Entrepreneurial Spirit
Fran D. Jabara — nationally known entrepreneur, philanthropist, longtime professor and administrator — always had innumerable irons in the fire. Here’s a glimpse from 1988 when he was WSU Distinguished Professor in Business and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, which he had pioneered in 1977: “We have been extremely busy broadening our horizons internationally and educationally,” he wrote, going on to highlight “our trip to the Soviet Union, our successful introduction of entrepreneurship to fine arts students, and the groundbreaking for our new building, Devlin Hall.”
After earning degrees from Oklahoma A&M University and Northwestern, Jabara began teaching accounting in 1949 at the University of Wichita, where he taught for the next 40 years, serving as dean of the business school from 1964 to 1970. Although he resigned from WSU in 1989, and became principal in the merchant banking firm Jabara Ventures Group, he never stopped teaching and mentoring.
Many of his WSU students went on to build successful businesses, including Dan Carney ’53/04, Pizza Hut co-founder and a student in Jabara’s first accounting class. In 1998, Carney, speaking about the founding of the pizza chain, noted, “Fran was the spirit behind it.”
Fran Jabara, the namesake of Jabara Hall and the 2002 recipient of the WSU President’s Medal, died July 25, 2015, in Wichita.
— Connie Kachel White
Sage Advisor
LaVona I. (Neely) Spencer ’71/71/74, longtime instructor and academic counselor at Wichita State’s University College, won the National Association of Academic Advisors’ 1989 Outstanding Advisor Award. The honor came as no surprise to the approximately 250 WSU students she took under her advisor’s wing each semester.
Described as “sometimes kind, sometimes fierce, but always compassionate” in her role as advisor, Spencer walked students through the basics, going over the prerequisites for them to successfully begin and finish a degree program. She was never timid about delving into the occasionally troublesome aspects of academic requirements and timetables or the even more problematic miens of human psychology.
James Rhatigan, WSU vice president emeritus of student affairs once said that “LaVona is probably the most effective communicator I’ve ever met. I’ve seen her bolster people whose spirits were low, and I’ve seen her turn arrogant people to jelly.”
In 1996, the year she received the Laura Cross Distinguished Service Award from the WSU Alumni Association, she explained her take on academic counseling this way: “I love to sort out problems. You have to really listen to students, to what they need and what they like. It’s not your hopes and dreams that you’re working with — it’s theirs.”
LaVona Spencer, who earned two bachelor’s degrees (sociology and anthropology) and a master’s degree in student personnel, died Aug. 19, 2015, in Wichita.
— Connie Kachel White
Logos Anthrópou
Wichita State professor emeritus of anthropology Arthur H. Rohn was an internationally renowned archaeological anthropologist whose logos anthrópou, or study of man, featured major project digs in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Greece, Turkey, China and Mexico — and included the WSU anthropology department’s first major Southwestern dig in 1971-72, when he and his students excavated a 7th-century Basketmaker village near Yellowjacket, Colo.
Rohn authored seven books, including Puebloan Ruins of the Southwest (2006), plus many journal articles, book chapters and some 20 contract reports, many of which focused on Plains archaeology. He earned both bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard, in 1951 and 1966, respectively.
In between, he saw active duty in the Korean War, serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve in the Far Eastern Theater from 1951-54; continued his studies at the University of Arizona in 1955-56; and, from 1959-64, was lead archaeologist on the Wetherill Mesa Archaeological project at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.
After teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, he came to WSU in 1970. A popular and highly respected teacher, he put in two stints as anthropology department chair: 1970-76 and 1987-90. He retired in 1999.
Art Rohn died Aug. 8, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz.
— Connie Kachel White
Favorite Roles
For more than 30 years, Richard “Dick” C. Welsbacher was the emotive face of Wichita State. The professor emeritus and director of theater came to the university in 1958 as an English teacher. In 1961, he moved to the fledgling drama department, where he directed some 150 productions and performed more than 200 roles as he worked to build a vibrant theater arts program.
He retired in 1991, after guiding many of his students on to stellar careers. To name just a few: Hal Davis, Kate Snodgrass, Ray Wills.
A world-class actor, Welsbacher held a master’s degree in theater from the University of Denver and a bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Denison University, where he worked with a core group of actors, many of whom went on to successful stage and film careers — Hal Holbrook, for one.
Welsbacher’s own credits include numerous appearances on Wichita stages and work on stage and in film and television throughout the country, including touring with his wife Betty in the school program Folklore in Song and Story. Among his favorite roles were Elwood P. Dowd in “Harvey” and Willie Loman in “Death of a Salesman.”
As much as he loved acting, it was his real-life roles that meant the most to him. A World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, he was a devoted husband and father, and a compelling and inspiring teacher whose most oft-repeated piece of advice may have been: “Just keep it honest.”
