Distinguished Kansan
Ruth (Garvey) Fink fs '37 excelled in many arenas. As a philanthropist, she was noted for her support of many Kansas colleges and organizations. As a businesswoman, she helped direct such enterprises as C&G Grain Co., Mid-West Industries Corp., CGF Industries and Freedom Family LC.
She attended the University of Wichita, and earned degrees from the universities of Kansas and Illinois. During World War II, she served as a nurse’s aide for the American Red Cross.
Born April 26, 1917 in Colby, Kan., she wed Richard Cochener in 1941; after his death in 1954, she married H. Bernerd Fink in 1955. The mother of three children and step-mother to two more, she also had 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
This 2004 recipient of the Distinguished Kansan Award died Sept. 18, 2007, in Topeka.
— Brendan Kachel
Dashing Shocker
Few watching WU play Arizona State on Thanksgiving Day 1946 at Veterans Field will forget Anton “Hap” Houlik ’50. He took a kickoff deep in the end zone and dashed 108 yards for a touchdown, helping the Shockers to a 34-19 victory.
A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, Houlik came to WU after being asked to join the squad by coach Ralph Graham. The “fast, versatile halfback” was inducted into the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
After a successful career in the sporting goods business, he retired as manager of Wichita Sporting Goods. He died Sept. 26, 2007, in Andover, Kan.
— David Dinell ’05
Howard D. Johnson ’57/58, retired music teacher and junior high orchestra director, American Express financial advisor, avid community theatre performer, May 1, 2007, Davenport, Iowa.
Norma P. (Hartenberger) Johnston ’50, homemaker, self-employed seamstress and sewing teacher and a founder of the Prairie Quilt Guild, Oct. 24, 2007, Wichita.
Elsie I. (Holmes) Jonker ’39, homemaker, retired teacher and counselor, Jan. 1, Cheyenne, Wyo.
Charles H. Joy, retired WSU electrician, Oct. 3, 2007, Las Cruces, N.M.
Thelma H. (Hostetler) Kauffman ’71, retired teacher, Oct. 25, 2007, Harper, Kan.
M. Myrth (Weatherwax) Klobucher ’51, homemaker, retired findahome Real Estate Magazine manager and assistant publisher, Jan. 22, Wichita.
Ralph A. Klose ’48, retired Wichita city treasurer 1957-87, owner of Wichita’s first full-service laundromat, which opened its doors for business in 1957, WWII veteran, Oct. 21, 2007, Wichita.
Kenneth L. Krehbiel ’67, retired music teacher, retired Boeing technical writer, U.S. Navy WWII veteran, Aug. 27, 2007, Newton, Kan.
Alan D. Lee ’69, retired co-founder and owner of Envoy Business Brokers, secretary/treasurer of Cessna International Finance Corp., Sept. 16, 2007, Wichita.
Paul A. Macauley ’48, retired Raytheon Aircraft (formerly Beech) division manager who joined the company in 1978, Nov. 12, 2007, Wichita.
Patricia D. Magness ’57, retired PE teacher in Los Angeles, Calif., former University of Wichita spirit squad member, Jan. 7, Wichita.
John “Jack” E. Martin Jr. ’51, Boeing aeronautical engineer whose career spanned 42 years and included such notable assignments as chief liaison engineer, NASA payloads integration manager and mission director for Boeing’s first Inertial Upper Stage-Space Shuttle flight; avid golfer noted for a hole in one at Wichita’s Meadowlark golf course; WWII veteran who served as first lieutenant and pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Nov. 8, 2007, Lawton, Okla.
Loula Maie (Stuckey) McDowell ’31/33, former bacteriologist with the VA Hospital in Wadsworth, Kan., former adult education English instructor with the Literacy Council in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 4, 2004, Eastborough, Kan.
Winifred L. (Harbison) McInnis ’36, homemaker, former secretary, licensed flower show judge in Texas and Arkansas, former University of Wichita spirit squad member, Sept. 21, 2007, Erie, Pa.
Grover E. McKee ’56, retired investor, former municipal finance administrator whose positions with the city of Wichita included chief financial officer, director of community development, director of administration, and executive assistant to the city manager, Jan. 11, Burden, Kan.
Wilbur E. “Mac” McMurtry ’fs 39, retired geologist whose career included work with Magnolia Petroleum, Phillips Petroleum, Stanolind Oil & Gas and as an independent consultant, WWII veteran serving in the Army and earning the rank of major while serving with the 34th Infantry Division, Oct. 27, 2007, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Cornelia E. (Simpson) Danielson Miller ’68, retired finance clerk and English teacher, church choir member, Sept. 27, 2007, Seattle, Wash.
