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UC Davis home > UC Davis Magazine > Class Notes

Class Notes: Fall 2009 magazine issue

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1940 George Madsen died at his Fremont home in March. An Air Force veteran, he was a Fillmore High School agriculture teacher and principal. After retiring in 1974, he and his wife, Esther, volunteered with the Wycliffe Bible Translators. In addition to his wife of more than 66 years, survivors include their children, Nick, Karen and Linda.
1947 George “Tim” Wilson, who attended UC Davis in 1946–47 and co-founded the flying club, died in March after a battle with cancer. He lived in Walnut Grove. During Word War II, he served in the Army’s Signal Corps, attended paratrooper school and received his pilot’s license, which he kept active for 61 years. On top of guiding three family businesses, he was a judo instructor, volunteer firefighter, a Scoutmaster and a Rotarian. He is survived by his wife , Dixie; sons Darrell ’73, Chiles ’76 and Daniel ’77; and grandchildren Isaac ’01, Noel ’03, Patrick ’03, Caroline Sacuso, Paul, Elizabeth, Alex and Chiles Jr.
1949 Saul Barret has been retired from the produce brokerage business since 1986. He lives in West Covina. While attending UC Davis, he met his wife, Lieba, and was the captain of the 1949 swim team.
1952 Richard Schein, Ph.D., died in January at age 82. He was a part of the first Ph.D. graduating class in plant biology. In 1955, he joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University, where he developed the plant growth chamber, was the lead researcher in developing awnless barley and served as an associate dean. After retiring in the mid-1980s, he learned to fly and became a commercial apple grower. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia; and sons Jim, Chris and Rich.
1954 Edward Ryder, Ph.D., recently wrote the novel The Departments (Two Harbors Press), a tale of intrigue set in a plant sciences department. He retired in 2003 after 46 years of working in lettuce breeding and genetics for the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service in Salinas.
1962 Viola Hildebrand, M. A., Cred. ’64, died of congestive heart failure at a Davis retirement center in July after her health declined from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 89. After receiving her master’s degree, she taught art at Sacramento and Davis high schools. When her husband, zoology professor Milton Hildebrand, began teaching human sexuality courses, she studied to become a professional sex therapist. She counseled people in family planning and problem pregnancy, conducted therapy groups for UC Davis women at her home and taught summer-session sexuality courses. In addition to her husband of more than 65 years, survivors include three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
1967 Barbara Rice, a noted plant ecology researcher in Australia, died at age 64 from ovarian cancer in June in Sydney. Rice, who grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley, began her career with plants as a UC Davis student working for the herbarium. She later earned her masters and doctorate degrees from Utah State University, where she met her husband, Mark Westoby. In 1975, the couple moved to Australia, where she became an honorary associate of biological sciences at Macquarie University. She published research papers on vegetation diversity in Australia, how ants disperse seeds and about Australian grasses—and one of those grass species is named after her, Hibiscus riceae. She is survived by her husband and her siblings, Dick and Bette.
1970 Karen Miner retired in June from her teaching career with the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. She taught at Sierra House Elementary from 1990 to 2005 and South Tahoe Middle School since 2005.
1971 Cassandra “Sandy” Howard, Cred. ’72, retired in June from Lake Tahoe Unified School District after teaching middle school home economics in 1972–78 and high school history, geography, health, English and home economics since 1978. • Steve Williamson recently climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro with his daughter, Stephanie. He was introduced to backpacking by classmates at UC Davis in 1970. He is currently the business architect at Trinity Technology Group in Sacramento. • Francis Sousa, M.A. ’74, died in Davis from a heart attack in June. He was 92. During World War II, he was sent to Hawaii as a trained welder to fix the ships and aircraft that had been attacked at Pearl Harbor. After the war, he successfully developed residential and commercial real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area and retired in 1963 at age 45. Sousa and his former wife, Mary, then attended UC Davis, where he studied geology. In addition to his former wife, survivors include his children, Lynda Fletcher and Francis Sousa, M.D ’74, eight grandchildren and siblings Al, Lee, and Betty.
1973 The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine presented an Alumni Achievement Award to Linda Lowenstine, D.V.M., Ph.D. ’83, in June for her contributions to the advancement of comparative pathology in nondomestic animal species. A professor in the school’s department of pathology, immunology and microbiology, she is one of the world’s leading experts on diseases in zoo animals and wildlife. • Andrew Kluger has been appointed a visiting senior research scientist for the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering. He is also the founder and CEO of Early Bird Alert Inc., which manufactures a home healthcare communications device; chair of the board and former CEO of Hawaii Air Ambulance; president of Kluger & Associates medical management company; and president of Book Bank USA, a nonprofit that donates books and computers to schools and libraries worldwide.
1975 Richard Campbell was appointed last summer as vice president of engineering technology for CH2M HILL. He previously managed the technical and engineering services division for The Industrial Co. Campbell is also a director and past president of the Geothermal Resources Council. • Ahmad Faruqui, M.A., Ph.D. ’79, Stephen George, M.A. ’76, Ph. D. ’79, and Gregory Wikler ’82 recently wrote a report for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to submit to Congress. “The National Assessment of Demand Response Potential” explores ways to reduce peak electricity demand. Their report can be downloaded from http://www.ferc.gov/ • Douglas Dodge became the Santa Barbara District ranger in Los Padres National Forest in August, after five years as the Harlowton District ranger of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana. He previously worked 22 years for the Bureau of Land Management, holding the positions of archaeologist, assistant field manager and outdoor recreation planner. • Steven Holmes and Sherri Reese ’80 have been married since 2005. Holmes is a math and computers teacher at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento, and he recently published the workbooks Learn Algebra Through Graphing Vol. 1 & 2 (Lulu Press). Reese is a critical care epidemiologist in the epidemiology and infection prevention department at the UC Davis Medical Center. • Michael Norman, M.S., Ph.D. ’80, UC San Diego computational astrophysicist, has been appointed interim director of the university’s San Diego Supercomputer Center. He became senior fellow at the center in 2000 and its chief scientific officer in June 2008. Norman is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a past recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize from Germany, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Sidney Fernbach Award and other honors. • Jim Stimson was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle, an honor for individuals who have made significant contributions to Northern California TV for 25 years or more. Stimson, who began his broadcasting career at KDVS, is assistant news director at KCRA-TV in Sacramento.
1977 Derrick Bang recently wrote the book Security Blankets: How “Peanuts” Touched our Lives (Andrews McMeel). Bang is the Davis Enterprise arts and entertainment editor.

1940 George Madsen died at his Fremont home in March. An Air Force veteran, he was a Fillmore High School agriculture teacher and principal. After retiring in 1974, he and his wife, Esther, volunteered with the Wycliffe Bible Translators. In addition to his wife of more than 66 years, survivors include their children, Nick, Karen and Linda.

1947 George “Tim” Wilson, who attended UC Davis in 1946–47 and co-founded the flying club, died in March after a battle with cancer. He lived in Walnut Grove. During Word War II, he served in the Army’s Signal Corps, attended paratrooper school and received his pilot’s license, which he kept active for 61 years. On top of guiding three family businesses, he was a judo instructor, volunteer firefighter, a Scoutmaster and a Rotarian. He is survived by his wife , Dixie; sons Darrell ’73, Chiles ’76 and Daniel ’77; and grandchildren Isaac ’01, Noel ’03, Patrick ’03, Caroline Sacuso, Paul, Elizabeth, Alex and Chiles Jr.

1949 Saul Barret has been retired from the produce brokerage business since 1986. He lives in West Covina. While attending UC Davis, he met his wife, Lieba, and was the captain of the 1949 swim team.

1952 Richard Schein, Ph.D., died in January at age 82. He was a part of the first Ph.D. graduating class in plant biology. In 1955, he joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University, where he developed the plant growth chamber, was the lead researcher in developing awnless barley and served as an associate dean. After retiring in the mid-1980s, he learned to fly and became a commercial apple grower. He is survived by his wife, Cynthia; and sons Jim, Chris and Rich.

1954 Edward Ryder, Ph.D., recently wrote the novel The Departments (Two Harbors Press), a tale of intrigue set in a plant sciences department. He retired in 2003 after 46 years of working in lettuce breeding and genetics for the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service in Salinas.

1962 Viola Hildebrand, M. A., Cred. ’64, died of congestive heart failure at a Davis retirement center in July after her health declined from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 89. After receiving her master’s degree, she taught art at Sacramento and Davis high schools. When her husband, zoology professor Milton Hildebrand, began teaching human sexuality courses, she studied to become a professional sex therapist. She counseled people in family planning and problem pregnancy, conducted therapy groups for UC Davis women at her home and taught summer-session sexuality courses. In addition to her husband of more than 65 years, survivors include three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

1967 Barbara Rice, a noted plant ecology researcher in Australia, died at age 64 from ovarian cancer in June in Sydney. Rice, who grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley, began her career with plants as a UC Davis student working for the herbarium. She later earned her masters and doctorate degrees from Utah State University, where she met her husband, Mark Westoby. In 1975, the couple moved to Australia, where she became an honorary associate of biological sciences at Macquarie University. She published research papers on vegetation diversity in Australia, how ants disperse seeds and about Australian grasses—and one of those grass species is named after her, Hibiscus riceae. She is survived by her husband and her siblings, Dick and Bette.

1970 Karen Miner retired in June from her teaching career with the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. She taught at Sierra House Elementary from 1990 to 2005 and South Tahoe Middle School since 2005.

1971 Cassandra “Sandy” Howard, Cred. ’72, retired in June from Lake Tahoe Unified School District after teaching middle school home economics in 1972–78 and high school history, geography, health, English and home economics since 1978. • Steve Williamson recently climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro with his daughter, Stephanie. He was introduced to backpacking by classmates at UC Davis in 1970. He is currently the business architect at Trinity Technology Group in Sacramento. • Francis Sousa, M.A. ’74, died in Davis from a heart attack in June. He was 92. During World War II, he was sent to Hawaii as a trained welder to fix the ships and aircraft that had been attacked at Pearl Harbor. After the war, he successfully developed residential and commercial real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area and retired in 1963 at age 45. Sousa and his former wife, Mary, then attended UC Davis, where he studied geology. In addition to his former wife, survivors include his children, Lynda Fletcher and Francis Sousa, M.D ’74, eight grandchildren and siblings Al, Lee, and Betty.

1973 The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine presented an Alumni Achievement Award to Linda Lowenstine, D.V.M., Ph.D. ’83, in June for her contributions to the advancement of comparative pathology in nondomestic animal species. A professor in the school’s department of pathology, immunology and microbiology, she is one of the world’s leading experts on diseases in zoo animals and wildlife. • Andrew Kluger has been appointed a visiting senior research scientist for the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering. He is also the founder and CEO of Early Bird Alert Inc., which manufactures a home healthcare communications device; chair of the board and former CEO of Hawaii Air Ambulance; president of Kluger & Associates medical management company; and president of Book Bank USA, a nonprofit that donates books and computers to schools and libraries worldwide.

1975 Richard Campbell was appointed last summer as vice president of engineering technology for CH2M HILL. He previously managed the technical and engineering services division for The Industrial Co. Campbell is also a director and past president of the Geothermal Resources Council. • Ahmad Faruqui, M.A., Ph.D. ’79, Stephen George, M.A. ’76, Ph. D. ’79, and Gregory Wikler ’82 recently wrote a report for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to submit to Congress. “The National Assessment of Demand Response Potential” explores ways to reduce peak electricity demand. Their report can be downloaded from http://www.ferc.gov/ • Douglas Dodge became the Santa Barbara District ranger in Los Padres National Forest in August, after five years as the Harlowton District ranger of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana. He previously worked 22 years for the Bureau of Land Management, holding the positions of archaeologist, assistant field manager and outdoor recreation planner. • Steven Holmes and Sherri Reese ’80 have been married since 2005. Holmes is a math and computers teacher at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento, and he recently published the workbooks Learn Algebra Through Graphing Vol. 1 & 2 (Lulu Press). Reese is a critical care epidemiologist in the epidemiology and infection prevention department at the UC Davis Medical Center. • Michael Norman, M.S., Ph.D. ’80, UC San Diego computational astrophysicist, has been appointed interim director of the university’s San Diego Supercomputer Center. He became senior fellow at the center in 2000 and its chief scientific officer in June 2008. Norman is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a past recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize from Germany, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Sidney Fernbach Award and other honors. • Jim Stimson was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle, an honor for individuals who have made significant contributions to Northern California TV for 25 years or more. Stimson, who began his broadcasting career at KDVS, is assistant news director at KCRA-TV in Sacramento.

1977 Derrick Bang recently wrote the book Security Blankets: How “Peanuts” Touched our Lives (Andrews McMeel). Bang is the Davis Enterprise arts and entertainment editor.

Showing 1 to 20 of 58 Next >