Dick Welsbacher, the namesake of WSU’s experimental Welsbacher Theater, died July 14, 2015, in Wichita.
— Connie Kachel White
Many Changes
C. Robert “Bob” Borresen, retired professor of psychology, was once asked to describe his 30 years of teaching at Wichita State. He answered with two words: “Many changes.” When Borresen first arrived on campus in 1965, psychology department faculty numbered seven.
By the time he retired in 1995, the department’s faculty had more than doubled, two doctoral programs had been introduced and he had served as department chair for five years, in addition to his teaching and research pursuits.
Even after retirement, Borresen pursued research in his areas of interest: perception and motor behavior. During his career, he authored many scholarly works, including The Youth Vote and the Study of Values (1975) and a number of articles published in the Journal of General Psychology. He also was involved in some 30 legal cases as an expert on such issues of perception as product confusion and liability.
Borresen’s intellectual curiosity and love of learning came early, but he deferred going to college to serve in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Missouri during World War II. He saw action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
After his military service, he studied at Northwestern University, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and going on to graduate from the University of Missouri, where he received both master’s and doctoral degrees.
Bob Borresen, in whose honor the Dr. C. Robert Borresen Scholarship Fund was set up at WSU, died April 24, 2015 in Wichita.
— Connie Kachel White
Super Shocker
There is no arena of alumni activity Daniel “Dan” E. Foley ’59 wasn’t a key supporter of — his bio file at WSU Alumni Association offices weighs no less than 4.3 pounds, filled as it is with hundreds of letters of thanks for his service and copies of speeches he made as a Shocker spokesman of one alumni and university cause after the other.
He was, as former WSUAA executive director V. Jane Gilchrist ’67 called him, a “Super Shocker.”
Versatile in his talents, Foley served in the U.S. Army and then earned a bachelor’s degree in art, yet made his living as the entrepreneurial founder, along with his brother Robin, of Taco Tico. He operated the fast-food chain from 1960 until its sale in 1988, after which he served as president of Wichita-based Foley Enterprises.
He was the WSUAA’s first two-year term president of the board, serving from 1979-81. Before that, he was secretary-treasurer and vice president. His involvement garnered appreciation from many, including WSU President Clark Ahlberg, who noted in 1980: “The past academic year has been a good one for the WSU Alumni Association, thanks to your leadership and enthusiastic participation in the activities of the association and the university.”
A proud Shocker, Foley set an incomparable example of participation, giving thousands of hours of volunteer service to the WSUAA, vigorously promoting the fundraising efforts of the WSU Foundation and avidly supporting WSU Athletics. Dan Foley died July 3, 2015 in Wichita.
— Connie Kachel White
Mark A. Arnold ’82, business management graduate who worked as a building manager at Spirit AeroSystems, July 9, 2015, Wichita.
John A. Ashton ’04/11, avid cyclist and mechanical engineering graduate whose career included work at Aeroflex Wichita and for Case New Holland, Sept. 4, 2015, Wichita.
Robert I. Balman ’63, World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy and retired teacher and basketball, baseball and softball coach, Aug. 19, 2015, Wichita.
Nancy J. (Jones) Barton fs ’53, homemaker and retired office assistant, May 21, 2015, Wichita.
Julia L. Baum ’93, homemaker and former teacher at St. Patrick Catholic School in Wichita, July 19, 2015, Wichita.
Melissa K. (Schwin) Beeghly ’86, accounting graduate and auditor with the Kansas Department of Revenue, May 21, 2015, Sedgwick, Kan.
Samuel H. Belcher ’65, named as one of two Outstanding Political Science Graduating Seniors at Wichita State in 1965; U.S. Air Force veteran who after retiring from the service taught at North Central State College in Mansfield, Ohio, and served as president to the local NAACP for 15 years and as a two-term city councilman, July 28, 2015, Mansfield.
Charlotte M. (Lane) Benefiel ’68/70, homemaker and retired elementary school teacher, Aug. 31, 2015, Phoenix, Ariz.
Robert F. Bennett ’49, WWII veteran who served as an Army medic with the 5th Armored Division; journalism graduate who worked as commercial manager of station KSIJ in Gladwater, Texas, and then at KWBB in Wichita; retired president and owner of Ramsey Fruit Co. in Wichita, June 1, 2015, Wichita.
Louis K. Bodecker ’46, WWII veteran and vocal music education graduate who taught music in Scott City, Kan., for nine years before becoming the vocal music coordinator for Wichita public schools and, from 1956 until 1973, serving as music director at College Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita, Aug. 21, 2015, Wichita.
Kelly S. (Tincher) Brown ’97, homemaker and elementary school paraeducator, Sept. 4, 2015, Wichita.
