1920s
Mildred Farrish Sotola (’25 Educ.) celebrated her 101st birthday March 30, 2004, in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. She taught grades 1-6 in a small country school and rode horseback 12 miles to reach her school and students.
1930s
Alma Nelsen Taylor (’32 Office Adm.), Nordland, returned to WSU for the 50th and 60th anniversaries of her graduation. She marked her 75th anniversary as a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority in 2003.
1940s
Lester Coffman (’41 Ind. Arts) is retired in Troy, Montana, after operating a grocery and sporting goods store for 30 years. He and his wife of 53 years traveled all the Western states, before she passed away in 1993, three days before her 80th birthday. He writes, “I’m a poor cook and house keeper, so I married again. Mona has been a real good partner.”
Kenneth Olsen (’45 Botany), Spokane, is a retired research plant physiologist. He had two heart surgeries in 2003.
Raymond R. Snow (’48 Educ.), Port Orchard, stays active as chaplain of the Washington Chapter of the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945). The group meets monthly in Gig Harbor.
Albert W. Jones (’49 Bus. Adm.), Colorado Springs, writes, “Had left knee replacement and the leg got infected. It had to be amputated, including the knee replacement.”
Milford S. Westin (’49 Pharm.) retired after 45 years as a practicing pharmacist. He is in his fifth term as commissioner, Port of Kalama, Washington. He was elected to the commission 27 years ago.
1950s
Grace Wilcox Bargreen-Parsons (’50 Music), Everett, spends her winters on a golf course in Palm Springs. She writes, “I’m 95 and newly remarried. Still play golf about three times a week. Can only hit about 1150 yards, but they usually are down the middle. I’m a good putter and chipper. My immediate family is now 57—including 14 grandchildren and 28 greats.”
Bob Erdmann (’50 Psych) and his wife, Marie Clausen Erdmann ’51, Port Angeles, operate Bio Science, offering alternative nutrition and electromagnetic approaches to health problems.
David E. Allen (’52 English) marked 46 years in the monastic life July 11, 2004. He is assistant treasurer/bursar for the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Last spring he made his eighth visit to Japan, where he worked from 1962 to 1975.
Robert F. Hanson (’53 Recreation, ’54 M.A. Recreation), Walnut Creek, California, climbed Yosemite’s Half Dome June 8, 2004. He led two canoe trips on Utah’s Green River last May, and he coordinates the Elderhostel Program for the California Alpine Club.
Lucille Cloninger Vaughn (’53 Educ.) became reacquainted with Clarkston’s Senior Center in retirement. When she was working as a reporter for the Clarkston Herald, she would check in and see what the Golden Age organization was doing in the way of renewing the former 6th Street Theater into a senior center. She writes, “The orchestra stand is still there. Each Tuesday from 8 until 10 p.m., the seniors are still dancing.”
Since retiring from teaching and coaching, Nellie Jones Wagner (’55 Phys. Ed.), Wapato, has kept busy with orcharding, trucking, and traveling with her husband. They have a winter home in Yuma, Arizona. She enjoys gardening, sewing, and keeping up with friends.
Lillie Foster (’57 Music Educ.), Douglassville, Pennsylvania, is CEO of Foster & Foster, a consulting firm she and her husband, John, started in 1996. She teaches presentation skills in the continuing education division of Reading Area Community College.
Floyd Richmond (’59 Police Sci.) and his wife, Carol (Sanders), Anacortes, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary July 31, 2004. They lived and worked in Port Townsend and Walla Walla, before moving to Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1984, where he was executive director for Women in Safe Homes, and then social services director for the Ketchikan General Hospital. She was the hospital’s assistant administrator. He retired from Island Hospital in Anacortes in 1997.
1960s
Joyce Aamot Green (’60 Bact.), Bellevue, was installed as international vice president-finance of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority at AGD’s 42nd International Convention in Chicago. She will serve from 2004 to 2006. She was previously a quality consultant/manager of medical staff services for the Providence Health System Northwest service area.
Carolyn Burke Malnes (’60 Social St.), Lynnwood, a teacher of piano, theory, and composition, was awarded the Washington State Music Teachers (WSMT) highest honor, Honor Life Membership, at the state convention in Bellingham in June 2004. She is a past president of the WSMT and a founding member and first president of the Edmonds Music Teachers Association.
Charles L. Miller (’61 Phys. Ed.) and his wife, Gail Morgan Miller (’61 Phys. Ed.), Banning, California, write, “We are playing a lot of golf, traveling, visiting children. We love Cougar football and attend games and the wonderful Holiday Bowl with our Spokane Cougar friends. Chuck was inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Hall of Fame. He’s had two knee replacements and is still going strong.”
Ernie F. Smith (x’61 Soil Sci.), owner of a Salinas, California, construction company, has sung in barbershop quartets for 40 years and is a member of the Far West District Barbershop Hall of Fame. He also has been involved with the Dixieland Monterey Festival since its inception in 1980. He was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 1997. “Keeping active keeps me going,” he says.
