1920s

Benjamin S. Malloy (’27 Agri.), 99, February 2, 2003, Seattle. Built and managed apartment complexes, a total of 123 units in Seattle.

Joe Lyle Dirstine (’29 Pharm.), 95, February 25, 2003, Spokane. Manager of the Deaconess Hospital pharmacy when he retired in 1974.

Lylia Miller (’29 Engl.), 94, December 11, 2002, Spokane. Taught in Wilbur and Colfax, and at North Pines Junior High in Spokane for many years.

Constance Washburn Van Horn (’29 Liberal Arts), 93, September 13, 2002, Mesa, Arizona. Homemaker. Past president of Whatcom County Federated Women’s Clubs. Spent most of her married life on a poultry farm in Marietta, then in the early 1950s moved to Lummi Island for reef netting.

1930s

Warren Green (’30 Gen. St.), 93, December 20, 2002, Seattle. Worked on the early development of television at RCA laboratories. Started a business for repairing radios and wiring for electricity during the Great Depression. Enjoyed a 37-year career at Pacific Telephone & Telegraph. Collector of discarded electronic equipment, including some on display in the Seattle Museum of History & Industry.

Theodore M. Mathison (’30 Elect. Engr.), 95, February 23, 2003, Des Moines, Washington. Boeing engineer for 31 years. Retired in 1972 as chief of flight test instrumentations systems, technology unit. Donated five acres of forested land and a house he built⁠—his home for 55 years⁠—to the city of Burien for use as a park.

Dorothy Hammett (’31 Home Ec.), 83, November 12, 2002, Seattle. Taught at Edmonds High School. After raising her children, received her master’s degree from the University of Washington. Taught in the Seattle schools for 16 years.

Joseph James Livers (’33 M.A. Math.), 99, January 31, 2003, Seattle. Statistician for Boeing in Seattle, 1951-64. Later taught mathematics at Highline Community College, where he was chairman of the math and science department, 1965-69.

Erling Logan (’33 Educ.), 90, December 6, 2002, Ashland, Oregon. Taught school in Alaska, Wyoming, California, and Idaho. Owned a hotel in Sandpoint, Idaho. Intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, retiring as a major in 1959. Managed food distribution to European refugees for the U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in Shanghai, China.

Leo Reed Thomas (’35 Econ.), 90, December 2, 2002, Highline. Owned Seahurst Oil Co. President of the Washington Oil Heat Institute. Member of the Highline Savings and Loan board. World traveler in retirement. Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

James Webb (’35 Agri. Sci.,’35 Ag. Educ.), 92, June 8, 2002, Ritzville. Started the agricultural education program at Ritzville High and taught for 34 years, 1935-71. High school principal, 1949-51. Board member of  the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, 1974-87.

Cecil Bond (’36 Ag. Econ.), 92, February 7, 2003, Lewiston, Idaho. Yakima County extension agent in 1937. Chairman of the Asotin County Cooperative Extension Service, 1938-72.

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

George Moline (’37 Bus. Adm.), 87, October 17, 2002, Hayden, Idaho. Owned The Blue Topaz Jewelry Store in Spokane.

Thomas Hyslop, Sr. (’38 Agri.), 87, December 14, 2002, Spokane. Served in the Army Air Corps during WWII and retired as major. Moved to Spokane after the war and assumed management of the family farm until retirement in 1986. Honored as Conservation Farmer of the Year for the Davenport-Reardon District (1950), Spokane County Cattleman of the Year (1953), and Conservation Farmer of the Year for Spokane County (1981). Received the WSU Alumni Achievement Award in 1990. Named to the WSU Board of Regents in 1983.

Lyle N. McAlister (’38 Geol.), March 1, 2002, Lakewood, Colorado. Army lieutenant colonel with the 17th Airborne in Battle of the Bulge in WWII. Earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Berkeley in 1950. Retired from the University of Florida faculty in 1985.

Stanley Schwartze (’38 Ag. Econ., ’39 Ag. Educ.), December 23, 2000, Edmonds. Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.

