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Class Notes Archive 1931-2014: Spring 2009

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1937David Holmberg’37 died in December in Woodland. He was 93. While at UC Davis, Mr. Holmberg played for the Cal Aggie football and basketball teams. He received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics when UC Davis was known as UC Berkeley’s College of Agriculture, and went on to become a farm advisor for the UC Agricultural Extension Service for 43 years. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; his daughter, Janet Meserve ’69 of DeKalb, Ill.; his son-in-law, Peter Meserve ’67; his son, Craig Holmberg of Woodland; his sister, Alma Smith of Modesto; and four grandchildren. His previous wife of 54 years, Marguerite, died in 1999.
1950Lloyd Lacy Livingston died in January at his home in Palo Cedro. He was 87. After four years in the Marines during World War II, he attended UC Davis on the GI Bill and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He spent the first two years out of college teaching high school agriculture in Blythe. He married Norma Norcross and moved to Redding in 1954 where he taught agriculture at Shasta College. In 1962 he was appointed dean of vocational education. He retired in 1983. In addition to his wife of 56 years, he is survived by sons Mike, Matt, Jim, Pete, John, and Tim; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his sister, Marjorie Uhrich of Douglas, Wyo.
1953Leo Anagnos died in Lodi in January. He was 77. While at UC Davis, he was a letter winner in football. In 1953, he married Cally Belenis of Davis, and they continued attending Aggie football games well after Mr. Anagnos graduated. After spending two years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Anagnos worked for General Mills and for his family’s Lodi farm. Along with his wife of 55 years, he is survived by his sons, Ted and Steve; daughter, Kathy; four grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
1958Adolph F. “Bert” Bertoli, M.Ed. ’61, died in Santa Rosa last July at age 73. After marrying Lona Hunt, who worked in the UC Davis animal husbandry department, he moved to Sebastopol, where he worked as an agriculture teacher, football coach, administrator and school board member in the Analy Union High School District. In addition to his 33 years as an educator, he was a winemaker for Cambiaso Winery in Healdsburg, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and a real estate appraiser. While he was a teacher, Mr. Bertoli spent his summers as a reserve deputy on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. Along with his wife of 51 years, he is survived by his son, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge James Bertoli ’82, his daughters, Carolyn Bowen, Dina Graham and Mia Bertoli-Davis, six grandchildren and his sister, Edith Bertoli.
1968Robert Fontaine, M.D. ’72, was given a 2007 Friendship Award by the Chinese government for his efforts to establish infectious disease laboratory capacity and prevent the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in China. As well as being a senior epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control, Fontaine is a resident adviser to the U.S. Field Epidemiology Training Program in Beijing and has been working in China since 2003.
1970Julie Partansky, an artist, musician, house painter and former mayor of Davis, died of lung cancer at her home in January. She was 61. Ms. Partansky served on the Davis City Council in 1992–2000, the last two years as mayor. Best known for pushing the construction of the Davis Toad Tunnel, which was built to prevent cars from crushing toads crossing the street, she also ushered through the dark sky ordinance, which dimmed the city’s lights to make the stars more visible.
1971Susan Clayton was unanimously appointed by Lake County’s board of supervisors to be the county’s head librarian. She previously worked at the library at the University of Redlands.
1973Marlene Getchell, a San Rafael probate attorney, became the president of the Marin County Bar Association in January. She is married to Paul Getchell, whom she met in law school, and they have two children—one a graduating senior at UC Berkeley and the other a TV producer and editor. • Caroline Newman died of a pulmonary embolism at her home in Washington, D.C., in December. She was 57. She was the executive editor of Smithsonian Books, formally Smithsonian Institution Press, where she had worked past 23 years and edited many award-winning or best-selling books. Some of these books include How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein, Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World by Deborah Cramer and Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver by Scott Stossel. After graduating from UC Davis, she went on to earn her master’s degree at UC Berkeley and did work towards her doctorate in comparative literature. Ms. Newman co-founded the charitable organization Washington Womenade in 2001. Her hobbies included kayaking, birding and hiking. She is survived by her husband of 19 years, Larry Abramson; her son, Seth Abramson; her mother, Katharine Newman, of San Mateo; a sister and a brother.
1974Ron Engel went back to college at San José State University to pick up his “red shirt” year in wrestling. He placed fifth at the West Coast Conference wrestling championship, made All Conference and also was selected as one of 32 qualifiers for the National Collegiate Wrestling Championships in March 2008 in Lakewood, Fla. Engel suggests for those who want to go back to college to compete for a club team do so before they’re 56 years old. • Jack de Golia retired after 33 years of federal service. He spent the last 20 years as the public affairs officer for the 3.3-million-acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana. While working at Yellowstone National Park, he co-authored a curriculum called Expedition: Yellowstone! De Golia plans to live in Henderson, Nev. with his wife, Brenda. • Murray Haberman retired in December from his position as executive director of the California postsecondary education commission. His career in state service spans nearly 35 years. • John Nesbitt, M.A., Ph.D. ’80, wrote two novels, Poacher’s Moon (Pronghorn Press), a contemporary western, and Trouble at the Redstone (Leisure Books), a traditional western. Three of his short stories were published online by Amazon.com. His Web site is www.johndnesbitt.com, where he keeps a blog and summaries of his work.
1976Larry Shubat retired from the US Army Corps of Engineers after 20 years of service and was recently promoted to professor of surveying and mapping at the University of Akron, Summit College in Ohio. He lives in Uniontown, Ohio, with his wife, Vickie. They have two daughters and a son, who is an army officer serving his second tour in Iraq. Shubat’s e-mail address is ics@uakron.edu. • Jeffrey Grover died of colon cancer in Monterey last July at the age of 54. A native of Boise, Idaho, he transferred to UC Davis from the Naval Academy as a junior and majored in mechanical engineering. Shortly after graduation, he married Wendy Aylaian ’77, and they had one son, Casey, who is now in his third year of medical school at UCLA. Mr. Grover was a senior consultant for Aptec Engineering Services for many years, during which time he was licensed as a mechanical and civil engineer, as well as a member of the California Bar. He was a part-time coach and referee for high school football, wrestling and lacrosse in the Monterey area.
1978Lisa (Duerr) Leonhard is the new child development consultant for the State Department of Education’s California School-Age Families Education program (Cal-SAFE). She advises public school programs for expectant and parenting students and child development programs.
1979David Pefley was elected president of the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees. He lives with his wife, Shirley, and their two children, Shelby and Daniel. • Bill Raynor was recently featured in Nature Conservancy’s magazineabout his conservation work and reputation as a “yam king” in Micronesia. He has lived on the island of Pohnpei for the past 28 years. • Amy Samuels, M.S. ’82, died of cancer in December at her home in West Falmouth, Mass. She was 57. As an animal behavior researcher, she traveled to Hawaii, Africa, Australia and other places around the world to study animals. She worked on groundbreaking research in using sign language with chimpanzees, but much of her focus was on dolphins and how tourism affected their behavior. In 2000, she wrote a children’s book called Follow that Fin: Studying Dolphin Behavior. She is survived by her sister, Joan, of Switzerland; her brothers, Peter, of New York City and Matthew, of Searsmont, Maine; and her daughter, Caiming, of West Falmouth, Mass.
1980Thomas Jenkins, D.V.M., and Gail Sanders, B.S. ’06, D.V.M. ’08, have been hired by Banfield, the Pet Hospital, the largest private veterinary practice in the U.S. Jenkins practices in Apple Valley, while Sanders practices in Citrus Heights.