Marjorie I. (Royer) Brugger ’38, homemaker and economics graduate who retired from a career in personnel management that included positions with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2015, Gaithersburg, Md.
Barbara M. Brummett ’66, homemaker and retired associate professor of music at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., where she was director and choreographer of The Central Swingers, a show choir that toured the country, including a performance at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tenn., June 11, 2015, Belle Plaine, Kan.
Cindy A. (Laue) Burbach, homemaker and retired nursing educator and administrator who taught at Wichita State, was nursing coordinator for Wichita public schools and director of epidemiology and communicable diseases for Sedgwick County, April 29, 2015, Wichita.
James A. Burnett III ’73, administration of justice grad who went on to earn a master’s degree in forensic science from George Washington University; retired U.S. Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, June 1, 2015, Las Cruces, N.M.
John E. Byers ’73, owner of Wichita’s VW Shop, April 27, 2015, Wichita.
Elaine M. (Admundson) Carriker ’68/74, homemaker and elementary education graduate who taught kindergarten for 15 years at Chisholm Trail Elementary School in Wichita, retiring in 1990, July 23, 2015, Davis, Calif.
Jill “J.J.” (Johnson) Cheers ’78/86, retired music teacher at Wichita public schools, including Irving Elementary School, and a folk singer who earned both a bachelor’s degree in vocal music and a master’s degree in music in special education from WSU, Aug. 25, 2015, Wichita.
Gale L. Clark ’56/62, retired Wichita public schools administrator whose career in education included work at Mueller Elementary School, Sept. 6, 2015, Wichita.
Linda D. (Braggs) Clayton ’04, homemaker and criminal justice graduate whose career included work at Lockheed Martin and as a security supervisor at Hawker-Beechcraft in Wichita, May 10, 2015, Fort Worth, Texas.
Florabelle “Jonnie” (Johns) Coffey ’52, homemaker and secondary education Spanish graduate who worked at Honeywell Companies in Denver, Colo., and at Carey Salt Co. in Hutchinson, Kan., Sept. 11, 2015, Hutchinson.
Mary E. (Cordes) Conrad, homemaker and retired chair of the medical technology department at Wichita State, Sept. 21, 2015, Wichita.
Charles W. Cookson ’47, journalism graduate, and founder and publisher emeritus of the American Oil & Gas Reporter, a national circulation industrial trade journal; 2006 recipient of the International Oil History Symposium’s first Oil History Journalism Award; former executive secretary for the National Baseball Congress and secretary-treasurer for the International Baseball Congress; WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army, earning a Bronze Star during combat in Europe as a liaison officer and being discharged as a captain after serving as a regimental adjutant during the Occupation of Japan, July 17, 2015, Wichita.
Michael “Mike” B. Corn ’85, industrial education graduate and retired chief of public education for the Wichita Fire Department, former fire life safety specialist at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, volunteer at Conway Springs (Kan.) Fire Department, and fire science instructor at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan., April 27, 2015, Wichita.
Kenneth W. Cornwall ’58, accounting graduate, retired scheduler with Kaneb Pipe Line Co., and Korean War veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, July 25, 2015, Wichita.
Theodore “Ted” C. Coukoulis ’56/56, retired U.S. Air Force colonel who served as a command pilot with 5,527 flying hours in 14 different types of aircraft and whose active-duty service included an assignment as Chief of Plans Division, 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, Korea, from 1968 to 1969; former commander in the early 1960s of the Kansas Air National Guard’s 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron, a tenant at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, July 8, 2015, Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Harry E. Crow Jr. ’51, former owner of Crow Advertising Agency, which was especially noted for its “Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut” commercials; retired international sales representative at Great Plains Industries; former developer and recreational vehicle salesman with the Sports, Boat & Travel Show in Wichita and Denver; veteran of the U.S. Air Force, June 7, 2015, Wichita.
Benjamin S. Cuadra ’95, accounting graduate who worked in the manufacturing industry for IFR Systems, Wichita, as a cost accounting manager; storm chaser and DJ for NewsRadio 1330 KNSS, Aug. 7, 2015, Derby, Kan.
Delmira (Lemus) DeBow-Acosta ’81, psychology graduate who was a foster parent for 20 years, helping more than 50 children; former addiction counselor who served on the Johnson County (Kan.) Mental Health Board of Directors, July 22, 2015, Olathe, Kan.
Wilmer “Bill” L. DeGarmo ’72, psychology graduate, U.S. Army veteran, and retired aircraft safety manager, July 4, 2015, Wichita.
Glen E. Dockery ’62, retired budget director and special projects manager for the city of Wichita and city administrator for the city of Maize, Kan., Oct. 4, 2015, Wichita.
Lori L. (Roberson) Downing ’83, homemaker and former elementary school teacher and director of the Good Shepherd Montessori Academy, Sept. 12, 2015, Guymon, Okla.
