Trailblazing Educator
To know that Sam Spaght '58/64 helped bring about significant changes within Wichita’s education community might revive one’s belief in innovators, leaders — even heroes. Spaght is remembered for his warmth, his sense of humor and his tireless efforts in bringing racial equality to Wichita Public Schools. He was the first African-American to hold a high-level position within the Wichita public school system, a tremendous feat when set in the context of the tumultuous era in which he took office as director of staff development in 1971.
Spaght began his career in education as a middle school English teacher. He also made time to serve on the boards of many community organizations, including the North Branch YMCA, the Sedgwick County Association for Mental Health and Goodwill Industries.
In 1979 he was awarded the A. Price Woodard Jr. Award, an award given to a young Wichitan for outstanding service to the African-American community. In 1990 he was presented the Up With People Award by the Urban League of Wichita, the highest award the organization bestows on individuals.
During the 1960s he had helped develop the League’s bank training and leadership development programs, which allowed African-Americans and other minorities to gain training for entry-level jobs and to prepare for service on public boards and committees.
Spaght, an intensely private man who dedicated 41 years to bettering public education, died May 8.
Artful Broadcaster
Martin Umansky will be remembered as one of the most important media moguls in Wichita. He headed KAKE for a number of years, working not only as an administrator, but an occasional commentator as well. He was also the force behind the free weekly newspaper The Wichita Sun.
Umansky began his career in broadcasting in 1940 at KANS radio, Wichita, where he stayed for some time before signing on as the first general manager of KAKE when the station signed on in 1954.
Later, he became the first president of the broadcasting company and in 1987 was presented the highest award of the National Association of Broadcasters, putting him in the ranks of such media luminaries as Walter Cronkite, Bob Hope and the Reverend Billy Graham.
A tireless worker, Umansky earned a national reputation and was a self-admitted sufferer of the “tomorrow-the-world syndrome,” a trait that helped him build a broadcasting empire that continually takes home national awards.
Not bad for a man who had to change his name to Martin Bass to land his first broadcasting gig — and exactly what you would expect from a man who served on the ABC-TV Affiliates Board of Governors, the Kansas Arts Commission and as business manager of Wichita Community Theatre for 25 years. At Wichita State, he was instrumental in numerous arts endeavors.
Survived by his wife Mary; two sons, Barry and Dan; and a brother Harrold, Umansky died May 4 in Wichita.
Larry L. Axline ’63/67, April 5, CEO of Holt Consulting Services Inc. and consultant in ethics and managing by values, San Antonio, Texas.
Robert L. Barber ’53, March 12, retired Santa Barbara News-Press editor and reporter, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Ralph V. Barcelo, March 27, retired United Methodist minister and WSU friend, Wichita.
Robert F. Brolund fs ’50, April 23, retired Water and Waste Specialty Co. worker, Montgomery, Ala.
Joe C. Brooks, April 25, retired Tension Envelope Corp. sales representative and friend of the university, Wichita.
John B. “Jack” Burns, March 31, retired insurance executive and university friend, Wichita.
Olive A. (Russell) Burris ’61, April 26, retired teacher and principal, Topeka, Kan.
Benjamin A. Cariri ’50/55, Oct. 8, 1999, retired speech pathologist, Fort Myers, Fla.
Nina L. Cagle ’65, April 24, teacher, Pryor, Okla.
Rosalind “Rose” Cheatum, April 2, retired registered nurse and WSU friend, Hutchinson, Kan.
Peggy (Quackenbush) Churchill fs ’51, April 14, computer programmer, Mesa, Ariz.
William “Bill” F. Cochran III fs ’46, May 1, Cochran Mortuary third-generation owner and retired funeral director, past president of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, former president of the International Order of the Golden Rule and former Metropolitan Transit Authority vice chairman, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Gerald L. Cooper ’63, Feb. 7, 1999, former structures design engineer and Boeing 707 first officer for Pan American World Airways, Incline Village, Nev.
Glada E. (Showalter) Cooprider ’65, April 27, retired teacher, Butler, Mo.
Gunda Lee Cornell, April 1, retired silversmith and university friend, Wichita.
Thomas J. Curry ’48/70, March 15, retired Coleman Co. office manager and World War II veteran, Wichita.
Nettie E. Curtis, May 10, university friend, homemaker and retired dental assistant, Wichita.
Opal P. Dabler, March 15, friend of the university, Knoxville, Tenn.
