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Class Notes Archive 1931-2014: Winter 2008

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1951Sonoma County Conservation Action honored Bill Kortum, D.V.M. ’53, in early October for his work as an environmental activist. The SCCA, which Kortum founded in 1991, acknowledged him for selecting the land for Salt Point State Park, keeping Sonoma County’s beaches as public land, acting against a nuclear power plant planned for Bodega Head and other grassroots efforts.
1956Berl Koch, Ph.D., and his wife, Tina, recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. They live in Meadowlark Hills Retirement Village in Manhattan, Kan., and are active in volunteer work.
1960Desiree de Angelise’s community and campus suicide prevention program, A Sense of Life, was named the 2007 “Trim-Tab” project at Jean Houston’s Social Artistry Intensive for Leadership. ASOL was formed in reaction to the suicide of a UC Davis dramatic arts classmate. It was honored for being “a simple idea with the potential to change the world.”
1964Kirvin Knox, Ph.D., received an Award of Distinction from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Knox is a retired teacher, scientist and administrator who worked at the University of Connecticut and at Colorado State University.
1966Gordon Serpa, M.S. ’68, retired in January 2006 from the National Business Center in the Department of the Interior after 38 years of service.
1967Cristy Jensen, a professor of public policy and administration at California State University, Sacramento, received the 2007 John C. Livingston Award from the Livingston Lecture Committee. The award is given to professors at the university who show commitment to students while remaining active in scholarly work.
1968Norbert Poth, M.A., died in August 2007 of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Mr. Poth was born in Germany and received a master’s degree from the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim before immigrating to Canada. He then moved to the United States and worked in San Francisco as a laboratory technician helping develop techniques for heart transplantation. Mr. Poth later decided to become a teacher and obtained degrees from Southern Oregon College and UC Davis. He taught for many years at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill until he retired in 1985. His wife, Latvian immigrant Veronika Niedra, preceded him in death. His survivors include his sons, Andrew and Felix, and two grandchildren.
1970Cliff Krowne and colleague Y. Zhang edited the recently published book Physics of Negative Refraction and Negative Index Materials: Optical and Electronic Aspects—Diversified Approaches and Structures (Springer-Verlag Books). Krowne works with the microwave technology branch of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
1971Kimberly Ann Brown, Cred. ’72, retired in June from teaching fine arts photography at Placer High School in Auburn, where she has worked since receiving her teaching credential. • Jerry Nishimoto was honored by the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as “Outstanding Staff.” Nishimoto is retiring after 35 years as the lead computer support staff member in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
1972Dennis Gonsalves, Ph.D., director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii, received an Award of Distinction from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Gonsalves was honored for his successful efforts against papaya diseases. • Willie Lott Jr., J.D., was appointed an Alameda County Superior Court judge by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October. He had been a Superior Court commissioner since 2002. • Tom Schubert, D.V.M. ’77, returned to academia after 25 years of private veterinary practice. He has joined the University of Florida, where he did his residency, and is now practicing veterinary neurology as the neurology service chief at the university’s Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital.
1973Charles Crabb, Ph.D. ’91, was chosen as the director of education for the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation. Before this appointment, Crabb was the manager of the California Farm Bureau Federation’s governmental affairs division and the dean of agriculture at California State University, Chico. • Sharon Hopkins, D.V.M. ’75, is currently the public health veterinarian for the Seattle-King County Health Department and adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her duties include surveillance and control of West Nile virus and general zoonotic diseases. She and her husband, Doug, have a daughter, volunteer as puppy raisers for Guide Dogs for the Blind and run a few head of Lowline Angus cattle on a small ranch outside Issaquah, Wash. • Henry Gong, M.D., a pulmonary physician and governor-appointed member of the California Air Resources Board, passed away in August 2007 due to heart failure. He was 60. Dr. Gong was considered a champion of air quality control in California and published hundreds of works related to respiratory disease and the health effects of air pollution. Gong also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and was a chair of the Department of Medicine at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Additionally, he was a professor of medicine and preventative medicine at the University of Southern California. Survivors include his wife, Jan; his children, Greg and Jaimee; and his granddaughter. • Thomas Trapp, a San Francisco attorney respected in the field of environmental law, died in August 2007 of pancreatic cancer at age 55. Mr. Trapp began his law career with Landels Ripley & Diamond and was a founding partner of Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp where he was managing partner. The Thomas Trapp Environmental Scholarship has been established in his honor at the UC Hastings College of Law. His survivors include his sons, Brandon and Elliot, his mother, Carol, and former wife, Lois Mueller.
1974Susan Rinne, M.S. ’78, was appointed vice president of regulatory affairs with NeurogesX Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in San Mateo focused on developing pain management therapies. She has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical regulatory affairs arena. • Lawrence Wolfe is an attorney and manager of Denver-based law firm Holland & Hart, the largest law firm in the region with 13 offices in seven states and Washington, D.C. Wolfe and his wife live in Cheyenne, Wyo., and have two grown children.
1975Syrie James, a screenwriter for the past 20 years, has written her first work of historical fiction, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (Avon Books), which was named an “Editor’s Pick” by The Library Journal.