Gertrude “Trudy” F. (Brown) Duckett ’66/73/78, homemaker and retired Wichita public schools teacher and administrator who earned a bachelor’s degree in music education, a master’s degree in educational psychology and a Specialist in Education degree, all from Wichita State, as well as studied at Arkansas City Community College, the Sherwood Music School and the University of Chicago; retired principal at Wichita’s Clark Elementary School whose career in education included work at a number of Wichita schools in a variety of positions related to early childhood education and multicultural education; former church pianist and organist, choir director and chair of various programs and committees, March 22, 2015, Wichita. Duckett once commented that one of the happiest moments of her life was when she received her bachelor’s degree, joking that it “took nine years, four children, and four schools to graduate from Wichita State University!”
Brent W. Dyson ’98, finance graduate and Intrust Bank financial advisor, June 7, 2015, Goddard, Kan.
Reed E. Edgington ’84, pharmacist who began a partnership in pharmacy with Gary Damm in 1978, launching businesses in Wichita, Derby, Rose Hill and Andover over a 35-year span; an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed canoeing, camping, skiing and climbing, and who earned a master’s degree in geology from Wichita State, Aug. 15, 2015, Wichita.
Ronald B. Eggleston ’71, instrumental music education graduate who was an officer with the Wichita Police Department for more than two decades, May 6, 2015, Kaw City, Okla.
Frank D. Elsasser ’75, retired physical therapist whose career spanned four decades of work in Wichita; Kenpo karate practitioner who obtained a 10th degree black belt, Aug. 21, 2015, Taylorsville, Utah.
Richard W. Enns ’57/68, retired music teacher who taught at Wichita public schools for more than 30 years; owner of and private instrumental music instructor at Enns Music Centre in Wichita, where he taught classical guitar and other stringed instruments, April 25, 2015, Wichita.
Anita L. (White) Fischer ’74, homemaker, retired speech pathologist who worked for Wichita public schools and whose career featured the milestone of her becoming one of the first African American speech pathologists to practice in Kansas, June 2, 2015, Seattle, Wash.
Ann L. (Pyles) Flores ’79, retired RN whose 48-year career in nursing included obstetrical nursing, teaching nursing students as an assistant professor in the St. Francis Division of Nursing at Kansas Newman College and as an instructor at Wesley Medical Center’s School of Nursing, both in Wichita, as well as working as a sexual assault nurse examiner, May 22, 2015, Wichita.
Charles T. Forsythe ’83, U.S. Army veteran who served in Germany and in Vietnam, a master level bridge player and former owner and manager of the Wichita Bridge Studio, an avid golfer and Wichita State Shocker basketball fan, July 15, 2015, Wichita.
Debra J. (Demaree) Fox ’73/95, homemaker and respiratory therapist for 41 years at Wichita’s Wesley Medical Center, where she retired as director of the respiratory therapy department, Sept. 23, 2015, Wichita.
Tomasine (Henry) Fox ’83, homemaker and retired legal assistant at Foulston Siefkin law firm in Wichita, Sept. 26, 2015, Wichita.
Galen J. (Gill) Gaddie ’70, retired middle and high school math teacher, U.S. Air Force wife and longtime member of various officers’ wives clubs during her husband’s 30-year career, Red Cross volunteer, former sponsor of the Apollonaires Dance Team, and, while a student at Wichita State, was a member of the Spirit Squad and was crowned May Queen her senior year, May 11, 2015, Raymore, Mo.
James E. Garmon Jr. ’77, retired physician assistant who worked at medical facilities in Alaska and California over the course of his career, June 23, 2015, San Bernardino, Calif.
Robert D. Gensch ’47, retired petroleum geologist, landman and oil operator, and president and owner of Marshel Oil & Gas; WWII veteran who served in the infantry in Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army, Sept. 5, 2015, Wichita.
Donald J. Gorges ’50, geology graduate and retired owner of Delta Tech Services, an industrial chemical cleaning firm; former geologist who worked in the oil fields of Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, before relocating to California; WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Navy on Okinawa, June 16, 2015, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Roberta M. (Stinson) Green ’65/71, retired teacher and reading specialist who taught special education, reading and math in Wichita public schools for 30 years, Aug. 7, 2015, Wichita.
Appel M. (Tuxhorn) Grisby ’06, homemaker and psychology graduate who worked at the Ronald McDonald House and for the Urban League of Kansas, as well as handcrafted purses for patrons of her small business, Appie Designs, June 19, 2015, Wichita.
Lowell C. Hammer ’52, retired emeritus professor of speech pathology and audiology at the University of Florida, where he taught for 33 years in the College of Health Related Professions; author of numerous professional papers and book chapters; former speech pathologist at Wichita’s Institute of Logopedics, and former director of speech and hearing at the Children’s Rehabilitation Institute in Reisterstown, Md., June 15, 2015, Gainesville, Fla.