1937David Holmberg’37 died in December in Woodland. He was 93. While at UC Davis, Mr. Holmberg played for the Cal Aggie football and basketball teams. He received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics when UC Davis was known as UC Berkeley’s College of Agriculture, and went on to become a farm advisor for the UC Agricultural Extension Service for 43 years. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; his daughter, Janet Meserve ’69 of DeKalb, Ill.; his son-in-law, Peter Meserve ’67; his son, Craig Holmberg of Woodland; his sister, Alma Smith of Modesto; and four grandchildren. His previous wife of 54 years, Marguerite, died in 1999.

1950Lloyd Lacy Livingston died in January at his home in Palo Cedro. He was 87. After four years in the Marines during World War II, he attended UC Davis on the GI Bill and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He spent the first two years out of college teaching high school agriculture in Blythe. He married Norma Norcross and moved to Redding in 1954 where he taught agriculture at Shasta College. In 1962 he was appointed dean of vocational education. He retired in 1983. In addition to his wife of 56 years, he is survived by sons Mike, Matt, Jim, Pete, John, and Tim; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his sister, Marjorie Uhrich of Douglas, Wyo.

1953Leo Anagnos died in Lodi in January. He was 77. While at UC Davis, he was a letter winner in football. In 1953, he married Cally Belenis of Davis, and they continued attending Aggie football games well after Mr. Anagnos graduated. After spending two years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Anagnos worked for General Mills and for his family’s Lodi farm. Along with his wife of 55 years, he is survived by his sons, Ted and Steve; daughter, Kathy; four grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

1958Adolph F. “Bert” Bertoli, M.Ed. ’61, died in Santa Rosa last July at age 73. After marrying Lona Hunt, who worked in the UC Davis animal husbandry department, he moved to Sebastopol, where he worked as an agriculture teacher, football coach, administrator and school board member in the Analy Union High School District. In addition to his 33 years as an educator, he was a winemaker for Cambiaso Winery in Healdsburg, a vocational rehabilitation counselor and a real estate appraiser. While he was a teacher, Mr. Bertoli spent his summers as a reserve deputy on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. Along with his wife of 51 years, he is survived by his son, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge James Bertoli ’82, his daughters, Carolyn Bowen, Dina Graham and Mia Bertoli-Davis, six grandchildren and his sister, Edith Bertoli.

1968Robert Fontaine, M.D. ’72, was given a 2007 Friendship Award by the Chinese government for his efforts to establish infectious disease laboratory capacity and prevent the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in China. As well as being a senior epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control, Fontaine is a resident adviser to the U.S. Field Epidemiology Training Program in Beijing and has been working in China since 2003.

