In Memoriam: Philip "Phil" Luner
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The TAPPI community is saddened to announce the passing of long time TAPPI member and TAPPI Fellow Philip "Phil" Luner from complications with advanced stage cancer on May 3rd. He was exactly one month shy of celebrating his 90th birthday. Other long time members will remember Phil as a dedicated member of the association, a member since 1958 who was quite active all the way into the early 2000s, before more thoroughly enjoying a successful retirement with family, friends, and neighbors in his community. He was named a TAPPI Fellow in 1989.
Luner will be remembered in the industry for his comprehensive knowledge of engineering as it related to paper science. He was always sharp with many decades of work related understudies noting he always knew the engineering side of the industry very well, even as it went through many changes during the past few decades to accommodate today's standards. Though he had long been involved, he will be remembered as a detail-oriented papermaking professional who remained on the forefront of the paper industry, enduring into periods of innovation of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when many transitions within the industry were arguably at an all-time peak.
Philip was born June 1, 1925, in Vilna, Poland, to Samuel Luner and Sonia (Rudomin) Luner. In 1928 he emigrated with his family to Canada and was educated in Montreal where he received his B.S. from Loyola College (now Concordia University) in 1947 and later a Ph.D. in chemistry from McGill University in 1951. After working in Canada and then Wisconsin, in 1957 he joined the SUNY College of Forestry (ESF) faculty in the Department of Pulp and Paper Engineering in Syracuse, N.Y. and as a Research Scientist.
Philip is survived by Louise (Vineberg) Luner, his wife of 63 years, and his two sons, Paul Luner, of Waterford Conn., and David Luner, Madison Wis.;He is also survived by his sister, Gertrude Shapiro, and brother Charles Luner, both of Lombard, Ill., and three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.