Donald L. Harter ’85/89/98, retired architect and real estate developer who after retiring in 1980 acted on his, as he once explained, “intense curiosity and interest in learning” to take courses at Wichita State, earning three bachelor’s degrees, in general studies, in psychology and in painting, May 29, 2015, Wichita.
Jack L. Hull ’71, business administration graduate whose career included positions at the Mid-America World Trade Center, Delta Dental Plan of Kansas, Diversified Management Enterprises and, most recently, at Dun & Bradstreet, all in Wichita, Oct. 4, 2015, Wichita.
Glen D. Jack ’50, WWII veteran who served in the military police attached to the U.S. Air Corps stationed in India and Burma from 1945-47; a journalism graduate who worked in the aircraft and aerospace industry in Denver, Tulsa, New Orleans and St. Louis for 39 years, and retired as a systems analyst from Boeing in Wichita in 1989, June 22, 2015, Abilene, Texas.
Elmer L. Jones ’57, U.S. Army veteran and accounting graduate whose career spanned five decades, most recently as an accountant at Chapman/Dyer Steel, now Superior Steel Co., in Tucson, Ariz., July 21, 2015, Tucson.
Grace K. Jones ’42, homemaker and retired secondary school English teacher, May 18, 2015, Manhattan, Mont.
W. Starr Keeler ’65/65, owner of Keeler Oil Co. in Clearwater, Kan., May 14, 2015, Clearwater.
Kurt W. Killinger ’84, equipment manager with 13 years of service for the city of Wichita, former accounting firm employee and service technician at Sears, Aug. 4, 2015, Wichita.
Eugene O. Kissman ’74, physical education graduate who taught math and PE and coached football and basketball at Wichita West High School and Goddard (Kan.) High School, July 11, 2015, Wichita.
Robert P. Laptad ’53, U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was a military policeman and a competitive boxer; retired Prudential Insurance district manager recognized with many awards and who became a Chartered Life Underwriter in 1981, May 6, 2015, Joplin, Mo.
Lloyd D. Lassman ’91, retired Cessna Aircraft supervisor, Aug. 21, 2015, Wichita.
Jeanne A. Leland ’91, business administration graduate, June 12, 2015, Omaha, Neb.
Jerold L. Liebst ’62, aeronautical engineering graduate who retired from Boeing as senior principal design structural engineer after 35 years with company, May 14, 2015, Wichita.
Carole A. (Rowsey) Lindsay ’68/72/79/85, retired educator who taught history and government at Butler County Community College and public high schools in Andover, Kan., April 12, 2015, Andover.
Marvin D. Loney ’49, former two-term mayor in Lompoc, Calif., and the city’s finance director for some 20 years; WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps; June 6, 2015, Lompoc.
D. Stanley Love ’50, U.S. Navy veteran who served from 1952-53; business administration graduate whose career included positions at Boeing, Beech Aircraft and CPA firms in Wichita, at the City National Bank in Kansas City, Mo., and as director of business affairs and program officer at the Kansas City Regional Council for Higher Education until his retirement in 1991, May 4, 2015, Bartlesville, Okla.
Barbara G. (Corey) Mallonee ’77, homemaker and painting and drawing graduate who also performed and taught modern dance; fine artist who worked in oil, watercolor, pastel and mixed media, and commercial artist who worked in trade journal cover design and fashion illustration, May 29, 2015, Bangor, Maine.
Sandra A. (Hollinger) Martz ’66, homemaker and retired substitute elementary teacher at Wichita public schools, June 26, 2015, Wichita.
Melissa A. (Weeks) Matthes ’91, homemaker, Aug. 9, 2015, Wichita.
Robert D. McAuley fs ’46, retired pharmacist and U.S. Navy veteran, June 6, 2015, Wichita.
Ronnie M. McCoy ’92, computer science graduate and pressman at the Wichita Eagle for 37 years, May 14, 2015, Wichita.
Jerome L. Meis ’72, retired Boeing project planning controller, Aug. 5, 2015, Wichita.
Sharon (Gallagher) Miles ’89, business administration graduate who worked as a fundraising professional for a number of organizations in Wichita, including serving as development director for the Kansas Humane Society, Exploration Place, the Wichita Public Library Foundation and at the Wichita State University Foundation, where she focused on the WSU College of Fine Arts, the College of Education and Ablah Library, July 13, 2015, Wichita.
Linda J. (Shaw) Miller ’90, homemaker and retired special education and reading arts teacher at public schools in Rose Hill, Kan., Aug. 1, 2015, Rose Hill.
Audrey J. (Malcom) Mitchell ’92, homemaker and retired realtor, June 28, 2015, Wichita.