1970Julie Partansky, an artist, musician, house painter and former mayor of Davis, died of lung cancer at her home in January. She was 61. Ms. Partansky served on the Davis City Council in 1992–2000, the last two years as mayor. Best known for pushing the construction of the Davis Toad Tunnel, which was built to prevent cars from crushing toads crossing the street, she also ushered through the dark sky ordinance, which dimmed the city’s lights to make the stars more visible.

1971Susan Clayton was unanimously appointed by Lake County’s board of supervisors to be the county’s head librarian. She previously worked at the library at the University of Redlands.

1973Marlene Getchell, a San Rafael probate attorney, became the president of the Marin County Bar Association in January. She is married to Paul Getchell, whom she met in law school, and they have two children—one a graduating senior at UC Berkeley and the other a TV producer and editor. • Caroline Newman died of a pulmonary embolism at her home in Washington, D.C., in December. She was 57. She was the executive editor of Smithsonian Books, formally Smithsonian Institution Press, where she had worked past 23 years and edited many award-winning or best-selling books. Some of these books include How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein, Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water, Our World by Deborah Cramer and Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver by Scott Stossel. After graduating from UC Davis, she went on to earn her master’s degree at UC Berkeley and did work towards her doctorate in comparative literature. Ms. Newman co-founded the charitable organization Washington Womenade in 2001. Her hobbies included kayaking, birding and hiking. She is survived by her husband of 19 years, Larry Abramson; her son, Seth Abramson; her mother, Katharine Newman, of San Mateo; a sister and a brother.

1974Ron Engel went back to college at San José State University to pick up his “red shirt” year in wrestling. He placed fifth at the West Coast Conference wrestling championship, made All Conference and also was selected as one of 32 qualifiers for the National Collegiate Wrestling Championships in March 2008 in Lakewood, Fla. Engel suggests for those who want to go back to college to compete for a club team do so before they’re 56 years old. • Jack de Golia retired after 33 years of federal service. He spent the last 20 years as the public affairs officer for the 3.3-million-acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Montana. While working at Yellowstone National Park, he co-authored a curriculum called Expedition: Yellowstone! De Golia plans to live in Henderson, Nev. with his wife, Brenda. • Murray Haberman retired in December from his position as executive director of the California postsecondary education commission. His career in state service spans nearly 35 years. • John Nesbitt, M.A., Ph.D. ’80, wrote two novels, Poacher’s Moon (Pronghorn Press), a contemporary western, and Trouble at the Redstone (Leisure Books), a traditional western. Three of his short stories were published online by Amazon.com. His Web site is www.johndnesbitt.com, where he keeps a blog and summaries of his work.

1976Larry Shubat retired from the US Army Corps of Engineers after 20 years of service and was recently promoted to professor of surveying and mapping at the University of Akron, Summit College in Ohio. He lives in Uniontown, Ohio, with his wife, Vickie. They have two daughters and a son, who is an army officer serving his second tour in Iraq. Shubat’s e-mail address is ics@uakron.edu. • Jeffrey Grover died of colon cancer in Monterey last July at the age of 54. A native of Boise, Idaho, he transferred to UC Davis from the Naval Academy as a junior and majored in mechanical engineering. Shortly after graduation, he married Wendy Aylaian ’77, and they had one son, Casey, who is now in his third year of medical school at UCLA. Mr. Grover was a senior consultant for Aptec Engineering Services for many years, during which time he was licensed as a mechanical and civil engineer, as well as a member of the California Bar. He was a part-time coach and referee for high school football, wrestling and lacrosse in the Monterey area.

1978Lisa (Duerr) Leonhard is the new child development consultant for the State Department of Education’s California School-Age Families Education program (Cal-SAFE). She advises public school programs for expectant and parenting students and child development programs.

1979David Pefley was elected president of the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees. He lives with his wife, Shirley, and their two children, Shelby and Daniel. • Bill Raynor was recently featured in Nature Conservancy’s magazineabout his conservation work and reputation as a “yam king” in Micronesia. He has lived on the island of Pohnpei for the past 28 years. • Amy Samuels, M.S. ’82, died of cancer in December at her home in West Falmouth, Mass. She was 57. As an animal behavior researcher, she traveled to Hawaii, Africa, Australia and other places around the world to study animals. She worked on groundbreaking research in using sign language with chimpanzees, but much of her focus was on dolphins and how tourism affected their behavior. In 2000, she wrote a children’s book called Follow that Fin: Studying Dolphin Behavior. She is survived by her sister, Joan, of Switzerland; her brothers, Peter, of New York City and Matthew, of Searsmont, Maine; and her daughter, Caiming, of West Falmouth, Mass.

1980Thomas Jenkins, D.V.M., and Gail Sanders, B.S. ’06, D.V.M. ’08, have been hired by Banfield, the Pet Hospital, the largest private veterinary practice in the U.S. Jenkins practices in Apple Valley, while Sanders practices in Citrus Heights.

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