Fred T. Davey, March 25, retired KPMG accountant and WSU friend, Kiowa, Kan.
Ted C. Delhotal, April 29, retired dentist and friend of the university, Wichita.
Kathy L. (Bordigon) Denning ’73/90, March 3, Andover, Kan.
Mildred G. “Mimi” (Gavitt) Dodge ’26, April 6, retired Beech Aircraft engineering librarian, Wichita.
Kansa Rae Fahnestock-Unruh, April 3, homemaker and friend of the university, Wichita.
Helen “Mimi” T. Foley, April 10, homemaker and university friend, Wichita.
David F. Fowler ’76, July 2, 1997, Kansas City, Mo.
John W. Freeding, April 26, retired Boeing Co. engineer and WSU friend, Wichita.
Clayton A. “Clay” Frieden, March 14, former sheet metal and mechanical construction worker, farmer, World War II veteran and friend of the university, Derby, Kan.
James G. “Jim” Fugitt ’68, May 4, former Continental Bakery general manager and Gorges and Wittman sales associate, Wichita.
Patrick D. “Pat” Garcia ’77, April 8, Department of Defense immigration officer, Wichita.
Marie Anita Gardner, April 9, homemaker, Sunday school teacher, community activist and friend of the university, Dallas, Texas.
Nita P. Grabendike, April 17, retired registered nurse, elementary school volunteer tutor and university friend, Wichita.
Esther L. Grisamore, May 21, M&M Supply Company, Inc. president and owner and friend of the university, Wichita.
Ronald D. Harp ’74, March 22, retired law enforcement officer, Topeka, Kan.
Sandra J. (Johnston) Hanley, April 10, former substitute teacher, Ed Clarke Realtors employee and friend of the university, Wichita.
Eileen G. (Gotterup) Harlenske ’38, March 7, retired social worker and teacher, Wichita.
Leah F. Hefke ’25, March 23, retired Abercrombie Oil Co. secretary, Rago, Kan.
Rosemary C. (Boyle) Hesse, April 9, homemaker, former Army registered nurse and friend of the university, Wichita.
Richard E. Hinshaw fs ’90, March 31, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway engineer, Wellington, Kan.
Louise P. (Bartholomew) Hutchinson fs ’85, April 2, retired WSU secretary, Wichita.
Kenneth R. Ingold ’49/50, April 24, 1992, Fort Lee, Va.
Thelma D. Isaac, May 8, homemaker and friend of the university, Emporia, Kan.
Eric H. Jager, March 6, former president of Petroleum Inc., Wichita, World War II veteran and friend of the university, Dallas, Texas.
Judy A. (Sippel) Johnson ’62, March 30, former music teacher, Winfield, Kan.
Kenneth W. Johnson ’52, March 23, retired consulting petroleum geologist, Wichita.
F. Russell Jump, April 18, retired businessman, former Wichita mayor and friend of the university, Pratt, Kan.
Ruth H. Karslake, May 10, retired psychologist and friend of the university, Wichita.
Jeanne C. (Carr) Kepner ’39, April 4, 1999, homemaker, Dallas, Texas.
Avis B. (Spielman) Kester, April 26, friend of the university, Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Milton C. King, March 29, disabled veteran and friend of the university, Wichita.
Gerald R. Kinney ’53/57, March 13, retired North High School social studies teacher, Wichita.
Virginia S. Kircher, April 29, retired Meitzner’s interior designer and wsu friend, Wichita.
James M. Kiser ’69, Jan. 30, former sports information director at Northwest Missouri State University and past Health Mart pharmacy sales and service staff person, Clearwater, Kan.
Ronald “Ron” D. Kroeger ’67, March 30, Ruffin Companies chief financial officer, Wichita.
Gertrude Lacy, March 30, homemaker and friend of the university, Wichita.
Verne M. Laing, May 4, retired founding partner and attorney of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy, Chartered, and WSU friend, Wichita.
Fred S. Lillibridge ’40, April 24, geologist, Hutchinson, Kan.
F. Ross Little, May 9, past president of Wichita Loan & Investment Reality Co. and friend of the university, Wichita.
Nancy M. (Henderson) MacArthur ’46, July 26, 1999, homemaker and former math assistant at the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University, Silver Spring, Md.
John Madden III ’56, March 21, retired attorney, Wichita.
Frank A. Massie, March 6, retired Sperry Flight Systems marketing representative and university friend, Wichita.