Dennis M. Murrey ’69, elementary education graduate who taught, worked at a Mobile refinery and served in the U.S. Army National Guard, July 30, 2015, Wichita.
Bertha J. Myers ’54, retired teacher whose career in public education included leadership positions at both the state and national levels of the NEA and featured being recognized as having taught the longest of any teacher in Phoenix Union elementary schools, 40 years; Sept. 22, 2015, Phoenix, Ariz.
Phyliss A. (Epp) Neufeld ’72, homemaker; former singer and vocal music teacher who sang with the Newton (Kan.) Community Choir and taught private voice, as well as in public schools in Newton and Hesston, Kan.; retired RN who worked as a psych nurse at Halstead Hospital and as a home health nurse, Sept. 7, 2015, Halstead, Kan.
Paul E. Nye ’38, veteran of the U.S. Navy who served on the USS Arizona from 1932 to 1936, when he also played on the battleship’s football team and was named an All-Navy player in 1935; secondary education graduate who taught history and government and coached football and basketball at high schools in Pretty Prairie, Kan., and Medicine Lodge, Kan., for five years after his college graduation; retired farmer who farmed near Freeport, Kan., May 12, 2015, Wichita. During 50-year reunion festivities on campus in 1988 for Nye and other members of the University of Wichita’s Class of 1938, he recalled, “I played on the football team that beat Kansas University, 18 to 7. We also won the Central Conference in football and were undefeated and unscored on in league play.”
Kim D. Olsen ’70, psychology graduate who worked as a caregiver and later at Star Lumber Co. in Wichita, May 15, 2015, Herington, Kan.
Richard R. O’Neal ’64, mechanical engineering graduate who went on to a 37-year career as a technical engineer and program manager at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was recognized in 1993 with the multinational consumer goods company’s Professional Recognition for Individual Sustained Mastery (PRISM) Award, P&G’s top engineering award; former hydraulic engineer at Baker Engineering Co.; avid golfer, member of a number of community boards, July 23, 2015, Fort Mill, S.C.
Herman A. “Jim” Osment Jr. ’51, WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army; economics graduate who worked at Beech Aircraft in Wichita, where he held supervisory positions in several departments, including production planning, before retiring from Raytheon as general director of advertising in 1987; community volunteer with service to more than 20 civic organizations; and ballroom dance instructor who danced and taught in the 1940s and ’50s, June 9, 2015, Wichita.
Donald W. Ottaway ’51, economics graduate, retired Boeing Wichita engineer, and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Aug. 25, 2015, Wichita.
Kathryn “Katie” A. Partridge ’83, accounting graduate who was director of finance at the Kansas Humane Society and previously worked in a number of roles at Wichita-based firms, including as vice president of finance at Dealers Leasing and as a consultant in the state and local tax group of Allen, Gibbs & Houlik; active alumna of Delta Gamma, serving as the sorority’s chapter president and house president, among other posts; community volunteer who served in many volunteer roles for a number of organizations, including the WSU Alumni Association, for which she volunteered as a mentor in the organization’s Student Alumni Association Career Mentor Program, among other engagements, and the Wichita River Festival, from which she received the Galaxy Volunteer of the Year Award, June 10, 2015, Wichita.
Emery E. Payne ’72/78, U.S. Navy veteran who enlisted just out of high school and served as a hospital corpsman, retiring from the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department, in 1970; retired teacher and public schools administrator whose career included teaching elementary school in Dodge City, Kan., and serving as principal at Appanoose Elementary and Middle School in Pomona, Kan., Aug. 20, 2015, Ottawa, Kan.
Terry B. Penner ’64, electrical engineer at Boeing Wichita and then engineering manager at Boeing in Huntsville, Ala., July 9, 2015, Madison, Ala.
James A. Quick ’92, education graduate with an emphasis in social studies who taught at Wichita public schools, Aug. 13, 2015, Wichita.
Jim D. Rairdon ’70, former teacher and school counselor; director of human resources at the Richie Corp. in Wichita, where he worked for almost 30 years; avid Shocker basketball fan of both the men’s and women’s programs at Wichita State, Aug. 9, 2015, Wichita.
Margie L. Roehr ’72, mathematics graduate who retired from working in sales for her family’s Wichita-based advertising specialty business, the George A. Roehr Co.; longtime member of and volunteer for both the Wichita Daylily Society and the Wichita Daffodil Society, and an avid lover of flowers, whose own plants produced numerous award-winning blooms over the years, Aug. 21, 2015, Wichita.
James T. Ross ’66, business administration graduate who also earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1969; veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves; 35-year owner of a Wichita service station, part of which, in 1987, was converted into the Pump House Diner, with the station and diner being converted in 2009 into a bar and grill, The Pump House, Sept. 9, 2015, Wichita.