Richard Casmier (’64 Hist.) retired February 2000 after nearly 30 years with the U.S. Postal Service in Tacoma, where he was also air intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy. He previously taught school in Seattle and was a private investigator in San Francisco. He now makes his home in Lake Montezuma, Arizona, about 20 miles from Sedona.
Kathy Middle (’65 Psych.), co-pastor at the Hemet, California, United Methodist Church for the past 10 years, has been appointed senior pastor at the Palm Springs United Methodist Church. She holds a master’s degree (1960) and a doctorate (1993) from Claremont School of Theology.
Roy H. Johnson (’66 Phys. Educ.) and Geraldine Jandl Johnson (’65 English) retired March 1, 2004. Roy’s 37-year career in teaching took him to Ephrata, Basin City, and Kirkland, Washington, Gardena, California, and Hohenfels, Germany. Geraldine taught a total of 14 years in Aberdeen, Seattle, and Quilcene. Both taught elementary, middle, and high school levels. They have moved from Torrance, California, to Everett.
Mark Suwyn (’67 Ph.D. Chem.) is chairman and CEO of Louisiana-Pacific, which moved its headquarters from Portland to Nashville in June 2004.
Raymond D. Crabbs (’69 Ag. Econ., ’73 M.A. Ag. Econ.), Fairfax, Virginia, is president and CEO of America’s Fund for Communities. He was ASWSU president in 1968-69.
Garry Hill (‘69 BioSci.) served as English-language stadium announcer for track and field at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He previously served in this capacity at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and has been appointed to the same role for the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. He is the longtime editor of the California-based Track & Field News magazine.
R.W. Schillinger, Jr. (’69 Forestry) is a city forester for the city of Montesano. His job generated a net profit for the city of $1 million per year from logging in the city forest. He keeps up with his six children and four grandkids, hiking around Mount Rainier’s 100-mile Wonderland Trails.
1970s
Diane Lee Wynne Alfano (’70 Educ.) retired in June 2003 after 33 years of teaching. She moved to the Phoenix area and is now a realtor with RE/MAX, a student-teacher supervisor at Arizona State University, and a math consultant for Prentice Hall Publishers. She writes that she divorced in 1993 and is still looking for “Mr. Wonderful.”
Lynda Hatch Paznokas (’72 Educ.), the Boeing Distinguished Professor of Science Education in WSU’s College of Education, has been named the pre-secondary and informal science director for the International Council of Associations for Science Education.
Ron Wysaske (’74 Bus. Adm., ’89 M.B.A.), Washougal, was named president and COO of Riverview Community Hospital. He also is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Business and Economics at WSU Vancouver.
In June 2004, Charles L. “Chuck” Munson (’75 Ag. Econ., ’76 M.A. Ag. Econ.) was named director of the Office of Graduate Programs in WSU’s College of Business and Economics, where he is an associate professor of operations management.
Richard L. Anderson (’76 Bus. Adm.) has joined the board of directors of Cascade Financial Corp. in Everett, the largest locally owned CPA firm in Snohomish County.
Roger Fox (’76 Social St.) is superintendent of the Quincy School District. He was previously principal at Medical Lake High School.
Craig Stuart Schafer (’76 Hotel Adm.) co-owns University Tower Hotel and is the sole owner of the newly reopened Hotel Andra, both in Seattle.
Richard Duval (’77 Comm.), Mill Creek, a photographer and musician, exhibited “A Touch on Jazz,” mixed-media prints of jazz musicians August 2004 at The Lakeshore Gallery in Kirkland. He recently issued his second CD of piano-based improvisational music, entitled Looking Down on Clouds. For a preview, visit www.phototunes.com.
Allen W. Heinemann (’77 Psych.), Chicago, is serving as 2004-05 president of both the American Congress on Rehabilitation Medicine and Division 22, Rehabilitation Psychology, American Psychological Association.
Robert Shepp and Diane Guzzo-Shepp (’78 Elem. Ed.) have moved from Bellevue to San Diego to accept new jobs. A teacher for 22 years, Diane is now teaching at School of the Madeleine. Robert is a project manager in construction.
Kristie Lee Simpson Schumacher (’78 Nursing, ’84 Animal Sci.), Colfax, is a home health care registered nurse with Integrated Health Professions. She and her husband, Bill, celebrated their 10th anniversary. He works for WSU’s Knott Dairy Center.
James L. Donaldson (’79 Soc.), Seattle, is owner and president of Donaldson Physical Therapy & Fitness, which he established in 1990. (See Washington State Magazine, winter 2003-04, p. 47.) He is chair of the Gray W board of directors, WSU’s club of former varsity letter winners.
V. Bryan Lawlis (’79 Ph.D. Biochem.) has been promoted to president and CEO of the Aradigm Corp., Hayward, California.
Everett Fire Department captain Don Plucker (’79 Ag. Econ.) and his twin brother, Ron Plucker, a U.S. Navy captain, have started a one-acre vineyard, Twin Captains Vineyard, on the Touchet River west of Walla Walla. They say their acre of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, syrah, and sangiovese is an exploration of what they can grow in the future.
