1920s

Robert Hendricks (’29 Material Science & Engr.), 94, September 6, 2002, Seattle. Metallurgical engineer and mining executive for Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada (Cominco). Rose from assay staff to CEO.

Theodore A. “Ted” Trowbridge (’29 Math., Honors; Educ., Honors), 97, November 4, 2002, Olympia. High school teacher/principal for 12 years before becoming an accountant in Spokane. Retired in 1969.

1930s

Helen Higler (’31 Elem. Educ.), 97, September 22, 2002, Spokane. Taught at many elementary schools for 40 years as she and her husband moved from Boise to Everett to Spokane.

Gladys Anderson (’34 Home Ec.), 92, August 9, 2002, Garfield. Taught high-school home economics in Kahlotus, Randall, Mead, and Davenport. Later was a home demonstrator and interior designer in Lincoln County in conjunction with the WSU food preservation program.

Robert Bolger (’34 Pharm.), 92, August 31, 2002, Camas. Owned and operated a drug store in Washougal from 1937 until 1975, when he sold it to Hi-School Pharmacy in 1975. Sigma Nu fraternity.

Charles Bradford (’35 Educ.), 88, August 26, 2002, Milwaukie, Oregon. High-school music and mathematics teacher in Portland Public Schools for more than 40 years, primarily at Jefferson and Marshall high schools. Professional trumpeter. Director of the Providence Hospital stage band for 30 years.

Robert E. Lee (’35 Pharm.), 87, October 9, 2002, Tucson, Arizona. Owned Best Drug Store on Main Street in Safford, Arizona, 1967-1985. President of the Safford Graham County Chamber of Commerce 1973, which honored him as 1975 “Man of the Year.” Chaired the City of Safford’s 11-day centennial celebration in 1975. After serving in the Air Force during WWII, he, his wife, and his parents toured the U.S. in an Oldsmobile and a 26-foot trailer. Later served in the Korean War.

Owen Lehto (’35 Hort.), 94, July 17, 2002, Spokane. After WWII service with the U.S. Army, bought a ranch near Monroe. Superintendent of landscaping for the Seattle School District for 20 years. Retired in 1972. Wrote the book, Vibrations, published in 1974, and republished in 1992 and 1997.

Maurine Martin McLaughlin (’35 Educ.), 88, October 22, 2002, Spokane. Taught at St. John High School. Pi Beta sorority. Survivors include sons, including Dennis McLaughlin (’63 Polit. Sci., president of the WSU Alumni Association 1983-84). Memorial contributions may be made to the WSU Alumni Association, PO Box 646150, Pullman, Washington 99164-6150.

Gladys Graupner Fritz (’36 Music, ’41 Educ.), 88, September 21, 2002, Spokane. Taught in Valley, in Kettle Falls, and at Central Valley High School in Spokane.

Winton “Jake” Miller (’36 Polit. Sci.), 89, July 22, 2002, Spokane. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the USMC in 1939. Flew from aircraft carriers at the Coronado, California, Naval Station. Flight instructor at Pensacola, Florida. Commanded a bomber squadron at the New Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, North Carolina. Earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with several stars, and the Air Medal. Moved to the Philippines to prepare for the intended invasion of Japan. Transport pilot during Korean War. Retired to Spokane in 1963.

John Bley (’37 Mining Engr.) 89, October 2, 2002, Spokane. Began a career in mining in Holden, Washington. Later became manager of mining enterprises in Nye, Montana, and White Pine, Michigan. Retired to Spokane in 1975.

Edward Burke (’37 Gen. St.), 86, September 4, 2002, Bellingham. Accountant. 50-year member of Kiwanis. Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Ethelyn Gibbs (’37 M.A. Home Ec.), 92, August 24, 2002, Spokane. Taught home economics in Malad, Idaho, and Centralia. Later worked as a secretary in the credit department at Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane.

Crystal Carper Harworth (’37 Elem. Educ., ’53 Educ.), 88, September 12, 2002, Spokane. Librarian and teacher in Northport; Colville; Trail, British Columbia; Mesa, Arizona.

Rose Robinson Hodgson (’37 Secretarial Studies), 87, September 14, 2002, Spokane. Taught in Clover Park Schools in Tacoma. Moved to Sun City, Arizona, in 1972. Member of the board of directors of the Sun City Art Museum. Started the local chapter of Sweet Adelines Society. Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.