Jesse L. Moore ’43, retired owner of Jackson Marine Electronics, former Westinghouse executive, Coleman Enterprises executive and WWII veteran who served in the intelligence division of the Army Air Corps in the European theater, Dec. 27, 2007, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Vivian J. (Butler) Moore ’70, music teacher, Aug. 31, 2007, North Richland Hills, Texas.
Franciso D. Mosquera ’68, retired bilingual teacher, March 15, 2005, Chicago, Ill.
Eugene R. Murray ’49, retired IRS employee, Oct. 15, 2007, Howard, Kan.
Barney B. Nash ’39, retired co-owner of Sam’s Sample Shoe Store in Wichita, who played center and was captain of the WU football team that won the Central Conference title in 1937 and 1938, Jan. 16, Leawood, Kan. On the occasion of his class’ 50th year reunion, Nash wrote that one of his favorite memories was this: “When the football team put on a beauty contest under the direction of Nordy Hoffman, I was master of ceremonies.”
Phillip A. Nelson ’84, former Sedgwick County Mental Health and Community Correction employee, Nov. 4, 2007, Wichita.
Richard S. Nichols ’59, retired Wichita public schools administrator, Jan. 30, Wichita.
E. Christense Nickell ’39, retired Hormel Institute research chemist, Sept. 28, 2007 Willernie, Minn.
Charles J. Oblander Jr. ’67, industrial engineer who worked for 38 years at Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. as an outside plant engineer, Army Air Corps veteran, Nov. 18, 2007, Silver Lake, Kan.
Charles C. Odum ’76, retired audit manager, August 8, 2007, Leesburg, Fla.
Kumye Odwazny, WSU custodial services employee, Aug. 17, 2007, Wichita.
Bobbie “Bob” D. Overstake ’48, retired Nelson Plumbing owner, Oct. 3, 2007, Wichita.
Georganna (Pollock) Overton fs ’51, office manager who retired after 30 years of service from Emory University, Aug. 29, 2007, Tucker, Ga.
Bernice (Ramsey) Painter ’34, retired teacher and former commercial artist, who, at the time of her 50th year college reunion wrote, “I have had the best of three worlds: a career as a commercial artist until I was offered a man’s salary to be map draftsman for a Wichita oil company. Next came marriage and a career as mother and homemaker. A job transfer for my husband and two children in college gave me time to renew my never-used teaching certificate.” Jan. 1, Overland Park, Kan.
Charles R. Patterson ’59, owner of Creative Keepsakes in El Dorado, Kan., former director of continuing education and resource manager for the Equitable Financial Co. of New York’s Wandling Agency in Wichita, U.S. Army veteran, Feb. 2, El Dorado.
Robert F. Pellett ’50, retired music educator, organist, Oct. 31, 2007, Wichita.
Katherine E. Postier ’36, homemaker and English language and literature graduate, Dec. 24, 2007, Wichita.
Harold D. Priddle ’41, retired physician, Sept. 7, 2006, Nashville, Tenn.
Dwayne L. Puetz ’57, retired teacher and football coach, Jan. 23, Garden Plain, Kan.
Tommy M. Reed fs ’50, retired RediMix truck driver, Nov. 13, 2007, Derby, Kan.
Bernadine B. (Desilet) Reel ’71, retired Cessna engineer, Sept. 14, 2007, Andover, Kan.
H. Marion Riner ’59, retired air traffic controller and training instructor, U.S. Army Korean War veteran, Jan. 19, Olathe, Kan.
Richard S. Robinson ’53, retired Aircraftco Services Inc. owner, WWII Army Air Corps veteran, serving in England, North Africa, Sicily and Italy, Jan. 7, Wichita.
John G. Roeder ’71, self-employed certified public accountant, former manager at Fox & Co., Dec. 26, 2007, Wichita.
Brian W. Rush ’01, general studies, communication graduate, Jan. 29, Wichita.
Edward H. Salm ’59, Southwestern University sociologist, July 28, 2007, Golden, Mo.
Janet S. (Krouse) Saylor ’91, registered occupational therapist who worked in hospitals in Las Vegas, Wichita, Salina and most recently Hutchinson, Kan., Jan. 24, Hutchinson.
Ronald L. Scholes ’66, retired cyto-technologist for Roche Biomedical Lab, Dec. 21, 2007, Wichita.
Michael C. Seiwert ’66, farmer, Seiwert Services co-owner, Dec. 19, 2007, Garden Plain, Kan.
