In Memoriam - Gary Siegel

Dr. Gary Siegel, 62, an associate professor at DePaul University's School of Accountancy, whose research about the changing role of corporate accountants transformed accounting curricula at universities nationwide, died of cancer Sunday, Nov. 12, in Evanston Hospital.

The author of numerous publications that combined his expertise in the fields of accountancy, teaching, business and sociology, Dr. Siegel had taught at DePaul University since 1980. Over the years, he produced a body of research that documented historic changes in the work performed by management accountants and the dynamic role they need to play in corporate leadership and decision-making.

"We now take it for granted that accountants need to have many skills other than knowledge of technical standards and bookkeeping," said Kevin Stevens, interim director of DePaul's School of Accountancy, in a written statement. "Gary, through his groundbreaking research on the skills the workforce demands of accountants, was one of the first accounting professors to realize and demonstrate that what the business world needs is accountants who are critical thinkers and problem-solvers."

Dr. Siegel's early 1990s study, titled "What Corporate America Wants in Entry-Level Accountants," served as a catalyst for change in accounting practice and education, colleagues said. The subject of a Wall Street Journal article, the study revealed that university accounting students were not being taught the right skills to succeed in the business world, and also identified the skills required by corporations.

Born and raised in Chicago, Dr. Siegel was a graduate of Senn High School. In 1966, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Illinois in Champaign, and that same year passed the exam to become a certified public accountant. He received an MBA in accounting in 1967 from the University of Illinois, where he also completed a doctoral degree in sociology with a minor in economics, in 1977.

A longtime resident of Chicago's Peterson Park neighborhood, Dr. Siegel was also the head of the Gary Siegel Organization, an independent opinion research and behavioral accounting firm, and the founder of the Jewish Burial Society, a non-profit community organization that assists families arranging traditional burial rites. Family members said he served, without pay, as president of that organization for the last 31 years.

"The Jewish tradition emphasizes simplicity in burial rites--it forbids embalming, open viewing and metal caskets," explained BeverlySiegel, his wife of 38 years. "Gary set up JBS to operate as a kind of collective bargaining agent to help families obtain traditional funerals at a fair and reasonable price."

"Gary led the way in making traditional Jewish funerals accessible and affordable at a time when they weren't," said David Jacobson, the founder of Chicago Jewish Funerals.

On his deathbed, Dr. Siegel wrote numerous reflections on his life, some of which were read at his funeral last week in the Congregation Kehillath Jacob Beth Samuel synagogue on the North Side, family members said.  "The quality of the years he lived were more important to him than the quantity," said his wife. "In his final days he wrote, 'The trade-off between more years and the blessings that I've received from God are very satisfying to me.'"

Other survivors include three sons, Adam, Joshua, Gabriel; three daughters, Sunny Levi, Johanna and Samantha; his mother, Miriam; a brother, Mark; and nine grandchildren.

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois,  November 23, 2006, page 17.