1930s
Irvin Johnson (’32 Pharm.) lives at Park-hurst House, 2450 May Street, Hood River, Oregon 97301. He owned pharmacies in College Place and Seattle but sold them to join a brother in the oil business in Hood River. At one time, he owned a restaurant and a tire store. He celebrated his 93rd birthday April 2, 2003. He welcomes letters and visits from friends.
Helen Cox Sutton (’33 Phys. Ed.) is a board member and exerciser at the West Seattle YMCA. Her activities include volunteering at service clubs, church, and schools, and directing the South Seattle Community College Foundation. Before retiring, she owned a women’s apparel store for 42 years in West Seattle. She is a past president of the west Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
Remo P. Fausti (’39 Speech/Comm., M.A. ’47 Speech), Olympia, WSU professor emeritus of speech, writes: “My 85th birthday was the garage burning to ashes. The Almighty has an interesting sense of humor. Have a new one. All is well. Aging is wonderful considering the alternative. A granddaughter is coming to WSU.”
1940s
Keith E. Peterson (’45 D.V.M.) and wife, Dorothy J. Schwab Peterson (’45 Home Ec.), write from Basye, Virginia: “We still are able to enjoy the golf and skiing here in the Shenandoah Valley. We travel both domestic and foreign.”
Marjorie DeMoss Casebolt (’47 Home Ec. Educ.) of Wauna, Washington, reports: “My book, Margarita, A Guatemalan Peace Corps Experience, was published in 2001. It is available at Amazon.com.” She served in the Peace Corps health and nutrition program from 1989 to 1992 in a small town in Guatemala.
1950s
LeRoy Desilet (’50 Speech/Comm.) of Sequim has been retired since 1990. He writes that he is recovering slowly from a fractured spine. “My wife, Elaine, and I spend hours in our yard and it is lovely. Maybe I can get back at golf in the spring.” During his WSC days, he was sports director of KWSC Radio, covering Cougar football, basketball, baseball, track, and ski jumping, among other sports.
Ray Graves (’50 Polit. Sci.) of Lakewood is author of Washington’s Historical Courthouses, a book available at major bookstores. He is an attorney with McGavick Graves P.S., Tacoma.
Jay Rockey (’50 Gen. St.), founder and chair of The Rockey Company, a Seattle public relations firm, received the inaugural lifetime achievement award from the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America during the chapter’s December 5, 2002 holiday party. The award was renamed the Jay Rockey Lifetime Achievement Award after its first recipient. During a 40-plus-year professional career, he served as director of public relations and advertising for the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962. He was chair of the WSU Foundation in 1990-92, and 1993 recipient of the Weldon B. Gibson Distinguished Volunteer Award from the WSU Foundation.
Bill McCaw (’51 Animal Sci, ’52 M.A. Animal Sci.) and Sarita McCaw (’53 Speech Comm.) of Walla Walla celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary April 10, 2002. Bill recently retired as manager of the Walla Walla Choral Society. A luthier, he makes stringed instruments, including guitars, cellos, and banjos. Sarita was a communications instructor at Walla Walla Community College from 1969 to 2002.
Retirees Garry Ray Miller (’57 Chem. Engr.) and his wife, Dixie, write from Waco, Texas: “We are still traveling all we can, particularly in Hawaii. Go to funerals. Play golf. Play with the grandchildren.”
Raymond Seegers (’58 Music, ’58 Teaching Cert.) has retired as an agent and manager of performing artists. He originally was a music educator and later worked for Columbia Artists in North Hollywood and New York. After retiring from Columbia in 1993, he started Seegers Artists Mgt.
1960s
Adolf Sgambelluri (’60 Police Sci.) is the federal security director of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam. Previously, he served as the vice president of special projects and programs at Guam Community College and as the executive director of the college’s Pro-Tech Institute. At one time, he was director of the Guam Department of Corrections and chief of police.
Carol Kepner Kirkby (’61 Phys. Ed.) of Burlington is a member of the board of directors of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a volunteer service organization for women in business, management, and the professions. She joined Soroptimist in 1976 and has served as club president and Northwestern Region governor. She is a counselor at Skagit Valley College and volunteers for Girl Scouts, American Red Cross, Skagit Women’s Alliance & Network, and the Women’s Leadership Project.
Susane Marie Barr (’62 Educ.), a teacher at Peninsula Elementary in Moses Lake, received a $9,000 Gates Computer Grant to upgrade classroom technology. The grant was awarded through the Teacher Leadership Program.