Ethelyn S. (Butler) Shelor ’32, homemaker, former teacher, Oct. 11, 2007, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Mary L. (Starkweather) Slaughter ’67/67, retired speech/language pathologist, Aug. 15, 2007, Clay Center, Kan.
William J. Smither ’39, emeritus professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., where he served as director of the language laboratory, chairman of the department of Spanish and Portuguese and as acting dean of Sophie Newcomb College; an accomplished correspondent, writer and photographer who once owned and operated Smither’s Camera Shop in Wichita; former special agent for the FBI, Nov. 29, 2007, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Mary Frances Snyder ’41, former classroom teacher who retired as librarian after 19 years at El Dorado, Kan., High School, Sept. 27, 2007, Bel Aire, Kan.
Ruth E. (Romine) Spangler ’32, retired teacher who taught English, Latin and Spanish at Walton, Kan., High School and, later, elementary school in the Wichita public school system, former University of Wichita spirit squad member, Oct. 21, 2007, Newton, Kan.
David L. Suderman ’82, English language and literature graduate, former WSU staff/faculty, Oct. 23, 2007, Newton, Kan.
John W. Sumi ’75, attorney specializing in estate planning, estate administration, corporate law, partnership, business law, tax planning, retirement benefit plans and employee benefits, and practicing with the Wichita firm of Adams Jones PA, Sept. 13, 2007, Wichita.
Jack R. Swain ’66, former Emporia State University and retired North Harris County College (Texas) instructor, WWII veteran who served in the Navy at the end of the war and then in the Army, and bricklayer, Dec. 31, 2007, Marion, Kan.
Mark W. Swenson ’92, former Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co. Inc. project manager, Oct. 29, 2007, Wichita.
Jeffrey “Jeff” B. Taylor, university friend, stone mason, Oct. 3, 2007, Wichita.
Roy H. Taylor ’48, economics graduate, served in the U.S. Army during WWII, owner and operator of several local businesses, including Rose Bowl East, Total Management, Green Acres Bowling and tnt Dog Farm, Sept. 1, 2007, Wichita.
Kathleen L. (House) Thomas ’50, homemaker and former University of Wichita debate team member, Nov. 11, 2007, Wichita.
Doris Joanne M. Trego ’79, retired staff nurse for Central Homecare and Hospice, Halstead, Kan.
Jeffrey M. Utterback ’02, general studies/sociology graduate and entrepreneur, Aug. 21, 2007, Wichita.
Joe E. Velasquez, friend of the university, former Boeing drafting engineer who retired from Kice Industries in 1990, wwii veteran who served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific, Sept. 29, 2007, Wichita.
Nancy K. Vieyra ’81, homemaker, accounting graduate, Dec. 20, 2007, Wichita.
Ronald Lee Volavka ’72, physical education graduate, Jan. 24, Tulsa, Okla.
Gene L. Waldeck ’63, consultant and programmer analyst and secondary math education graduate, May 20, 2007, Red Oak, Texas.
Melva B. Walker, university friend, homemaker, businesswoman, former teacher, former division director for the Wichita Community Planning Council-United Way who was instrumental in bringing the Head Start federal program to Wichita, former director of the Kansas affiliate of the American Diabetes Association, Aug. 13, 2007, Wichita.
Wilma E. (Malburg) Walsh ’79, certified nurse clinician, March 15, 2005, Wichita.
James L. Wangemann, friend of the university, WWII veteran whose service included training B-17 crews, retired Boeing engineer, Aug. 27, 2007, Wichita.
J. Eleanor (Neal) Webb, university friend, retired Wesley Hospital registered nurse, Sept. 20, 2007, Bel Aire, Kan. The J. Eleanor Webb Nursing Scholarship memorial has been established with the WSU Foundation.
Harriett S. Weirauch, homemaker and retired WSU Placement Office administrative assistant, Oct. 2, 2007, Wichita.
Robley E. West ’38, business administration graduate, July 1, 2007, Heathrow, Fla.
Dale E. Wilson, friend of the university, served in the U.S. Air Force, owned and operated Wellingon Implement Co., worked for Sauder Lygrisse GMC and Green Briar Basket Co., Jan. 30, Wellington, Kan.
Sally Ann Woodburn ’86/88/91, retired WSU Education Support Services academic counselor and instructor who worked at the university for 16 years before retiring in 2004, Jan. 18, Wichita.
Harriett J. (Stutzman) Young ’78, administration of justice graduate who worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, department of Homeland Security, April 14, 2007, Shawnee Mission, Kan.
Verne W. Young ’61, retired McPherson Junior High principal, former principal at Washington Elementary School in McPherson and former teacher at Marquette and Little River, Nov. 22, 2007, McPherson, Kan.