John Hoffman (’37 Mech. Engr.), 91, October 12, 2002, Colton. Worked for Bureau of Reclamation at Ephrata and Coulee Dam. Went to work at the Puget Sound Naval Yard in Bremerton in 1940. Moved to the family farm near Johnson in 1945. Retired from farming in 1969 to become an engineer for the WSU Albrook Hydraulics Lab, 1969-76.

Dana Margaret McCulloch (x’37 Social Work), 88, September 10, 2002, Seattle. Personal secretary for government offices in Washington, D.C., and in Seattle. Volunteered as a hospital aide during WWII.

Martha Brookhart (’38 Speech, ’41 Educ.), 88, August 29, 2002, Spokane. Helped establish Spokane University, a college to train pastors. Air traffic controller in Seattle during WWII. High school teacher in the Spokane area for 20 years.

Arthur Irwin (’38 Educ., ’43 Teach. Cert.), 94, September 5, 2002, Spokane. Taught in Zillah. Elementary school principal in Huntsville, Washington, 1932-36. Hired by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to serve as principal of the Coulee Dam Elementary School when the dam was constructed, 1937-44. Later became the superintendent of schools in Pateros, Metaline Falls, Prescott, and Medical Lake. Deputy superintendent of Spokane County Schools, 1955-69. Worked in personnel at School District 81 in Spokane until retiring in 1970.

1940s

Frederick Malcolm Brown, Jr. (’40 Phys. Ed, ’40 Educ.), 86, November 30, 2002, Spokane. Started teaching in Snoqualmie in 1941. Served in U.S. Navy, 1942-46. Later coached football and taught at John Rogers High School, Spokane. Reenlisted in the Navy Reserves in 1950, served as regiment commander, recruit training commander, San Diego. Returned to Rogers High School in 1952 as a teacher and football coach, retiring in 1976. His football teams won Spokane city championships. Inducted into the State High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Frances Thiemens Stack (’40 Home Ec.), 83, September 15, 2002, Spokane. Homemaker and 60-year resident of Spokane.

Mary Trowbridge Buckley (’41 Gen. Studies), 84, October 10, 2002, Port Orchard. Worked at Boeing during WWII. After the war, worked for the Seattle Times until 1967. Became a social worker for Kitsap County. Earned a master’s degree in social work at the University of Washington in 1970. Joined Mount St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Seattle as a geriatric social worker. Published The Aged Are People, Too in 1978. Retired in 1978 but later worked at Hospice of Kitsap County, retiring again in 1999. Phi Beta Kappa sorority.

Maxine West Hallstrom (’41 Home Ec.), 81, August 2, 2002, Yakima. Taught two years at Centralia High School, 1943-45. Elementary school librarian in Highland for 23 years.

Helen Mary New Lybecker (’41 Home Ec, ’42 Educ.), 83, July 31, 2002, Portland, Oregon. Home economics teacher in Garfield. Moved to Portland in 1999.

Lavinia Green (’43 Speech), 80, March 28, 2002, Oakland, California, cardiac arrest. Taught briefly in Washington, then became a bookkeeper for the Colgate Palmolive Co., retiring after 35 years.

Richard S. Hammond (’43 Elect. Engr., ’47 M.S. Elect. Engr.), 81, August 17, 2000, Richland. Employed by General Electric for 15 years, and then Westinghouse⁠—a total of 36 years at the Hanford Project. Active in Richland Light Opera and other community endeavors. Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Robert W. Neill (’43 B.A., ’46 Bus. Adm.), 81, September 25, 2002, Pullman. WWII paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Part of operation Market Garden, parachuting into Holland on September 17, 1944. Awarded Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, Presidential Unit Citation, French Fourregere, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard. After the war, took over the family business, Neill Furniture in Pullman, and operated it for 27 years.

1950s

Paul D. Ylvisaker, Sr. (’50 Phys. Ed.), 76, November 24, 2002, Portland, Oregon, leukemia. Retired physical therapist. Lived in Vancouver for the past 10 years. In the 1960s, he was active in the formation of the private practice section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Vern Birdsell (’52 Agri., ’53 Ag. Educ.), 78, August 31, 2002, Kennewick. Taught agriculture and developed a flourishing industrial arts program at Kennewick High School, 1954-82.

Ronald Chard, Jr. (’52 Phys. Ed., Pre-Med.), 71, May 14, 2002, Seattle, cancer. Served two years in the Army in Germany and worked briefly as a physical therapist before enrolling in the University of Washington Medical School. Supervised the training of about 80 child cancer and leukemia specialists as clinical director of hematology and oncology at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, 1969-92. Author of more than 40 publications about childhood cancer. Helped establish the Ronald McDonald House of Western Washington.