Richard Perteet (’65 Civil Engr.) has changed roles within Perteet Engineering from president to chairman of the board of directors. The company he founded in 1988 has 90 employees, with offices in Everett, Lakewood, and Snoqualmie. He will be a senior project manager in charge of a major new roadway design in Renton, until he retires in 2004.
James Henry Helm (’66 Ag. Educ., ’68 M.S. Agron.), Lacombe, Alberta, has been inducted into the University of Alberta Agricultural Hall of Fame. He joined the UA in 1973 to create a feed grain development program, the first developmental research program in the Alberta Department of Agriculture. The program became the Field Crop Development Center (FCDC). He released the first varieties of feed barley, Empress and Abee, from the program in 1982. He is working with the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Centre in Mexico to develop multiple-disease-resistant barley varieties. The latest facility for the FCDC is named the “J.H. Helm Cereal Research Center.” His three children graduated from WSU: Lisa (’90 Music), Jon (’93 Music), and Jeffrey (’98 Biology).
J. Eric Schuster (’66 Geology), Tumwater, is semi-retired, working three days a week for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources, in Olympia. A geologist, he specializes in creating digital geologic maps.
Susan Anderson Carlson (’68 Food Sci. & Hum. Nutr.), professor of nutrition at the University of Kansas School of Allied Health, was made an honorary member of the American Dietetics Association at the 2002 Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition in Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas City, Missouri, resident was recognized for her pioneering research that contributed to identifying roles of dietary long-chain fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in infant development. She also was cited for her advocacy of nutrition as an important, but frequently uncontrolled, variable, with research collaborators in the basic and clinical sciences. An enthusiastic promoter of registered dietitians, she serves as a preceptor for interns and a research advisor for nutrition graduate students
Eric Jensen (’68 Soc., ’73 M.A. Soc., ’78 Ph.D. Soc.) is a professor of sociology at the University of Idaho. He was a Fulbright Lecturer and Research Scholar at the University of Aarhus in Aarhus, Denmark, spring semester, 2001-02. He conducted research on comparative drug control policies with a focus on the newly independent nations of Eastern and Central Europe. He also presented lectures on U.S. drug control and criminal justice policy at universities and research centers in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Poland. His latest book, Drug War, American Style: Failed Policy and Its Alternatives, with Jurg Gerber, was published in 2001 by Garland Publishing, New York.
Ammon McWashington (’68 Phys. Ed.) is athletic director for the Seattle School District. His son, Shawn McWashington (’97 Comm., ’02 M.A. Adm.) is studying for a doctorate in sports administration at Florida State University. Both played football for WSU. Ammon was a running back on the 1965 “Cardiac Cougars” that went 7-3. Shawn was one of the “Fab Five” receivers on WSU’s 1998 Rose Bowl team that went 10-2.
1970s
Nelson Bills (’71, Ph.D. Ag. Econ.) was cited for one of the two projects honored with “Outstanding Public Issues Education Program Awards” during the 2002 National Public Policy Education Conference in Reno. The Agricultural, Food and Public Policy Preference Survey polled farmers and ranchers in 27 states for their opinions on existing and alternative federal farm programs. Kansas State University tabulated more than 14,000 responses. Bills, a member of the Cornell University faculty, was one of four national project leaders. The annual awards conferred by the Farm Foundation and the National Public Policy Education Committee recognize outstanding public policy programs developed by individuals or by groups at the local, state, or national level.
William “Hal” Godwin (’72 M.S. Psych., ’75 Ph.D. Clinical Psych.), vice president of student affairs at the University of Idaho for the past 13 years, was named executive director of Student Benefits, Health and Wellness at UI. He also returned to the classroom as a professor in the College of Education. He joined UI in 1975 as a psychologist in the Student Counseling Center. Later he served the university in the positions of director of major gifts, centennial coordinator, and interim director of athletics.
In early December 2002, Lawrence K. Mahuna (’72 Psych.) was named the 11th police chief on the Big Island of Hawaii. He had been acting chief since last August, and previously was assistant chief responsible for the Administrative Bureau. He joined the police department in 1973. He oversees more than 600 staff members and a $35 million annual budget.
Nancy McDougal (’72 Polit. Sci.), Phoenix, Arizona, has joined National Tobacco as director of national accounts in the sales department. Earlier she was Arizona Regional Merchandising Manager at Circle K (Conoco Phillips), former chairperson for Arizona Food Marketing Alliance, and served on the Arizona Lottery Retail Advisory Board.