Mary F. (Pellett) Russell ’50, University of Wichita Honor Woman and recipient of a Jessie R. Bart graduate fellowship at Washington University; homemaker and sociology graduate who also earned a master’s degree in sociology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she also later obtained a teaching certificate; retired social studies teacher at Lafayette High School in St. Louis with more than 19 years of experience, including the development of two courses in criminology and in law and justice; social justice activist and, in the 1950s, Congress of Racial Equality member who helped in the fight for the integration of restaurants in St. Louis, Feb. 1, 2015, California, Mo.
Elinor A. (Furnas) Sadowske ’69/73, homemaker and retired Wichita public schools teacher who taught at a number of elementary schools, including Brooks, Little and Cloud, June 21, 2015, Bel Aire, Kan.
Julie Ann Sanders ’91, womens studies graduate who went on to study social work at Cincinnati University in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she later worked as a supervisor in histology/cytology at the Veterans Administration Hospital; active volunteer at her church and with the American Red Cross’s disaster relief programs in Cincinnati; avid Wichita State Shockers fan, May 17, 2015, Wichita.
Karl H. Schlesier, professor emeritus of anthropology at Wichita State who came to the university in 1962 from the University of Freiburg, Germany; German-American author and scholar whose lifelong interest was American Indians, especially North American Plains Indians, and who, while on faculty at WSU (1962-1992), produced four books and 51 chapters in books, as well as numerous articles in refereed scientific journals published in seven countries; noted authority on Plains Indians and author of The Wolves of Heaven: Cheyenne Shamanism, Ceremonies, and Prehistoric Origins (paperback 2013) and editor of Plains Indians, A.D. 500–1500: The Archaeological Past of Historic Groups (1994), both published by the University of Oklahoma Press; internationally known advocate of Native American rights who served on the jury of the Fourth Russell Tribunal on the Rights of the Indians of the Americas, Rotterdam 1980, as the single anthropologist from the United States, Aug. 23, 2015, Corrales, N.M.
Roger L. Sellers ’13, business management information systems graduate who worked for UPS in Wichita, July 6, 2015, Wichita.
Janice A. (Johansen) Brittain Serinese ’64, education graduate who taught English at public schools in Wichita and in Texas; former sales consultant at Brodart Inc. in Williamsport, Pa., where she was named by the library supply company as its Most Outstanding Salesperson of the Year in 1977 for her record of service to libraries in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire; retired sales and marketing representative at the computer technology firm of Technology Associates in Woodbridge, N.J., May 8, 2015, Bridgewater, N.J.
R. Craig Sharer ’90, psychology graduate and carpenter, June 4, 2015, Valley Center, Kan.
Dallas R. Shaffer ’73, retired senior buyer for Sedgwick County, former longtime purchasing department buyer and then director of material management at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Aug. 13, 2015, Haysville, Kan.
Alan J. Shepherd ’82/99, longtime boys and girls soccer coach and PE teacher at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School in Wichita, as well as former coach at Heights, East, Friends University and Newman University, all in Wichita; former PE teacher at public and Catholic elementary schools in Wichita, Aug. 21, 2015, Wichita.
Lynda R. (LaMar) Snyder ’03/04, environmental science graduate who taught science at Northwest High School in Wichita, May 5, 2015, Clearwater, Kan.
Richard A. Spring ’77, mechanical engineering graduate and retired vice president of transmission services at Kansas City Power & Light in Kansas City, Mo., July 5, 2015, Shawnee, Kan.
Brenda J. (Fry) Stangle ’92, homemaker and art education graduate who retired from working with adults with developmental disabilities, Jan. 24, 2015, El Dorado, Kan.
Roy L. Stogsdill ’70, retired branch chief in electronics at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, Aug. 25, 2015, Warner Robins, Ga.
Virginia (Connelly) Stroot ’51, homemaker, English language and literature graduate who held a number of administrative assistant positions, July 29, 2015, Wichita. On the occasion of her and her fellow University of Wichita Class of 1951 members’ 50-year reunion, Stroot noted, “The thing I remember most about attending WU is that it was the period, 1947-1951, of the GIs coming home from the service and starting their college educations. It proved very interesting. The four years zoomed by, as I was always busy with work part-time, studies and dating. I thoroughly enjoyed going to school, and met many people, and I got a good liberal arts background. It was four years well spent.”
James “Jim” P. Townson ’80, retired pastor – and founder – of Harvest Chapel Community Church in Haysville, Kan.; retired Boeing employee who held a master’s degree from WSU in educational administration and supervision; former city of Wichita and Sedgwick County police chaplain, Sept. 17, 2015, Haysville.
S. Ellen (Meador) Tracy ’77, homemaker and English language and literature graduate who also studied at the University of Kansas and went on to receive a law degree, with honors, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., retiring from the law firm of Martin Pringle Oliver Wallace in Wichita, Oct. 2, 2015, Lawrence, Kan.
