PACE, EUGENE LEONARD (17 Oct. 1915 - 7 April 1997) was professor of chemistry at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY and a co-founder of the EAST CLEVELAND THEATER. He was born in Potsdam, New York, to Laura Graziani and Vincent Pace. He earned his B.S. in chemical engineering at Syracuse University in 1935, graduating magna cum laude, and his M.S. in chemical engineering in 1936. In 1946 he received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Penn State University, then joined the faculty of WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, becoming a full professor in 1960. He made scholarly contributions to the fields of low temperature calorimetry and spectroscopy, and was a popular teacher at CWRU. In 1950, Pace married Mildred "Chris" Krstolic and they had two daughters, Barbara Evelyn and Laurel Jean. The couple became involved in theater as charter members of the Unitarian Players, for whose productions Mr. Pace designed stage lighting during the 1950s and 1960s. Sharing the community sentiment of their fellow East Clevelanders that drama could further civic unity, the Paces founded the East Cleveland Theater which specialized in colorblind casting, or using actors of different races to depict members of the same family. Mrs. Pace was executive director until her death in 1993. Mr. Pace volunteered his time and talent, helping with building maintenance, set design and construction, and developing a computer lighting system for the theater's productions. Pace suffered a fatal heart attack while handling the stage lighting for a rehearsal of the East Cleveland Theater production of "Jesus Christ Superstar." He was cremated.
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