James C. Nofziger (’52 M.S. Animal Sci., ’61 Ph.D. Animal Sci.), 78, February 18, 2001, Chatsworth, California. WWII veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart. One of the nation’s foremost animal nutritionists. Appointed to head the U.S. Commission on Marine Mammals by President Reagan.

James Pazaruski (’52 D.V.M.), 77, August 7, 2002, Palmer, Alaska. Served with the 32nd Infantry Division in the Pacific during WWII and earned Combat Infantryman Badge, an Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Purple Heart. Owned a private veterinary practice in Palmer.

Harry Haruyuki Taniguchi, Sr. (’52 Elect. Engr.), 71, May 25, 2002, Seattle. Retired Boeing engineer.

Leo J. Roininen (’53 Mech. Engr.), April 21, 2002, Sudbury, Ontario.

Norman Ingram (’54 Bus. Adm.), 71, November 2, 2002, Pullman. Worked for General Electric in the Tri-Cities. Assistant budget director at WSU, 1970-75. Business manager of Pullman School District, 1975-93. Basketball referee in the Tri-Cities and Whitman County for 30 years and women’s basketball referee for the Big Sky Conference for eight years. Served on the board of directors for the State Accounting Committee for Public Schools, the State Accounting Association, and Pullman Memorial Hospital.

Denny Yasuhara (’54 Pharm.), 76, November 13, 2002, Spokane, pancreatic cancer. Math and science teacher at Logan Elementary and Garry Middle School in Spokane for two decades, retiring in 1989. Instrumental in the development of Hifumi En on the South Hill of Spokane, a 41-unit subsidized housing complex for the elderly completed in 1973. Community leader in the struggle to gain reparations for Japanese Americans imprisoned during WWII. Former national president of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Shirley Heathman Boger (’56 Soc., ’59 M.Ed.), 68, September 28, 2002, Hartline. Taught third grade in the Central Valley School District in Spokane.

John Angus (’57 Civil Engr.), 75, October 7, 2002, Sierra Madre, California. Engineer with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. His many projects included erosion control and debris reduction in the mountains, and the prevention of seawater intrusion into freshwater along the California coast. Retired in 1986 after 33 years. Published Hydraulics in the Coastal Zone, and presented papers at Texas A&M.

Betty Baldwin Bartlow (’59 Pharm.), 65, June 30, 2002, San Diego. Pharmacist at Mercy Hospital in San Diego for 10 years. Helped manage the family wheat farm in Sprague.

1960s

Earl Taylor (’60 Hotel & Rest. Adm.), 66, August 30, 2002, Deer Park. Began teaching in Potlatch, Idaho, and retired as a math and science teacher at Deer Park High School in Spokane.

Twila R. Hokanson Schroeder (’61 Home Ec.), 62, Corvallis, Oregon, following a long illness. Homemaker. Worked on many volunteer causes, including the Oregon State University Folk Club (faculty wives) Thrift Shop. Worked in OSU Student Activities Center taking student ID photographs. President of Gamma Phi Beta sorority at WSU, 1960-61. Mother of three children, including two WSU graduates.

James Wilson Songster (’61 Phys. Ed.), March 22, 2002, Forest City, North Carolina, died after a six-year illness.

Gail Reed (’62 Police Sci.), 61, August 10, 2002, Bellevue. Retired Army major and Walla Walla airport manager. Moved to Seattle in 1989. Manager of the Renton Municipal Airport, 1989-2001.

Rosemary Wigen (’62 Home Ec.), October 7, 2002. President of the Whitman County Republican Party.

Kenneth Ormiston (’63 D.V.M.), 62, September 12, 2002, Ontario, California. Veterinarian in Colton, California, for 32 years. Past director of the American Quarter Horse Association, past president of the Pacific Coast Horse Association, past president of the Valley Quarter Horse Association, and past captain of the San Bernardino County Sheriff Rangers.

David E. Harry (’64 M.A. Music), 75, September 12, 2002, Spokane. Music teacher and college professor at Glenn-ville State Teachers College in West Virginia. Returned to Spokane in 1982.

Richard B. Chisholm (’66 Educ., ’80 Ed.D.), 58, September 3, 2002, Spokane. Assistant superintendent of schools in Kelso. In 1980 became superintendent of schools for School District 81 in Spokane. Retired in 1994 and became vice president of human resources for Empire Health.

