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John S. Corbin (B.A., Education, ’38) died Jan. 13 in Roseville,
California, at the age of 87. As the superintendent of the Robla School
District from 1948 to 1956, he was a member of the development team for
establishing Sacramento State. Corbin was later the superintendent of
the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District for 15 years. He leaves a wife,
Dorothy; a son, Larry of Granite Bay; daughters Kay Atchison of Auburn
and Carol Brush of Roseville; eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren,
and two great-great-grandchildren.
Jean Starkey (B.A., Economics, ’43) died Dec. 27, 1999, at the age of 77. She was a partner in J.G. Brattan Co., a family farm and prune drying business in Butte County. Starkey was a member of Our Divine Savior Church, Omega Nu Sorority, Soroptimist’s Club, Children’s Home Society, and Butte Creek Country Club. Her survivors include two daughters, Carlin Naify of Sacramento and Susan Henneberg of Reno; a son, Joseph, of Chico; and eight grandchildren. Sylvan D. Wilson (B.A., Education, ’49) died Feb. 20 in Chico
of natural causes. He was 74. Wilson taught at Gridley Elementary School
District for seven years and then became principal of Woodrow Wilson School
in Gridley, California, for 30 years. He retired in 1986. He is survived
by wife Jackie of Gridley; daughter Ann of Carson City, Nevada; and two
grandchildren.
Lyle Olsen (B.A., Physical Education, ’51) died Jan. 27 in Tennessee of prostate cancer. He was 70. He was known as a standout athlete at Chico State. He later played Class AAA baseball in the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. He left baseball to earn a doctorate. Olsen was a professor of physical education at San Diego State University and coached baseball there from 1965 to 1971. He retired in 1989, moved to Tennessee, and became an adjunct professor of English at East Tennessee State University. He leaves his wife, Phyllis Anne; three sons, Erik of Maui, Hawaii, Nels of Mountain View, Hawaii, and Leif of Carlsbad, California; and four grandchildren. Robert Ellis (B.A., Education, ’52) died Sept. 30, 1999, in Red Bluff, California. He was 73. He was a teacher at Sutter Union High School for five years and an art teacher at Red Bluff Union High School for 29 years. Ellis retired in 1987. He is survived by wife Vera, son James of Red Bluff, and daughter Rebecca Dorsey of Fort Bragg. David Edwin Williams (B.S., Business Administration, ’53) died Feb. 28 in Willows. He served on the Tehama-Colusa Canal board and founded the Thomas Creek Water District. Williams ranched with his father from 1953 to 1975, then partnered with his son, Bob, in 1980. He is survived by wife Ramona of Corning, sons David Charles of Orland and Robert Arden of Corning, and four grandchildren. Dorothy A. Graf (B.A., Education, ’58) died Dec. 29, 1999,
in her home in Chico. She was 68. Graf taught in Chico elementary schools
for 30 years. Her love of learning continued after retirementÑshe stayed
active in the Prime Timers, volunteered at the Chico Art Center, and attended
the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. She is survived by husband
Cecil and daughter Christine of Chico.
Frank Gore (B.S., Agriculture Business, ’65) of Durham, California,
died Feb. 2. He was 56. He spent a lifetime as the partner in Gus Gore
and Sons Construction with brothers Nick and Harv, and father Gus. Gore
was a master carpenter and contributed to the construction of the Durham
Park Picnic Pavilion and Durham Memorial Hall parking lot. He leaves wife
Jill; two sons, David of Durham and Dennis of Chico; two daughters, Brisa
Hanna of Santa Cruz and Lily Hanna of Spain; and a grandson.