Paul Sunderland (’73 Agron.) was named the 2002 Ag Star Individual at the Ag Fest in Salem, Oregon. He is the director of Multnomah County Extension Service of Oregon State University, ex-officio board member of the Oregon Agri-Business Council, and active in the Oregon Agri-Business Education Corporation. This past year, he was an Extension Fellow of the National Association of Counties in Washington, D.C., working on federal issues and legislation.
Bruce DeGooyer (’74 English), Bloomington, Illinois, has been named director of learning and development for COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services. He oversees the Corporate Learning and Development Division. He joined the firm in 1994. He is a member of both the national and central Illinois chapters of the American Society for Training and Development and the Society for Insurance Trainers and Educators. He also is a member of the Bloomington Board of Trustees for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and a volunteer for the BroMenn Regional Medical Center Foundation.
Sue Erickson Abitz (’75 Elem. Educ.) taught at a drug rehabilitation facility for adolescents for nearly five years, tutored, and now is substitute teaching in the Spokane and Central Valley school districts. Her siblings are Cougars—Craig ’74, Karen ’77, and Scott ’81. And she’s converted her son’s playroom into a “Cougar Room.” Sue is heading a reunion for all WSU alumni who lived in Scott Hall (1970-80). The date will be in late July at Lower Twin Lakes near Rathdrum, Idaho. “Bring sleeping bags, swim gear and old photo albums,” she writes. RSVP Sue at 509-891-5655 or by e-mail at jwabitz@aol.com
Tom Drumheller (’75 Hotel & Rest. Adm.) writes: “In January 2002, I left Steve Martin Management Co., where I was president, and started my own company, Escape Lodging Co. We have the Inn at Cannon Beach, Oregon, and just finished a project called the Ocean Lodge & Beach Bungalows, www.theoceanlodge.com. We also purchased the majority of stock in Cousins Restaurant in The Dalles, Oregon.”
John F. “Jack” Elliot (’75 Ag. Educ.), professor of agricultural education at the University of Arizona, was one of two people in the Western region honored with the USDA 2002 Food and Agriculture Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award. He was recognized for his distinguished record in teaching agricultural technology management and education. He is the first UA faculty member to be honored with the USDA’s highest award for teaching excellence. The award includes a $2,000 stipend. He has chaired the teacher-certification review committee of the Arizona State Board of Education Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee, conducts numerous statewide workshops for secondary school and vocational education teachers, and has written 21 state curricula for high-school-level agri-science programs. Active in international agricultural and extension education, he has conducted workshops and assessed curricula in several countries, including Russia, Lithuania, and Namibia. He also has written more than 90 publications.
Sid Gustafson (’76 Veterinary Sci.), a practicing veterinarian in Bozeman, Montana, has written a novel, Prisoners of Flight. It is scheduled to be published by The Permanent Press, Sag Harbor, New York, in June 2003. A second book, First Aid for the Active Dog, is scheduled for publication at the same time by Alpine Press.
The Gordon Brothers Cellars in Pasco has been sold to Legacy Estates Group, a California wine company, according to Jeff Gordon (’77 Ag. Econ.). Jeff and his brother, Bill, founded the winery in 1980. Their first chardonnay was released in 1985. Jeff bought Bill’s share in 1998.
The Port of Tacoma has promoted Jeffrey L. Smith (’77 Bus. Adm. & Acct.) senior director, finance and administration. The 17-year port veteran now oversees the port’s finance, accounting, budget, treasury, and customer service operations. He has been a CPA in Washington since 1980.
Former Cougar pitcher Bob Sherwood (’78 Comm.) is senior director, real estate, for the Boston Market Corp. Last year he was transferred from the Chicago area to San Clemente, California. He returned to the WSU campus in September 2002 with other members of the Cougar baseball team that played in the 1976 College World Series. An All Northern Division pitcher in 1977, he won 30 career games, second only to Joe McIntosh’s (’73 Zool.) school record of 34.
Cedric L. Watkins (’78 Bus. Adm.) and his wife, Micha’l, operate The Watkins Group, LLC, a 10-person estate planning law firm in Los Angeles. He played football for WSU coaches Jim Sweeney (’74), Jackie Sherrill (’75), and Warren Powers (’76), and was a Cougar long jumper in 1974 and 1975. He earned his M.B.A. (1980) from Pepperdine University and his law degree (1996) from Loyola University Law School. He writes: “I am really proud of our football team’s accomplishments in the past, and especially in 2002. My wife and I, along with our son, Cedric, Jr. (San Diego State ’97), attended the Rose Bowl game with our two daughters (14, 15). My letterman’s jacket still fits.”