Louis Kahn (’66 Ed.D.), 80, August 22, 2002, Seattle. Teacher and administrator for several years in the Bellevue School District. Helped lead the creation of Bellevue Community College, which opened in 1966. Served as BCC’s first dean of instruction and became the chairman of the psychology department, where he taught. Retired at 75 to his ranch in North Bend, Oregon.

G. Duane Denny (’67 Arch.), 59, May 17, 2002, Loon Lake, Washington. Architect for the U.S. General Services Administration. His work took him to Moscow, Idaho; Petersburg, Alaska; and Kuwait.

Don “Duke” Pearson (’67 Speech Comm.), 60, August 29, 2002, Post Falls, Idaho. Began career with Bridgestone/Firestone Tire Inc., in Seattle. Managed a retail Firestone store in Spokane. Later moved to the Tri-Cities to work for Bridgestone Wholesale Truck Tire Division. Moved to Sprague in 1976 and then to Post Falls in 1995. Retired as regional fleet manager for Bridgestone/Firestone in 2002. Sigma Nu fraternity.

Dave Skinner (’69 Psych.), 54, February 11, 2002, Scottsdale, Arizona, cerebral aneurysm. Pilot for Southwest Airlines 23 years. U.S. Air Force pilot (C-141s, 737s), Vietnam era. National Rifle Association certified firearms instructor. Also had a business building custom, lightweight hunting rifles.

1970s

Lynn Keith Atwood (’72 Engl.), 52, August 25, 2002, Pasco. Taught junior high English and coached for two years. Worked at Hanford for more than 20 years as security specialist, shift manager, operations specialist, and technical editor.

Sharon Lord (’72 Soc.), 52, September 20, 2002, Spokane. Worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles in Olympia for several years. Became the operations director of the Spokane Housing Authority and developed its family self-sufficiency program.

G. Lee Fisher (’73 Ph.D. Educ.), 74, October 5, 2002, Ellensburg. Began teaching career at high schools in Blaine, Yakima, Pasco, and Walla Walla. Became a mathematics and aerospace professor at Central Washington University.

1980s

Greg Larson (’80 Ag. Engr.), 46, July 9, 2002, Spokane, colon cancer. Joined Cominco American in 1981 as an equipment supervisor in Spokane. Promoted to sales representative in Vancouver, to assistant district manager, first in Fargo, North Dakota, and then in Minneapolis. Returned to Spokane in 1990 as manager of industrial chemical sales.

Gail Zielonka Persin (’86 Psych), 47, August 29, 2002, Vancouver, breast cancer. Moved to Vancouver in 1987. Social worker for the Vancouver Housing Authority.

1990s

Stacy Glein Yager (’90 Bus. Adm.), 34, August 21, 2002, Selah. Assistant product manager at Ore-Ida Foods in Boise. Moved to Selah in 1999. Was a product manager at Tree Top.

Sadi Mae Ellis (’98 Psych.), 26, September 3, 2002, Shoreline, cystic fibrosis. Danced with the Olympic Ballet Co.  Worked at Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center until January 2002.

Faculty & Staff

Knut Lunnum, 97, July 2, 2002, Yakima. WSU extension forester, 1947-68. Moved to Yakima from Pullman in 1968. Helped develop the Yakima Area Arboretum, a section of which is dedicated to him.

Alvin “Al” G. Law, 87, December 9, 2002, Pullman. Member of WSU agronomy faculty, 1941-82. In 1945, helped organize the Washington State Crop Improvement Association, which has become one of the outstanding pure seed producers in the U.S. Also organized the Northwest Turf Grass Association, the major source of research funds for turf projects in the area. Marketing specialist, USAID project, India, 1961-71, which helped country become self-sufficient in cereal production. Served on USAID Farming Systems Project in Lesotho, South Africa, 1979-82, helping improve crop varieties, crop rotations, and better animal nutrition.

Joyce Nestos Tarbet, 79, April 29, 2002, Pullman. Moved to Pullman in 1948 when her husband, Joe, took a teaching position in business administration at WSU. She was a secretary at WSU.

Taketsugu Tsurutani, 66, July 20, 2002, Minneapolis, intestinal failure. WSU political science professor and department chair, 1969-98.

Julia Bush, October 5, 2002, Alamo, California. Retired publications editor for the WSU Graduate School, 1966-77.