1951Sonoma County Conservation Action honored Bill Kortum, D.V.M. ’53, in early October for his work as an environmental activist. The SCCA, which Kortum founded in 1991, acknowledged him for selecting the land for Salt Point State Park, keeping Sonoma County’s beaches as public land, acting against a nuclear power plant planned for Bodega Head and other grassroots efforts.

1956Berl Koch, Ph.D., and his wife, Tina, recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. They live in Meadowlark Hills Retirement Village in Manhattan, Kan., and are active in volunteer work.

1960Desiree de Angelise’s community and campus suicide prevention program, A Sense of Life, was named the 2007 “Trim-Tab” project at Jean Houston’s Social Artistry Intensive for Leadership. ASOL was formed in reaction to the suicide of a UC Davis dramatic arts classmate. It was honored for being “a simple idea with the potential to change the world.”

1964Kirvin Knox, Ph.D., received an Award of Distinction from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Knox is a retired teacher, scientist and administrator who worked at the University of Connecticut and at Colorado State University.

1966Gordon Serpa, M.S. ’68, retired in January 2006 from the National Business Center in the Department of the Interior after 38 years of service.

1967Cristy Jensen, a professor of public policy and administration at California State University, Sacramento, received the 2007 John C. Livingston Award from the Livingston Lecture Committee. The award is given to professors at the university who show commitment to students while remaining active in scholarly work.

1968Norbert Poth, M.A., died in August 2007 of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Mr. Poth was born in Germany and received a master’s degree from the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim before immigrating to Canada. He then moved to the United States and worked in San Francisco as a laboratory technician helping develop techniques for heart transplantation. Mr. Poth later decided to become a teacher and obtained degrees from Southern Oregon College and UC Davis. He taught for many years at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill until he retired in 1985. His wife, Latvian immigrant Veronika Niedra, preceded him in death. His survivors include his sons, Andrew and Felix, and two grandchildren.

1970Cliff Krowne and colleague Y. Zhang edited the recently published book Physics of Negative Refraction and Negative Index Materials: Optical and Electronic Aspects—Diversified Approaches and Structures (Springer-Verlag Books). Krowne works with the microwave technology branch of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

1971Kimberly Ann Brown, Cred. ’72, retired in June from teaching fine arts photography at Placer High School in Auburn, where she has worked since receiving her teaching credential. • Jerry Nishimoto was honored by the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as “Outstanding Staff.” Nishimoto is retiring after 35 years as the lead computer support staff member in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

1972Dennis Gonsalves, Ph.D., director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii, received an Award of Distinction from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Gonsalves was honored for his successful efforts against papaya diseases. • Willie Lott Jr., J.D., was appointed an Alameda County Superior Court judge by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October. He had been a Superior Court commissioner since 2002. • Tom Schubert, D.V.M. ’77, returned to academia after 25 years of private veterinary practice. He has joined the University of Florida, where he did his residency, and is now practicing veterinary neurology as the neurology service chief at the university’s Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital.

1973Charles Crabb, Ph.D. ’91, was chosen as the director of education for the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation. Before this appointment, Crabb was the manager of the California Farm Bureau Federation’s governmental affairs division and the dean of agriculture at California State University, Chico. • Sharon Hopkins, D.V.M. ’75, is currently the public health veterinarian for the Seattle-King County Health Department and adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her duties include surveillance and control of West Nile virus and general zoonotic diseases. She and her husband, Doug, have a daughter, volunteer as puppy raisers for Guide Dogs for the Blind and run a few head of Lowline Angus cattle on a small ranch outside Issaquah, Wash. • Henry Gong, M.D., a pulmonary physician and governor-appointed member of the California Air Resources Board, passed away in August 2007 due to heart failure. He was 60. Dr. Gong was considered a champion of air quality control in California and published hundreds of works related to respiratory disease and the health effects of air pollution. Gong also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and was a chair of the Department of Medicine at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Additionally, he was a professor of medicine and preventative medicine at the University of Southern California. Survivors include his wife, Jan; his children, Greg and Jaimee; and his granddaughter. • Thomas Trapp, a San Francisco attorney respected in the field of environmental law, died in August 2007 of pancreatic cancer at age 55. Mr. Trapp began his law career with Landels Ripley & Diamond and was a founding partner of Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp where he was managing partner. The Thomas Trapp Environmental Scholarship has been established in his honor at the UC Hastings College of Law. His survivors include his sons, Brandon and Elliot, his mother, Carol, and former wife, Lois Mueller.

1974Susan Rinne, M.S. ’78, was appointed vice president of regulatory affairs with NeurogesX Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in San Mateo focused on developing pain management therapies. She has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical regulatory affairs arena. • Lawrence Wolfe is an attorney and manager of Denver-based law firm Holland & Hart, the largest law firm in the region with 13 offices in seven states and Washington, D.C. Wolfe and his wife live in Cheyenne, Wyo., and have two grown children.

1975Syrie James, a screenwriter for the past 20 years, has written her first work of historical fiction, The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (Avon Books), which was named an “Editor’s Pick” by The Library Journal.

Showing 1 to 20 of 82 Next >