Professor Emeritus Sidney Wertimer Dies at 84
Economics Professor Served Hamilton for 52 Years

Contact: Mary McLean Evans

 

February 1, 2005

Sidney Wertimer, professor emeritus of economics, died early on February 1 in Charleston, S.C., with his family at his side. He was 84 years old and had been in declining health. Professor Wertimer served Hamilton for the past 52 years.

Wertimer, the senior professor in the Hamilton economics department, earned his Ph.D. in economic history at the London School of Economics. He came to Hamilton in 1952 and continued to teach and mentor students. Wertimer's textbook, Economics and Man, has been used nationally.

In an e-mail to the Hamilton community, President Joan Stewart wrote "In my mind, there are a handful of people of the past several generations who personify the highest ideals and aspirations of this College. Sidney Wertimer was one of them. He loved Hamilton – and not just in an abstract sense. His extraordinary care and concern for his students – our students – gave eloquent daily testimony to that love. He taught economics, but his greatest lesson was his exemplary life.
 
"Last month, as Sidney’s health began to fail, members of the Board of Trustees who are also members of Delta Kappa Epsilon contacted their fraternity brothers with the news that the organization’s chapter house, currently being renovated for use in the fall, would be renamed in honor of Sidney and Ellie Wertimer. It is one of many fitting tributes to the husband and wife who epitomize this College’s greatness and humanity."

A service to honor the life of Sidney Wertimer will be held in the College Chapel on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 4 p.m. The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the Hamilton College Town-Gown Fund.