučera eventually went to Prague to study philosophy and linguistics at Charles University.
However, the Communist rise to power forced him to leave in April of 1948 when it became clear that his political writings and activities placed him at risk of detention by the authorities.
He first traveled to Germany where he worked for Czech refugee organizations assisting in relocation programs under the supervision of the US Counter Intelligence Corps.
In 1949 he received a scholarship offer to Harvard University and immigrated to the United States.
After receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1952, where he studied under renowned linguist Roman Jakobson, he first taught at the University of Florida at Gainesville and then returned to Harvard in 1954 as a research fellow.
In 1955 he received an appointment at Brown University where he spent the rest of his teaching career.
He was promoted to full Professor in 1965.
He received a Chair in 1983 and retired in 1990 (with full honors and the publication of a Festschrift) as the Fred M. Seed Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Cognitive Sciences.
While at Brown he became interested in the computational analysis of human language, though at the time there were scarcely any tools for this type of research.
Famous for his sense of humor, he often joked that he traded lessons in Russian for lessons on the early mainframe computer systems at Brown.
His interest in the intersection between mathematics and linguistics, aided by computer processing capabilities, was to become the foundation of his life’s work and ultimately led to ten U.S. and four Canadian patents.
In 1963-1964, Kučera collaborated with W. Nelson Francis to create the Brown Corpus of Standard American English, generally known as the Brown Corpus.
This was a carefully compiled selection of current American English as published during the year 1961 in nearly 1000 sources on a wide variety of subjects.
The Brown Corpus has been very widely used in computational linguistics, and was for many years among the most-cited resource in the field.
From this work, Kučera and Francis then derived their classic work, Computational Analysis of Present-Day American English (1967), followed by Frequency Analysis of English Usage: Lexicon and Grammar (1982).
In the early 1960’s, Kučera was asked by Boston publisher Houghton-Mifflin to supply a million word, three-line citation base for its new American Heritage Dictionary.
This groundbreaking dictionary, which first appeared in 1969, was the first to be compiled using corpus linguistics for word frequency and other information.
In 1981, Kučera founded what became Language Systems Software Incorporated and wrote one of the first spell checkers (developed in PL/I for VAX machines) at the behest of Digital Equipment Corporation.
Further development resulted in "International Correct Spell" a spell check program used on word processing systems such as Word Star and Microsoft Word.
Kučera later oversaw the development of Houghton-Mifflin’s Correct Text grammar checker.
In addition to his Ph.D. in Linguistics from Harvard University (where he graduated Summa Cum Laude), Kučera held a doctorate from Charles University in Prague (restored after the "Velvet Revolution" ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia).
He also received honorary degrees from Pembroke College in Providence, RI, Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, and Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic.
He was a member of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa.
Kučera was a longtime supporter of Czech causes and underground literary and political publications in Czechoslovakia.
He was also a proud supporter of the Hodonin Sea Lions, a Czech regional baseball team.
He was also a member of the Providence Art Club, The Review Club, The Rhode Island Shakespearian Society, The Agawam Hunt Club, and the Brown University Faculty Club.
In the small town of Freedom, NH, where for many years Kučera and his family summered, he was a proud member of the Loon Lake Yacht Club, where he held the distinct honor of placing last in each and every one of the annual regattas he entered with his legendary sailboat, the Skate.
His wife, Jacqueline Marie Fortin Kučera, whom in married in 1951, and a son, John Kučera, predeceased him.
He is survived by two sons, Tomaš Kučera and Edward Kučera, as well as three grand children: Maia Kučera, Calvin Kučera, and Wilson Kučera,
At his request there will be a private service for family only in Providence, RI.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in his name to the Freedom Public Library (Box 159, Freedom, NH, 03836) and/or to the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center (1085 North Main Street, Providence, RI, 02904 or online @ WWW.HHCRI.NET).
Shuey Iris
11/19/1946 - 4/24/2011
Iris B. Shuey, M.D., 64, of Providence, died suddenly at home on April 24th, 2011, of natural causes.
Dr. Shuey was a psychiatrist in private practice for 31 years in Providence.
She earned her medical degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine and was an intern at RI Hospital before completing a residency in Psychiatry at the Brown University Medical School, where she served as a Clinical Assistant Professor.
Dr. Shuey was Board-certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and widely respected by her colleagues.
She was a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association as well as a former Chair of the Ethics Committee of the APA’s RI District Branch.
In recent years, Dr. Shuey was a consultant to the US Coast Guard, assisting military personnel and their families.
Over the course of her career, she was of great service to her community, serving as a consulting psychiatrist at East Bay Mental Health Center, Family Services, and Jewish Family Services.
The daughter of the late Philip Levine, M.D., and the late Lillian Barr Levine, she was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she graduated from Hamilton High School as valedictorian in 1964.