Sue Ellerman Ershler (’79 Bus. Adm.) Kirkland, has taken on a new responsibility as director of sales for a seven-state region for Kinko’s.
Brad Fisher (’79 Real Estate) is the director of investments, US Bancorp Piper Jaffray’s, in the Tri-Cities. He recently completed the chartered retirement specialist program, covering comprehensive retirement planning.
Scott K. Jones (’79 Bus. Adm.) was named Industry Leader of the Year for 2002 by the Spokane Insurance Associates. He is the president and CEO of Fidelity Associates Insurance & Financial Services in Spokane.
1980s
Joe Hall (’80 Bus. Adm.) is a partner in the Hall-Copeland Ford Lincoln Mercury Nissan auto-truck dealership. He has 22 years of experience in the business and joined the Lewiston, Idaho firm more than five years ago. The company has over 75 employees.
Lisa Beckett Berger (’81 M.S. Phys. Ed.), along with her 1992 Pomona-Pitzer College women’s tennis team, was inducted into the Pomona-Pitzer Athletic Hall of Fame. She coached her team to the 1992 NCAA championship and titles for singles and doubles matches. She was the women’s assistant coach at WSU from 1980 to 1982 and is now an associate professor of physical education at Pomona-Pitzer.
David C. Meyer (’81 Comm., ’83 Psych.) has been Morning Edition host of KPLU radio at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland since 1988. He worked for public radio station KWSU while at WSU and helped build student radio station KZUU. After college, he went into commercial radio, anchoring afternoon newscasts at WMRE in Boston. Then he was news director at KEDO-AM/KLYK-FM in Longview. He returned to public radio in 1987 as Weekend Edition host at KPLU. He writes: “I enjoy the in-depth coverage and creative freedom offered by public radio. I’m proud of the quality of our broadcast journalism. Although commercial radio can be more lucrative in terms of paychecks, money can’t buy happiness.” He collects science fiction novels and movie props.
Shelley J. Smith (’84 M.A. Anthro.) is co-editor and wrote portions of The Archaeology Education Handbook: Sharing the Past with Kids, published in April 2000 by Altamira Press, a division of Rowman and Littlefield, Walnut Creek, California. She is a resource manager for the Bureau of Land Management in Salt Lake City.
Jeff Boyce (’85 B.S. Forestry) is a forest ecologist with Meridian Environmental in Seattle. The employee-owned consulting firm specializes in environmental sciences, regulatory compliance and permitting, and project management services throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
As president of The Hotel Group, Inc., Douglas N. Dreher (’87 Hotel & Rest. Adm.), Edmonds, is responsible for all managed and owned properties, new hotel development, acquisitions, and strategic planning. The Edmonds-based hotel group owns and manages 25 properties in 10 states, including Alaska, California, Washington, Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee. During his 13 years with the firm, he’s supervised hotels throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Mitchell Roach (’87 Mgmt. Info. Sys.), Pasco, is the senior account manager for Popular Financial Services. He completed the adoption of his wife’s son, Austin, April 8, 2002. He writes, “Austin . . . saw his first Cougar football game this past year (2001) as WSU downed the Oregon State Beavers. He had his picture taken with Butch!”
Michael Wasem (’88 Comm.) is communications manager for the Port of Tacoma.
Kristin Holly (’89 Psych.) is a mental health therapist for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at Providence Portland Medical Center. In 2000, she spent three months backpacking in Europe. She writes, “I enjoy local theatre, ballet and the arts, as well as live music every chance I get.”
Michelle Johnson (’89 Elect. Engr.) has been promoted to technical group manager of the Radiation and Health Technology group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. She joined PNNL in 1992.
1990s
Crystal Donner (’90 Civil Engr.) became the executive vice president at Perteet Engineering in Everett. Her focus is on the engineering operations of the company. She joined the company in 1996 as a project manager and was promoted to lead the transportation design team.
Naval Petty Officer First Class Todd J. Hack (’90 Hist.) received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for three years of public service to youth of Meridian, Mississippi, and Newport News and Hampton, Virginia. He tutored children at several public schools and coached civilian and military youth soccer. He is the public affairs officer with the Whidbey Island Naval Air Reserve in Oak Harbor.