Winifred Sewell (’38 Engl.), 85, October 23, 2002, Newport. Received her master’s degree in library science from Columbia University. Librarian for University of Maryland and National Institutes of Health. Served on the 1958 International Federation of Pharmacy’s pharmaceutical abstract commission, the 1965 National Academy of Sciences committee on modern methods of handling chemical information, and the 1966 State Department library exchange program with the Soviet Union.

Robert E. Lee (’39 Pharm.), 87, October 9, 2002, Tucson, Arizona. Served in the Air Force during WWII. Toured the U.S. with his parents and wife, Betty Graham. Recalled to the Air Force for the Korean War. Bought the Best Drug Store in Safford, Arizona, 1967-75. In 1973, president of the Safford Graham County Chamber of Commerce and of the Arizona Pharmaceutical Association. Selected 1975 “Man of the Year” by the Safford Graham County Chamber of Commerce.

1940s

John Eisenhauer (’40 Zool.), 83, October 2, 2002, Spokane. Graduated from the Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. Served with the Army Medical Corps during WWII. Spent 10 years as staff physician at Ray Brook State TB Sanitarium in New York, following a three-year battle with tuberculosis contracted while on duty in Japan. Worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Spokane until 1986.

Betty L. Sabol (’42 Bact.), 85, November 17, 2002, Lake City. Endocrinologist at Children’s Hospital, Seattle, for more than 20 years.

Marvin Gilberg (’43 Zool.), 81, June 8, 2002, Ross, California. Member of WSC’s 1941 basketball team that played in the NCAA finals. Graduated from School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco. Practiced dentistry in San Francisco for 40 years.

Maxine West Hallstrom (’43 Home Ec.), 81, August 2, 2002, Yakima. Taught home economics at Centralia High School and spent 23 years as elementary librarian at Highland. Retired in 1979.

Patricia (Knerr) Bockmeyer (’45 Engl.), 78, December 14, 2002, Spokane. Taught high school English in Spokane at Rogers High, 1945-51, and at Shadle Park High, 1962-82.

Gary Fletcher (’45 Pharm.), 59, October 16, 2002, Vancouver. Pharmacist at Bi-Mart, Fred Meyer, and Southwest Washington Medical Center. Army veteran and past president of Southwest Washington Pharmacy Association.

Margaret Miller Iltz (’45 Pharm.), 77, November 6, 2002, Moses Lake. Owned the Odessa Drug Store.

Ida Sue Saunders (’45 Phys. Ed.), 80, December 23, 2002, Pullman. Owned and operated Saunders Floor Covering in Pullman with her husband, Harold “Tobe” Saunders, 1942-90. Purchased Cougar World Travel, Pullman, in 1988 and the “Inn at Priest Lake,” Idaho, in 1998.

Donald R. Aries (’48 Phys. Ed., ’54 M.Ed.), 81, January 11, 2003, Spokane. Taught physical education and social studies at Spokane’s Mead High. Head baseball coach and assistant in football and basketball. Served in the Navy, 1943-46; recalled to active duty in the Korean War. Returned to Mead in 1953 as district physical education coordinator and athletic director, along with his former duties. Central Valley High vice principal, 1958-62. University High principal, 1962-72. Teacher, counselor, and debate and tennis coach at East Valley High, 1972-78.  Executive director of New Hope Training Center in Spokane, 1980-86.

Robert Gilden (’47 Ag. Engr., ’51 M.S. Ag. Engr.), 66, December 4, 2002, Blaine. Taught in Lacey. Later was a coach and administrator at Pateros High School. Moved to Tonasket in 1965 as high school principal and later administrative assistant to the superintendent. Moved to Blaine in 1977 as superintendent. Retired in 1990. Sigma Chi fraternity.

Philip A. Chapman (’49 Geol.), 78, February 13, 2002, Shelton.

Warren Durham (’49 Comm.), 77, October 15, 2002, Spokane, cancer. Advertising consultant, marketing consultant, newspaper publisher, movie producer, and TV host. Hosted a short-lived TV series called Big Band Days, which was seen on the now-defunct Channel America cable network. Announcer at KHQ and KFPY radio in Spokane.