She graduated from Pitzer College, where she later served as a trustee.
She also served for two years in the Peace Corps, teaching English as a second language in Turkey.
Iris is survived by her daughter, Lillian Shuey Picchione, daughter of William Shuey; son-in-law AJ Picchione; and two grandchildren, Avery and Liza, of Providence, to whom she was devoted.
Her many friends will miss her sense of humor, infectious spirit, and generosity.
The burial will be private.
Calling hours will be held on Saturday, April 30 from 11AM-3PM.
A celebration of Iris’ life will take place at a later date.
For information on calling hours or the memorial service, please send an e-mail to memorial.for.iris@gmail.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pitzer College, The Rhode Island Community Food Bank, or Planned Parenthood of RI.
Maura Walmsley
Died 4/29/2011
East Providence: Maura E. Walmsley, 59, died Friday at home.
Born in Providence a daughter of Ethel (Fitzgerald) Walmsley of Rumford and the late Albert E. Walmsley, she was a Providence resident for over 25 years returning to Rumford 5 years ago.
Besides her mother, she leaves her sister: Marguerite Ansaldi of Wakefield, MA and her brother: Steven Walmsley of Vista, California as well as 3 nieces and a nephew.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday at 10am in St. Margaret’s Church, Pawtucket Ave., Rumford.
Burial will be private.
Donations in her memory may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association, 245 Waterman St., Providence, R.I. 02906.
Casey Frazer Mercer
6/21/1982 - 6/16/2011
MERCER, CASEY FRAZER HILL passed into Our Lord's hands unexpectedly at the age of 28 on June 16, 2011.
She died of injuries sustained in a single car accident on June 9, 2011 that occurred in Phippsburg, Maine.
Casey married Tim Mercer, the love of her life, on August 22, 2009.
Casey was born in Providence, on June 21, 1982.
Casey graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts where she was the recipient of the Lorant Fellowship, which honored the student who characterized The Most Earnest Endeavor.
This award allowed her to spend the summer after her junior year studying and exploring art, architecture and culture in Barcelona, Spain.
After graduating from Phillips Academy, she continued her education at Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor society.
Casey studied Spanish and Linguistics, and spent a semester in Chile perfecting her language skills.
After college, Casey explored a variety of career options, working as a paralegal in Boston, as an international travel consultant for NETC in Cambridge, and a public relations associate for Nike Communications in New York City.
Casey found her true calling three years ago when she accepted a teaching position at the Hyde School in Bath, Maine.
Casey was teaching Spanish and coaching cross country running, swimming and diving.
In her last year at Hyde, Casey was the Head of the Foreign Language Department and head of house in a girls dormitory at the school.
Casey was athletic and, following a family tradition begun by her father, ran the Marine Corps Marathon in New York City in 2006.
Casey enjoyed painting, photography and all forms of visual artwork.
She had previously sung in a cappella groups and in a gospel choir.
She had recently started an Etsy business selling her artwork.
While she was often hesitant to divulge this talent, as a child, she had been an accomplished magician.
Casey is survived by her husband, Tim Mercer of Bath, Maine; her parents, Roger Hill and Mary Trudeau Hill of Lexington, and her adoring siblings, Caroline, Jehanne, Julia, and Anders Hill of Lexington.
She is survived by her maternal grandparents, Brigadier General Thomas and Carolyn Frazer, of Cranston, Rhode Island and Jane and Tom Griffiths of Lexington, Massachusetts.
Casey is predeceased by her mother, Lynn Frazer Hill, her maternal uncle, Thomas Frazer.
A Mass of Christian Burial in honor of Casey's life will be held at Saint Mark's Church in Garden City in Cranston on Friday, July 1, 2011 at 1000 am with burial at Gate of Heaven cemetery in East Providence.
Calling hours will be at Monahan Drabble Sherman Funeral Home in Providence on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4 to 7 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Casey to Holy Name School Alumni Association, 99 Camp Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02906.
The association provides funding to children's educational and material needs of Holy Name School and Church.
Donald Blouin
6/4/1930 - 7/19/2011
Providence - Blouin, Donald, F., 81, died Tuesday at home.
He was the husband of Catherine (Lacour) Blouin.
Born in 1930, he was a son of the late Ernest and Della (Weldon) Blouin.
Besides his wife, he leaves a son Donald F. Blouin Jr. of Michigan, a daughter Susan (Blouin) Cullins of Virginia, 2 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be held Saturday at 9am from the Monahan Drabble Sherman Funeral Home, 230 Waterman St., Providence with a Mass of Christian Burial in The Lady Chapel of Holy Name Church, Camp St. at 10am.
Calling hours Friday 5-8pm.
Burial will be in Gate of heaven Cemetery, East Providence.
