Sigrid de Lima; ‘Carnival by the Sea’ Author

Sigrid de Lima, 77, who had a short but memorable literary career. De Lima’s 1950 book “Captain’s Beach” was met with mixed reviews that simultaneously proclaimed her the next Hemingway, Dostoevski or Woolf and called her writing “painfully studied and windy.” The book, about threadbare survivors in a shabby New York rooming house, was the first published out of editor Hiram Haydn’s prestigious workshop at the New School for Social Research. In 1952, De Lima wrote “The Swift Cloud” about the murder of a disabled boy in a California town, earning the Prix de Rome. After her next book, “Carnival by the Sea” in 1954, most critics agreed she was a skilled writer. But she wrote only two more books, “Praise a Fine Day” in 1959 and “Oriane” in 1968, before ending her career to spend time with her family. On Sept. 19 in Nyack, N.Y.

Dr. Rodney T. Smith; Cardiovascular Pioneer

Dr. Rodney T. Smith, 74, who pioneered modern heart treatment procedures in Southern California. A cardiovascular surgeon at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica for four decades, Smith helped develop the first heart-lung machine here in 1957, the first open heart surgery in 1958 and the world’s first successful coronary bypass graft surgery in 1964. Together with Dr. James McEachen, Smith launched Southern California’s first Coronary Care Unit at St. John’s in 1966. He served as head of surgery at St. John’s in the 1960s and head of cardiovascular surgery for several years. Educated at Stanford, Smith was long associated with UCLA’s surgery program. During the Korean War, he served as a M.A.S.H. unit surgeon. As a board member of the Ocean Towers Homeowners Assn. in Santa Monica, Smith helped guide extensive renovation of the complex after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. On Thursday in Santa Monica.

Robert Cecil Wielage; Architecture Director at UC San Diego

Robert Cecil Wielage, 70, architect whose projects included the Tom Bradley Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Wielage spent the last decade of his life as director of architecture and project management for UC San Diego. There he supervised the design and construction of more than 100 campus buildings, including the Thornton Medical Center. Earlier, he worked for Los Angeles architectural firms, most notably as chief architect on the international air terminal named for former Los Angeles Mayor Bradley. The building was readied in time to greet international visitors arriving for the 1984 Olympics. Wielage began his architectural career in Tampa, Fla., working on two campuses of the Hillsborough Community College, the Tampa Federal Building, and the Florida State University Fine Arts Building in Tallahassee. On Sept. 17 in San Diego.

Herbert V. Shuster; Food and Drug Quality Controller

Herbert V. Shuster, 75, who established early quality controls for the food and drug industries. After receiving his doctorate in food technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Shuster formed his own company, Herbert V. Shuster Inc., in 1955. For the next 40 years, the company was a leader in research and development of consumer products, specializing in product testing for food and drugs. Shuster began quality testing and control of private label products, which are made for stores to sell in competition with national brands. The testing helped small- and medium-sized food manufacturers compete by raising their quality standards and product uniformity. He sold the company, renamed Shuster Labs, to Hauser Chemical Research in 1995. On Sept. 20 in Brookline, Mass., of complications from a stroke.