Donald H. Heffren (B.S., Agriculture, ’72) died Dec. 26, 1999, at Bucks Lake, California, in a snowmobiling accident. He was 50. Heffren was ranch manager of the Gorrill Ranch for 25 years. He was active in the farm community as a member of the Western Canal Water District, Sutter Basin Water Association, Butte Creek Watershed Conservancy, and Rice Milling Association as well as community soccer clubs, snowmobile clubs, and the Chico Chamber of Commerce. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, and two sons, Frank of Salinas and Joel of Sonoma. Bruce Lennart Besnard (B.A., Mathematics, ’74) died Jan. 28 at the age of 47 in Mammoth, California. He practiced optometry in Sacramento, opening a private practice in Chico in 1988. He leaves his wife, Deborah, and a son, Drew. Jackie Faris-Rees (B.A., History, ’77) died April 22 at home
in Chico of cancer. She was 46. As an undergraduate, Faris-Rees served
on the executive board of the California State Student Association and
was president of the Associated Students. She was active in several civic
groups, including The Esplanade League, Chamber of Commerce, PTA, and
Butte Community Action Agency. She also served eight years on the Chico
Unified School District school board. She leaves her husband of 23 years,
Rick Rees, daughter Alexandra, and son Robert.
Roger Dillon (B.S., Accounting, ’83; B.S., Business Administration, ’84) of Magalia, California, died Nov. 23, 1999, in his home. He was 68. Dillon was in the Navy for more than three decades and taught electronics at Moffett Field in Mountain View for five years. His wife, Naomi, died in 1988. He leaves a daughter, Rae Kirk of Magalia. Todd Richard Gregori (B.A., History, ’83) died Dec. 5, 1999, in Concord, California. He was 42. Gregori was a photographer for Contra Costa, a weekly magazine, and a member of New Lift, On-Track, and Motor Sports Press Association. He is survived by his mother, Alice Sonnenberg Gregori of Danville, California, and his father, Richard Gregori of Palm Desert. Charles Fred Heart (M.A., Public Administration, ’83) died Feb. 2 in Baker City, Oregon. He was 66. Heart was a California Highway Patrol officer from 1957 until retirement in 1986. He leaves wife Jacquie, son Leigh of Baker City, daughter Torie, and grandson Carson Kline of Anchorage, Alaska. Judy Lee Eggers (B.S., Nursing, ’84) died April 3 in Chico. She was 51. Eggers was a school nurse in Biggs and Durham school districts. As an active member of several service groups in Gridley, California, she wrote the “Build a Better Community” project emphasizing CPR. She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Ron, and sons Chris and Brian, both of Gridley, and Jimmie of Yuba City. Janet Lee Miller (B.S., Nursing, ’84) died Dec.12, 1999,
in Chico. She was 45. Miller worked at Enloe Medical Center and was a
former director of Enloe Hospice. She is survived by her husband, Paul;
stepfather, Bruce Philp, and mother, Eleanor Philp, both of Fort Bragg.
Todd Christian Fields (B.S., Business Administration, ’90) died on his 33rd birthday on Oct. 11, 1999, of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Fields graduated from South Tahoe High School and, while attending Chico State, was the pitcher for the Wildcat baseball team. He was an account representative for Wallace Computer Services in San Ramon after graduation. He is survived by wife Debby of Redwood Valley and son Tyler. To honor his devotion to baseball, South Tahoe Babe Ruth Field and South Tahoe Middle School Field were renamed “Todd Fields.” Shaun Stubblefield (B.S., Biology, ’96) died in March at a concert in Calistoga, California. He was 36. Stubblefield lived in Healdsburg with his brother and had been freelancing in biochemistry for wineries in Sonoma County. Robert Russell Erving (M.A., Geography, ’97) died March 5
in a skiing accident near Whitefish, Montana. He was 33. Erving attended
UC Santa Barbara and lived in Redwood City while working at Earth Metrics.
He is survived by his mother, Susan Erving of Menlo Park; his father,
Robert Erving of Bainbridge, Washington; and sister Audrey Licari of Larkspur,
California.
We’d like to hear from you! Drop us a line at Publications; California
State University, Chico; Chico, CA 95929-0040. Or e-mail us at publications@csuchico.edu.
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