Elvin Johnson (’49 Forestry), 79, December 3, 2000, Camano Island. Army officer with the 10th Mountain Division in WWII, fought in Italy, receiving the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Infantry Badge. Professor emeritus at San Francisco State University, park ranger at Mt. Rainier, member of the U.S. Ski Team, coached several collegiate championship ski teams at SFSU, charter member and chairman of the NCAA Ski Rules Committee, assistant chief of course at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California. Climbed Mt. Rainier 22 times. Inducted to the Pacific Northwest Ski Hall of Fame in 1990.

1950s

Theodore Allen (’51 Bus. Adm.), February 20, 2002, Anderson Island.

Howard Chandler (’51, Elect. Engr.), 79, November 1, 2002, Seattle. Partner with his father on the Orondo Ferry. Worked for IBM for 33 years.

Dale Christian (’51 Polit. Sci.), 81, December 18, 2002, Boise. Worked for Household Insurance Corp. for entire career. Assistant manager in Spokane, 1950-55, and manager in Lewiston, 1955-58. Moved to Boise in 1958 to sell life insurance and mutual funds with Household Finance.

L. Clint Luce (’52 Ag. Sci, ’58 M.S. Ag. Sci.), 78, January 15, 2003, Pullman. Coached the WSU livestock judging team as a graduate student. County extension agent in Whitman County, 1954-88.

Terrence McMahon (’52 Bus. Adm.), 72, December 7, 2002, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 1955, became district salesman for Phillips Petroleum in Coeur d’Alene. Worked for Panhandle Realty, 1962-66. Started Northwest Real Estate in 1966. Co-founded the Coeur d’Alene Multiple Listing Service.

Dale Kassel (’53 Speech/Comm.), 72, January 25, 2003, Dallas, Texas. After a career in advertising, became a character actor. Appeared in such feature films as JFK, Semi-Tough, Harley, and West of Hester Street. Also appeared in theatrical productions, music videos, and print media. 

Robert Schmidt (’53 Agri.), 72, December 6, 2002, Rosalia. After graduation, formed a farming partnership with his brother to manage the family farm until 1987. Thirty-year volunteer firefighter for Spokane County Fire District 3. Served on the Washington State Association of Conservation Districts and Spokane County Conservation District.

Phillip M. Davenport (’54 Gen. St.), 71, March 6, 2003, Wenatchee. University of Washington Medical School graduate, 1958. Retired as a flight surgeon in the Air Force with the rank of captain in 1963, then started a residency at Wayne State University in Detroit. Dermatologist at the Wenatchee Valley Clinic, 1966-99.

Herbert Lewis Collison (’55 Agri.), February 10, 2002, Minnesota. Tank platoon leader in Korea, awarded the Bronze Star. Worked for ranches in California and New Mexico, and in 1959 joined the Minnesota Farm Bureau as an extension agent. Investment banker for most of his career.

Raymond Leo Turcotte (’55 D.V.M.), 83, September 1, 2002, Laurel, Montana. Served in the Army during WWII, earning the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Veterinarian in Laurel for 30 years. One of the first veterinarians in the U.S. to own a helicopter as part of the veterinary service.

Rhea Ball Rogers (’56 Home Ec.), August 18, 2002, Fallbrook, California. Taught school more than 33 years.

Gordon Bryan (’57 Phys. Sci.), 68, February 6, 2003, Colfax. Draftsman and designer for Ball Aerospace in the Pullman area. Opened Bryan’s Antiques with his wife, Joyce Powell, in Colfax in 1989.

Wallace London (’57 Agri.), 68, May 23, 2002, Wenatchee. Horticulturist for N.W. Wholesale for 30 years. Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.

Michael Connacher (’59 Agri.), 71, February 3, 2003, Otis Orchards. Owned Concrete Cleaning and developed several technologies for decontaminating concrete surfaces.

Dale Newland (’59 Geog.), February 3, 2003, Spokane. Field representative for the Social Security Administration. Retired in 1997.