James F. Ulrich ’61, business management graduate who retired from working in contracts at Boeing Military Aircraft in Wichita, June 11, 2015, Wichita.
Yvonne M. (Campbell) Ulrich ’75/79, homemaker and nursing graduate who went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin and continued post doctorate work and research at Washington University in Seattle; nursing educator who taught at Wichita State and later at Washington University, May 27, 2015, Wichita.
Gary D. Van Dolah ’69, business administration graduate whose career in employment management included positions at Beech Aircraft in Wichita, Cross Manufacturing Inc. in Lewis, Kan., the farm equipment division of Hesston Corp. in Hesston, Kan., and at Hay & Forage Industries, also in Hesston, from which he retired as director of human resources, Sept. 29, 2015, Wichita.
Bradley D. Van Vranken ’97, social work graduate and social worker with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, who started his career with the state agency as a front-line investigator, going into homes where children were reported abused or neglected, and then transferring to service for juvenile court, becoming the agency’s liaison with prosecutors working child-in-need-of-care cases, Sept. 30, 2015, Wichita.
Barbara A. (Ellis) Wagner ’85, homemaker and medical technology supervisor who worked as a lab manager at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, before retiring as a med tech and supervisor of the hematology lab at Via Christi St. Francis, also in Wichita, July 23, 2015, Wichita.
Barbara J. (Hunter) Walor ’56, homemaker and education graduate who went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1974 and to teach social studies and English for many years at Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South public high schools in Crystal Lake, Ill., Aug. 25, 2015, Crystal Lake.
S. Jane “Janie” (Burr) Walters ’55, homemaker and elementary education graduate who taught third grade for two years in Sublette, Kan., took time off to be a full-time housewife and mother, and then returned to the classroom in 1970 to teach kindergarten at Sublette Grade School, a teaching position she kept until her retirement in 1997, Aug. 13, 2015.
Sylvia R. (Simpson) Ward ’63, homemaker and economics graduate who was a teaching paraprofessional at the Wichita Area Technical College, July 7, 2015, Wichita.
M. Jane (Casper) Ware ’73, retired Wichita public schools teacher and administrator especially recognized for her leadership role in the founding of Wichita Metro High School, an alternative school that accommodated a variety of learning styles, and for being one of the first two women principals of public high schools in Kansas, April 4, 2015, El Dorado, Kan.
Clifford J. Washington ’77, industrial education graduate and retired United Parcel Service and Kansas Wildlife and Parks employee, May 24, 2015, Bel Aire, Kan.
Raymond A. Wattenbarger ’75, criminal justice graduate who worked for three years at the Wichita Fire Department and then as an administrative lieutenant in the Wichita Police Department for 20 years; U.S. Marines veteran; commercial property manager for Weigand-Omega in Wichita, April 30, 2015, Wichita.
James T. Wells ’49, economics graduate and WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Force, May 5, 2015, Wichita.
Teddy “Ted” A. Whiteside ’69/72, speech and secondary education graduate and public, commercial and corporate television professional who worked for 40 years in the industry, 24 of them at Boeing in Wichita; theater production director who both volunteered and served as support staff in play direction at Rose Hill High School in Rose Hill, Kan., where he also was creative director of the Rose Hill Community Theatre for 10 years; former speech teacher and coach at Hugoton (Kan.) High School, June 17, 2015, Derby, Kan.
Judith E. (Elwell) Williams ’84/94, nursing and health science graduate and registered nurse who over the course of her 30-year career worked at Via Christi St. Francis and Riverside Hospitals, and Wesley Medical Center and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Wichita and for Quality Health Care in Wellington, Kan.; community volunteer active with the local chapter of the American Red Cross, especially in emergency services, and with two troops of local Girl Scouts; charter member of the WSU Alumni Association’s WSU Nursing Alumni Society, for which she served as a board member and vice president, May 28, 2015, Wichita.
Kenneth M. Wimmer ’61, industrial education graduate, retired Boeing industrial engineer and methods analyst, former electrical education teacher at Wichita High School South, May 25, 2015, Wichita.
Jean M. (Stoll) Wolcott ’43, homemaker, English language and literature graduate, and member of Sorosis who, in 2007, when donating the original type-written document of a speech given by Jacquetta Downing to Sorosis members at their Founder’s Day luncheon on May 4, 1940 at the Innes Tea Room, wrote, “I’m from the Class of 1943 and a member of Sorosis, and our friendships continue to this very day,” Sept. 26, 2015, Wichita.
Mary E. (Garrison) Wood ’71, pastor’s wife, missionary, homemaker and retired history teacher, Aug. 2, 2015, Columbus, Ind.