Richard V. Mattson ’53, April 23, former Wichita Public Schools music teacher, Wichita.
Troy Maxwell, May 8, retired Santa Fe Railways agency cashier and relief agent and friend of the university, Wichita.
William C. “Bill” McCleary ’64, March 26, realtor and land developer, Palm Desert, Calif.
Rhoda E. (Beebe) McConachie ’40, March 17, former Wichita Public Schools teacher, Emporia, Kan.
Donald J. McMinimy ’42, May 15, retired Holt Krock Clinic physician of internal medicine, Fort Smith, Ark.
Duane A. Meinecke, April 30, retired Boeing Wichita production engineer and friend of the university, Wichita.
Robert W. Moellinger, April 1, retired Beech Aircraft employee and university friend, Wichita.
Janice M. (Schmidt) Munker ’82, July 19, 1999, Cheyenne, Wyo.
Lois E. (Briggs) Nichols, April 18, homemaker and university friend, Pratt, Kan.
Jane Oatman, May 10, university friend, homemaker and wife of Mike Oatman, former co-owner of radio station KFDI and longtime Wichita community leader, Wichita.
Mary W. Oliver ’54/59, Feb. 28, retired elementary teacher, Wichita.
John C. Orr, March 22, retired aircraft machinist, farmer and friend of the university, Augusta, Kan.
William R. Painton ’58, Oct. 13, 1998, former financial planner, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Suzanne (Shipman) Parker ’78, Oct. 23, 1999, Del Mar, Calif.
Christopher Penhallow ’64/69, June 15, 1999, Blue Springs, Mo.
Dale Eugene Perkins ’68, Winchesters accountant, April 22, Partridge, Kan.
Addie M. Perry, May 3, homemaker and university friend, Little Rock, Ark.
Carol Alene (Miller) Porter ’29, April 25, retired teacher, Wichita.
Nathan Rankin ’82, actor, April 14, Chicago, Ill.
Keith W. Reiser ’59, March 18, retired Aramco Services purchasing agent, Houston, Texas.
Ray A. Reynolds fs ’79, May 21, retired Boeing mechanical engineer, Wichita.
Virgil H. Rizer ’79, April 29, retired Air Force colonel and Boeing Wichita procurement/material manager, Athens, Texas.
Russell “Russ” Ross, May 8, retired Donrey Outdoor Advertising general manager, Air Force major and friend of the university, Wichita.
Jack R. Sattler ’49, March 21, retired Cessna Aircraft aeronautical engineer, Wichita.
Sr. Rose Athanasius Schaller ’42, March 12, retired music teacher, Wichita.
Terry L. Schmidt ’87, April 1, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals salesman, Hesston, Kan.
Elmer B. Schrag ’69, April 28, retired teacher and farmer, Newton, Kan.
William H. Simcox, March 18, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and friend of the university, Las Vegas, Nev.
Roger M. Slinkard ’50, April 18, 1997, former CPA and secretary-treasurer of Eason Oil Co., Oklahoma City, Okla., past vice president and treasurer of Sierra Petroleum Co., Wichita, and World War II and Korean War veteran, Dunnellon, Fla.
Donald V. Smith, March 11, retired from Martin K. Eby Construction Co., World War II veteran and friend of the university, Arlington, Texas.
Duane L. Spangler fs ’91, May 7, accountant, Hesston, Kan.
George W. Stabler, April 3, retired Missouri Pacific Railroad engineer, World War II veteran and friend of the university, Wichita.
Caroline “Mary Ellen” (Cook) Stearns ’36, April 8, retired high school teacher and former staff assistant with the American Red Cross, Wichita.
Harold D. Tilden, April 1, retired Beech Aircraft Corp. project tooling inspector and WSU friend, Harlingen, Texas.
James K. Tilford, April 26, university friend and former owner and manager of Tilford Pharmacies, known for his watercolors and oil portraits, Los Lunas, N.M.
James T. Van Biber ’41, March 9, retired pediatric physician, Independence, Mo.
Janice A. “Jan” (Manchester) Vredenburg ’76/82, March 28, Goddard Middle School special education teacher, Wichita.
James H. Wilson ’71, Nov. 22, 1999, retired plant manager for Binney & Smith, Winfield, Kan.
Verna M. Wolford, March 15, retired Wilco Inc. secretary and university friend, Wichita.
Frank E. Woolf ’39, May 4, retired Wichita Sporting Goods owner and former football official, Wichita.