Shelly Morris Mumma (’90 Comm.), Lincoln, Nebraska, is pursuing a doctorate in Leadership Studies at the University of Nebraska. She still works full-time as assistant director of Student Life and director of Campus Activities at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Staci Corn Wanichek (’90 Comm.) and Cassie Corn Rothstrom are business partners with their mother, Cheryl Corn, in Evergreen Labs, Walla Walla. In 1997, they developed a stain remover, Wine Away, to eliminate red wine stains. Made of fruit and vegetable extracts, the product is now being marketed throughout the U.S. and in 15 other countries. Staci is president and national sales manager for the company, Cassie is vice president, and mom is marketing director.
Tom Merz (’91 Civil Engr., ’98 M.S. Civil Engr.) has joined the civil and structural engineering department of Meier Enterprises in Kennewick.
David Elmenhurst (’94 Account.) is the manager of LeMaster & Daniels, a Walla Walla accounting and tax consulting firm.
Seattle writer Georgie Nickell (’94 Comm.) is author of a novel, I Only Smoke on Thursdays, published October 2002.
Robert Richmond (’95 Civ. Engr.) is employed by JTC in Pasco. He married Heather Eayrs (’94 Social Sci.) March 31, 2002. She manages Mel’s Inter-City Collision in Kennewick. They live in Walla Walla.
Steven Carbonetti (’96 Land. Arch.) is a landscape architect in Kirkland.
Heidi Cosner Fox (’97 English, ’97 Teaching Cert.) teaches English at North County High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. She married Casey Fox June 25, 2002 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Juleen Esvelt (’98 Civil Engr., ’99 M.A. Structural Engr.) joined the engineering staff of Harms & Associates, Pasco. Earlier she was an engineer for Structural Research Co. in Rice, Washington, and I.L. Gross Structural Engineers in Seattle.
Melanie Longmeier (’98 Food Sci.), a quality control supervisor for Safeway Corp. in Sandy, Oregon, married Darren Oeck November 17, 2001.
Tim Blair (’99 Civil Engr.) married Krista Carlton (’01 Human Resources) September 1, 2002. Tim works for Toothman Orton Engineering. Krista is employed by GAP Inc. in Boise, Idaho.
Lynsi Carothers (’99 Nursing) married Harlan Slind May 20, 2002. She is a registered nurse in bone marrow transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
Timothy Dalton (’99 Bus. Adm.) was named executive director of the Downtown Kennewick and Columbia Drive Association. He previously directed the Pasco Farmers Market for five years.
Tracy Olberding (’99 M.S. Civil Engr.), Pasco, is the executive director of the Washington State Potato Foundation.
After three years in the Chevron Texaco Corporate New York office, Trisha Roché (’99 Bus. Adm.) has relocated to San Ramon, California. She manages all corporate sponsorships, including the U.S. Olympic Committee, NASCAR, CART, and the Metropolitan Opera.
2000s
Marine Corps First Lt. Robert Kleinpast (’00 Crim. Just.) was promoted to his current rank while serving with 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Sarah Norberg (’00 Animal Sci.) received both the Featherston Graduate Teaching Award from the Department of Animal Sciences and the Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Teaching at Purdue University.
Renata Presby (’00 Arch. Studies, ’00 Arch.) has joined the architectural department of Meier Enterprises in Kennewick.
Jason Slagle (’00 Hist., ’00 Teaching Cert.) married Trudy Hester (’99 Soc.) March 31, 2002. He is an English teacher and coach at Kennewick High School. She is a buyer in the corporate purchasing department at Lamb Weston.
Jennifer Sutton (’00 Exercise Sci.) married Talon Wiser June 23, 2002, in Kennewick. She is the fitness director for Pasco Gold’s Gym.
Jonathan Scott (’01 Mgmt. Info. Sys.), a technology coordinator in Yakima, married Amy Scott July 28, 2002.
Navy Ensign Jon Sunderland (’01 Decision Sci.) was designated Naval Aviator at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.
Patrick Valdez (’01 Mech. Engr.) is a development engineer at Battelle, where his wife, Catherine, is an assistant. They live in Kennewick.
Michelle Yates Mandis (’02 M.S. Env. Engr.) has joined Portage Environmental Inc. as a specialist engineer. She is contributing to such projects as documenting feed sources of the various Hanford 200 Area (chemical processing) waste streams for the Hanford Defined Waste Soil Inventory and Best Basis Inventory models. She spent the summer in Okinawa, Japan, completing hazardous materials assessments at Kadena Air Base.
Wayne Stigge (’02 M.A. Agribusiness) married Kellie Pope June 23, 2002.