1980s
David Atkinson (’80 Elect. Engr., ’89 Ph.D. Elect. & Comp. Engr.) is an engineering professor at the University of Idaho. He is one of a few hundred space scientists monitoring the spaceship Cassini in its exploration of Saturn.
Hasmig Vartanian (’80 Fine Arts) is visual arts instructor in the St. Tammany Parish Talented Arts program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. An artist in her own right, she has displayed her work throughout the U.S. and in London and has received many grants and awards.
Leslie Hynes (’84 Comm.), Brier, is a public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District No. 1.
Kevin E. Mallory (’84 Hotel & Rest. Adm.) has been chosen senior managing director, based in Chicago, of CB Richard Ellis. He oversees the key geographic component of the firm’s global hotel business.
Mark A. Ellis (’85 Biol.), Seattle, attended the GALA Choral Festival in Montreal last summer with the Seattle Men’s Chorus.
Dana J. Simpson (’86 Home Ec.), Newcastle, is a products trainer in research and development for Continental Mills. He currently is working towards a master’s degree in whole systems design/organization systems renewal from Antioch University in Seattle. He will graduate June 2005.
Thomas A. Jones (’87 Geol. Engr.), Mill Creek, is an associate/geotechnical engineer with Zipper Zeman Associates, Inc. He volunteers on a bridge design project in Haiti, and makes annual trips there, even if there’s nothing to do on the project.
Jud Preece (’87 Gen. St.) joined the WSU Alumni Association last summer as marketing director. He also is heading up membership activities.
Jeffery E. Dagle (’89 Elect. Engr.), Richland, is chief electrical engineer for Battelle PNNL. He supported the blackout investigation at the North American Electric Reliability Council in Princeton, New Jersey, for several months following the East Coast black-out of August 2003. His other research activities involve grid reliability and security.
1990s
Bobbie Overhoff (’91 Comm.) has been promoted to assistant vice president at Sterling Savings Bank in Spokane. She joined the bank in 1992.
John L. Heaton (’92 Polit. Sci.), a Marine Corps reserve corporal, was deployed to Iraq last summer with the 14th Marine Regiment from Spokane.
Justin Clary (’94 Civil Engr.) became public works director in Ridgefield last June. He previously worked for Shaw Environmental Inc., Bothell, as a project manager.
Andrew Walgamott (’94 English), Woodinville, has been named editor of the Washington, Oregon, California, and Mid-Atlantic editions of Fishing & Hunting News. He’s been a copy editor at Seattle magazine for the past five and a half years, and associate editor for four years.
Brian Bates (’96 Comm.) has been promoted to assistant director of alumni relations at WSU Vancouver.
Robert Harrington (’96 M.B.A., ’01 Ph.D. Bus. Adm.) was honored as one of the world’s top food service educators at the annual conference of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education. The professor and dean of the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute in Thibodaux, Louisiana, received the Chef Herman Breithaupt Award in July during the organization’s conference in Philadelphia.
Mark Ronchetti (’96 Comm.) assumed co-anchor duties of the morning and noon newscasts at KOIN-TV in Portland, Oregon, last July. He also shares duties as a meteorologist, which he did full-time for three years at KOAT-TV in Portland.
Ryan Blethen (’99 Gen. St.) is a regional editor for the Blethen-owned Press Herald in Portland, Maine.
2000s
Jeffrey D. Lewis (’00 Crim. Just.), Beaverton, Oregon, is director of housekeeping for VIPS Industries. He writes that he is getting involved with fellow Cougars at various events in the Portland area.
Kelly Melton (’01 Bus. Adm.), a Bellevue accountant, is one of the new graduates of the firefighting and emergency medical service (EMS) training program, the first step for volunteers to become full-time paid firefighters.
Corporal Kale R. Colyar (’02 Elem. & Sec. Educ.) and 150 other Marine Corps Reserve members from Spokane were deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2004. His unit is focusing on infantry security operations.
Gretchen P. Tellessen (’02 Envir. Sci.), Portland, is an engineering technician for Crane & Merseth Engineering/Surveying. She and her husband Charlie bought their first home in November 2003 and have set up a glass studio in the garage, where they make fused glass products.
Sgt. Steven L. Vradenburg (’02 Ag. Econ.) is a member of the Marine Corps Reserve unit from Spokane sent to Iraq last summer.
Sarah C. Poole (’03 Comm.), Bellevue, has traveled to 25 college campuses in 16 different states as an Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority leadership consultant. She writes, “I love seeing so many different universities, but I found that WSU is still the best. GO COUGS.”
Camille M. Williams (’03 Spts. Mgmt.) is an abstinence educator/presenter for Catholic Charities Hawaii in Honolulu. She teaches abstinence education to middle- and high-school students in a new program called Try Wait. With the help of a federal grant, she travels the islands from school to school. It is a free service for the schools, offered since January 2004.
Alison Emblidge Fromme (’04 M.A. Zool.), Berkeley, California, is a freelance science writer. Her husband, J. Christopher Fromme, is a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry at the Miller Institute, University of California, Berkeley. They were married June 19, 2004.