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UC Davis Magazine

Class Notes Archive 1931-2014: Spring 2013

1938Sam Shannon lives in Yuba City. He recalls the days when the campus was a branch of UC Berkeley and writes: “There used to be several Davis grads here in the Yuba City/Marysville area, but the ones I know are gone. Good luck to all. . . P.S. I’m 91 years old.” His daughter, Charlene (Shannon) Orthel ’72, and her husband, Glenn, have two daughters, and live in Idaho.
1948Donald Pinkham, a retired stockbroker and a World War II U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, died in his Exeter home in October 2012. He was 88. He also ran a business selling wines from around the world.
1949Walter “Bud” Perry died in his Hemet home last October at age 86. A builder, trencher and inventive machine fabricator, he helped construct a number of community projects.    John Talbott, M.S. ’58, an Aggie Hall of Fame track athlete who worked in the seed industry, died in Davis in February. He was 90. He was the 1942 Far Western Conference champion in 100- and 220-yard dashes. His college education was interrupted by combat duty during World War II. He returned to UC Davis with shrapnel lodged in his leg, but resumed running, winning the 1947 100 title and placing second in the 220. He was a past president and long-time supporter of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.
1951Israel Gershon “Gersh” Rosen, a retired Delta College counselor, died in his Lodi home in December. He was an Air Force veteran and a volunteer with the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and other organizations. His wife, Judy (Lampman), who attended UC Davis, died in 2003.    Wilfred Pimentel, D.V.M. ’53, a retired Fresno veterinarian, died at home last August following injuries from a fall. He was 86. After retiring, he volunteered as a checkpoint doctor at the 1993 Alaska Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Among survivors are sons Matthew ’82, and Paul ’83.    Tadao Yamashiro, a retired photogramist who created the first topographical map of Yosemite National Park, died in July 2012. He was 88. He and his family were sent to Tule Lake Relocation Camp during World War II. He worked for the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Department of Water Resources.
1952William “Nic” Smith, died in January in Yountville from lung cancer. He was 84. A U.S. Army Medical Corp veteran, he worked in Solano County in a variety of careers, including fruit rancher, inspector, licensed stockbroker, travel agent and racing official.    Robert Stephenson, of Camarillo, died in October 2012 after a lengthy illness. He was a retired strawberry grower and a Marine Corps veteran of World War II.   Joseph Vaira, a Drytown rancher, died in December in a Jackson hospital at the age of 83. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
1953Douglas Hogue, professor emeritus at Cornell University, died after a brief illness last July. An expert on animal breeding and nutrition, he co-developed an accelerated lambing system that changed lamb production worldwide.
1958Santa Rosa poet Cameo Archer (Dorothy Chittum Lacsamana) wrote The Garners of Shanghai (CreateSpace, 2012), a novel based on the lives of her missionary grandparents.   Richard Wallis, D.V.M., is the author of They’ll Be There… A Tribute to America’s Service and Therapy Animals (Park Place Publications, 2012).
1959Charles Rosson III, a retired surgeon, died in Roseville last August. He was 77. He practiced vascular and general surgery in Yuba City for 33 years.
1962Theodore “Ted” Poppinga, D.V.M., a Colusa veterinarian, died in January after a long illness. He was 86.
1963Richard Van Konynenburg, M.S. ’65, of Livermore, died from a heart attack in Seattle in September at age 70. His 30-year career at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory focused primarily on nuclear materials research. By his 2006 retirement, he had begun researching a possible cause and treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome. Survivors include a brother, Franklin ’61, and two stepsons, including Leigh ’00.
1964Peter Mehren, M.A. ’72, had a short story, “A Hunnerd Dollars, Gold,” published in the anthology The Old Weird South (QW Publishers, LLC, 2012). Peter and wife Kay Gullikson Mehren, D.V.M. ’65, are based in Toronto. Kay retired as senior veterinarian at the Toronto Zoo, and continues to work on animal health and welfare issues.
1967Jerome Wilcox, of Lincoln, died in his home at age 67 after a long battle with liver disease and diabetes. He worked in information systems at UC Davis and as manager of payroll systems for the UC Office of the President. He retired in 2005.
1969James Barrell, Ph.D. ’72, co-authored Inner Experience and Neuroscience: Merging Both Perspectives (MIT Press, 2012) with Donald Price. After teaching at the University of Florida and University of West Georgia, he now works as a consultant and personal growth facilitator.
1972Yale University Art Gallery Director Jock Reynolds, M.F.A., was profiled in a New York Times article, “A King of Art With the Midas Touch,” last December. Reynolds raised $135 million to renovate the gallery’s three buildings, along with additional funds for art acquisitions.