1960s

Robert Marx (’61 Speech), 63, October 17, 2002, Fairfax County, Virginia. Army communications officer during the Vietnam War. Author of Army Studies History of the U.S. Army’s Communications in Vietnam. Project manager with Satellite Business Systems and IBM.

Mary Deffenbaugh Baker (’64 M.S. Bact.), 76, December 11, 2002, Ashland, Ohio. Worked at Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia, in cleft-palate research, publishing numerous scholarly papers.

Valaray Borneman (’64 Elem. Educ.), 60, December 18, 2002, Bellingham, cancer. Elementary school teacher in the Bellingham Public Schools for 24 years.

Sara Gilman (’67 Psych, ’74 Vet. Sci.), 58, November 17, 2002, Seattle. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1974. Commissioned through the Medical Services in 1976. Completed an M.D. in neurophysiology at George Washington University in 1945. Her research included the effects of decompression rates on the nervous system of deep-sea divers. Among the first women dive officers in the Navy. Retired as lieutenant commander March 1996. Founder, president, and CEO of Scientifica, Inc., a successful effort to provide pre-

clinical, clinical, and regulatory writing and editing services to pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology communities.

1970s

John “Jack” Francis (’71 M.S. Phys. Ed.), 85, October 29, 2002, Vancouver. Flew 65 missions in the Air Force during WWII. Under his direction in 1962, the high schools in the Vancouver School District began an annual all-city musical, mounting elaborate productions of shows such as Li’l Abner, The Music Man, and South Pacific. President of the Washington State Music Educators Association.

Daniel Birk (’73 Police Sci.), 51, October 26, 2002, Woodland. Worked for USNR Logging Equipment Co. and was a Civil War reenactor with the Northwest Civil War Council, part of Rockridge Artillery.

Darryl Holling (’75 Wildlife Biol. & Range Mgmt.), 50, March 7, 2003, Post Falls, Idaho. Chief operator for the city of Post Falls in the Wastewater Treatment Department. Joined the department in 1994.

Brian Blank (’79 Bact.), December 30, 2002, Oakesdale. Member of the Washington Pork Producers and voted Pork Producer of the Year. Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.

1980s

Thomas P. Kuhn (’86 Comm.), 42, February 14, 2003, Redmond, Washington. Graduate of Circle In The Square, New York City. Performer and writer. Member of Screen Actors Guild. Appeared in local theater, print advertisements, and in local and national radio and television commercials.

Joseph Schad (’87 M.S. Engr.), 65, December 6, 2002, Spokane. Worked for General Motors in Kansas City, 1961-72. Moved to Spokane in 1972 to work at Warren, Little and Lund as a project manager and engineer. Owned Comfort Engineering, a mechanical contracting firm, 1978-93.

1990s

Gerald Alan Dickens (’93 Pharm.), 44, of Pullman, February 23, Spokane, following an illness. Pharmacist at Rite Aid in Pullman. Held B.S. (1984) and M.S.(1987) degrees in biology from South Dakota State University.

Amy King Robinson (’97 Human Nutr. & Food Sci.), 29, November 11, 2002, Centralia, cancer. Worked for the Research and Development Department of Starbucks Coffee in Seattle.

Faculty & Staff

Walter Clore (’47 Ph.D. Hort.), 91, February 3, 2003, Prosser. Faculty member at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, 1934-76. Washington wine pioneer. His significant contribution to the wine industry was finding the optimum locations to grow wine grapes in the state. In 1993, the WSU Foundation established the Walter Clore Scholarship for students interested in the wine industry. The Washington state legislature formally titled him Father of Washington’s Wine Industry in 2001. A planned $6 million wine and culinary center in Prosser will be named for him.

John C. Sheppard, 79, February 18, 2003, Pullman. Army combat medic with the 103rd Infantry Division during WWII. Received Purple Heart for wounds, including the loss of a leg, while serving in eastern France in November 1944. Earned doctorate in nuclear chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis.  Member of the WSU College of Engineering faculty from 1972 until retiring in 1991.

Balazx G. Zombori, 32, December 23, 2002, Pullman, car accident. Became an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at WSU in 2002. Served as research faculty in WSU’s Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory.