Class Notes Archive 1931-2014
Class Notes are searchable back to our spring 2000 issue. You can browse the notes by decade (click on a decade to view its class notes):
Class notes from the 1940s
| 1942Bob Wood, who is nearing age 81, has retired from grape-growing on his family farm in Napa Valley but still enjoys flying and making his own homemade wine. (appeared in the Summer 2003 issue) • Clyde Nielsen died in July at age 82 of pneumonia. He worked for Bank of America, first in San Francisco and then in Stockton. Mr. Nielsen was a devoted supporter of the Stockton Civic Theatre, which he helped create in 1951 and for which he served as business manager. Survivors include his sister, Sarah King. (appeared in the Fall 2003 issue) • George M. Brown, Cert., died in March 2004 at age 83. Mr. Brown grew up on the family farm established by his grandfather in the Santa Clara area and went on to become a leader in the agriculture industry. He was a founding member of the California Canning Pear Association and served on the board of Tri Valley Growers. He was also a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Survivors include his wife, Lois; his son, George Miller Brown III, and his family; and his daughter, Susan. (appeared in the Summer 2004 issue) • CHESTER LOCKE ’42, a decorated Navy officer, farmer and public servant, died at the age of 88 last March after a long illness. During World War II, he was on a ship assigned to help protect the U.S. forces preparing to invade Japan. In April 1945, Locke survived a kamikaze attack that killed 67 men. After he returned home, he took over the family’s farm started in 1850 by his great-grandfather, growing sugar beets, asparagus, grapes and walnuts. In 1955 he was named California’s Young Farmer of the Year, and in 1980 the Lodi Chamber of Commerce named him the Agriculturist of the Year. He was also active in his hometown of Lockeford, where he served 33 years as a trustee of the San Joaquin County Board of Education, as well as six years on the board of the Lockeford School District. For 20 years he was a member of the Lodi Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, and he spent 50 years overseeing levee maintenance as a member of the Lockeford Protection District. He leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Patricia, and their four children, Stephen Locke, Bonnie Patrick, Christopher Locke and Peggy Moore. (appeared in the Summer 2009 issue) • Walter Newman was featured in the 2009 fall edition. Walter Newman By Elizabeth Stitt Last June 6 marked the 65th anniversary of D-Day, and one UC Davis alum who led a company of the 35th Infantry on the beaches of Normandy was honored by the French government in a star-studded event. Walter Newman ’42, who commanded C Company at the age of 22, was named a Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour and was presented with the medal by the commanding general of the French army. “It was very emotional for me to be seated very close to the president of France, the prime minister of Canada, the prime minister of Britain, the prince of Wales and President Obama,” Newman said. Also in attendance were Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, former Senator Tom Dole and Barbara Eisenhower. Newman was among 18 WWII vets from the Allied Nations to be honored. He had known since 2008 that France planned to award him the prestigious medal, but he expected to receive it at the French consulate in San Francisco. A week before the anniversary, Newman received a call from the French ambassador telling him to pack his bags for France. “I told my wife to drop everything,” Newman said. “They had a beautiful ceremony. When we came into this huge courtyard, there was a company of French infantry, a detachment of the navy, a detachment of the air force, a group of 30 French vets each with a French flag and a large uniform band.” Newman and the other honorees were also taken to Omaha beach to commemorate the D-Day anniversary. During his time at UC Davis, Newman was the commanding officer of the ROTC, and after graduation, he went straight into the Army. “World War II was something that our country asked us to do, and we didn’t give it a second thought,” he said. While fighting in Normandy in 1944, he was severely wounded, forcing him to leave the war early. By the time the war ended in 1945, he was a major in the Infantry. For now, Newman keeps his medal at home in San Francisco, along with his Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Medal. “It was a great, great thrill and a supreme honor to be thanked by France,” he said. For pictures and video of the event, visit www.youtube.com/user/NewmanMedical, which was created by Newman’s son. (appeared in the Fall 2009 issue) • Robert Anderson—decorated World War II veteran, TV host and administrative law judge—died in La Jolla of heart failure in October at age 91. While at UC Davis, he was a quarterback for the football team and was recruited by three professional teams after college. Instead, he joined the U.S. Marines, serving as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Ocean theatre and fighting in the battles of Tarawa, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. In the 1950s, he worked as public relations manager for the state Department of Agriculture and hosted a magazine-format TV show, Farm and Home News. This led to his spinoff sports show, Sportfolio with Bob Anderson. In the 1960s, he announced UC Davis football games. Mr. Anderson also attended law school and became an administrative law judge for the Board of Equalization, overseeing sales tax cases in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. He earned the nickname “Cowboy Judge” for wearing a hat and boots with his robe. His late wife, Ruth, was dean of women and later associate dean of students from 1962 to 1987; she died in 2006. He is survived by his daughters, Kristine Pyeatt of New Mexico, Katherine Dixon of Solana Beach and Candace Anderson of Davis; brother, James of Spokane, Wash.; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. (appeared in the Winter 2011 issue) • June (Mehl) White, who attended UC Davis during 1941–42, died in April in Edina, Minn., at age 89. (appeared in the Winter 2013 issue) • Frank Sagehorn, of Cloverdale, died at age 93 on August 17. He was a World War II Navy veteran and retired rancher. (appeared in the Spring 2014 issue) |
| 1943Lois Weston Weeth, a past president of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, former UC regent and past chair of the UC Davis Foundation, turns 80 this year, and her family plans to celebrate with an open house, Feb. 2, 1-4 p.m., in the AGR room of the Alumni and Visitors Center at UC Davis. Friends are invited to attend; in lieu of gifts, contributions are suggested for the alumni scholarship program, the UC Davis arboretum or herbarium. Weeth continues to serve the campus, working as a docent at UC Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory, as she has for the past 12 years, and assisting John Tucker, professor emeritus of plant biology, with an ongoing study of native oaks in Mendocino County. (appeared in the Winter 2002 issue) • Jack Nelson died in March 2004 at age 83. Mr. Nelson, a World War II veteran, was a partner in Growers Service for 10 years, then joined the John Pryor Co. in Salinas, for which he eventually served as president, chair of the board and director. Among his many philanthropic contributions, Mr. Nelson was a member of the Davis Chancellor’s Club. Survivors include his wife, Wilhelmina; his daughters, Claire Allen and Patricia Gibbs; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. (appeared in the Summer 2004 issue) • John William Melendy of Soquel died in February 2005 at age 83. Mr. Melendy joined the University of California Cooperative Extension in 1946 and was a farm advisor in Santa Cruz County in 1947-1976. During World War II, Mr. Melendy served in the Navy and commanded a sub-chaser in the Pacific. He served on the Santa Cruz County school board for 10 years, was a member of the farm bureau and remained active in the Congregational Church of Soquel. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Catherine Coops Melendy; his daughters, Deborah Norman, Dorothy Nicholson and Karen Melendy-Zahn; his son, James Melendy; and six grandchildren. (appeared in the Spring 2005 issue) |
| 1944John Bloom does volunteer work with the California Highway Patrol and travels. He lives in Mill Valley. (appeared in the Spring 2004 issue) |
| 1946Donald Hefner died in June 2003 from heart failure at age 84. He worked for Spreckels Sugar for many years, rising to the position of district manager. He was active in a number of community organizations and served on the board of Woodland Memorial Hospital. Survivors include his wife, Lucille and children Donna DeVries, Debbie Moore and Scott Hefner. He was preceded in death by his son, Lynn Hefner. (appeared in the Winter 2004 issue) • James King was inducted into the California Agricultural Educators Hall of Fame in June. King taught and directed the agriculture program at Santa Rosa High School for 33 years. (appeared in the Spring 2005 issue) • James “Jim’ Neilson, M.A. ’61, Ph.D. ’64, of Wellington, Colo., died in April of congestive heart failure, two weeks short of his 90th birthday. He farmed in California’s Sutter Basin until his early 40s. After earning his advanced degrees, he worked as an ecologist—first as a research associate during 1969–73 for UC Davis’ Institute of Ecology, then as a consultant specializing in environmental impacts of geothermal development in Northern California. He retired in 1985. He is survived by his wife, Dianne McQuaid ’69, eight children, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. (appeared in the Summer issue) |
| 1947Al Mauseth has been supplying ice cream to parlors, grocers and restaurants in the San Jose area through his company, Treat Ice Cream, since 1951. At the age of 80, he remains the sole proprietor but plans to one day pass the business to his son, Bob. (appeared in the Fall 2003 issue) • 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. (appeared in the Fall 2009 issue) • Phil Economon was featured in the 2007 fall edition. Phil Economon By Anna Hennings Occupation: docent at the Buck Institute for Age Research, after a long career with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Longevity at the Buck: Approaching his 90th birthday in October, Phil Economon ’47 has become fascinated with aging and has been volunteering for the Buck Institute, a research facility in Novato that focuses solely on aging and age-related conditions, since 1999. A retired assistant agriculture commissioner, Economon joined the Buck team shortly after it opened to help with data entry. Now in his eighth year as a volunteer for the institute, he gives tours as a docent. Economon is a strong believer in the facility’s objectives and jokes that he hopes “there will be massive strides made in developing sharper, clearer memories.” Economon is also a regular donor to the center through its Acorn Society, which provides support for research and for an internship program, so that future generations of scientists can continue the research. “I am always trying to encourage young people to get into scientific studies,” he says. “Our country needs scientists and researchers who are trying to solve the problems in our sometimes chaotic civilization.” Making a change: In addition to his work with the Buck Institute, Economon has mentored youth for many years through the YMCA and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) program, often trying to get kids back into regular school or adopted by a family. And when he’s not helping the youth in his community, Economon is spending time with his own children and grand children. Most notably, he traveled to Europe with his grandson for three weeks in May, revisiting important World War II sites city by city to help his grandson understand firsthand “what really happened over there.” “I like to be involved in anything that pushes knowledge forward.” (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • James Ferrell, a longtime Imperial Valley farmer, died in March in Brawley. He was 92. He was a World War II veteran who participated in the battles of Normandy, France, and Okinawa, Japan. (appeared in the Summer 2013 issue) • James Ferrell died in March at a Brawley health care center. He was 92. A World War II veteran who participated in the battles of D-Day, and Okinawa, Japan, he farmed in the Imperial Valley. (appeared in the Fall 2013 issue) |