Alums In Memoriam
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
2000s
1930s
LAVANCHE (CHRISTIAN) HURSH (attended fall ’33
to fall ’34) died Feb. 22 at the age of 89. She and her husband
Vernon started a nursery in Arbuckle in 1949. Hursh is survived
by her son Gary, three granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by Vernon.
EDISON DAHLMEIER (attended fall ’34 to
spring ’36) died Feb. 19. He was 88. He opened an insurance
agency with his brother Hal, where he worked until retirement in
1985. Dahlmeier is survived by his wife Georgia, son Robert, daughter
Diane, one brother, three stepchildren, four grandchildren, three
step-grandchildren, and three nephews. He was preceded in death
by his daughter Janet.
JEFFERSON B. WEST (AB, Education and Credentials,
’38) died April 2 at the age of 93. He devoted his life to
education working as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in
the Stockton Unified School District until his retirement in 1972.
West is survived by his wife Madge, five grandchildren, and six
great-grandchildren.
BEATRICE (RYAN) BRAYTON (AB, Education and Credential,
’39) died May 18. She was 88. Brayton and her husband Doug
owned Brayton’s Hallmark in downtown Chico for 55 years. She
is survived by sons, John and Jerry, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Her husband preceded her in death.
1940s
CLYDA HUNGER (AB, Education and Credential, ’41)
died Jan. 30. She was 87. She was a teacher at Clayton B. Wire School
in Sacramento for many years. She is survived by son Jay and daughter-in-law
Sue. She was preceded in death by her husband Norman.
DOROTHY MORGAN (AB, Education and Credential,
’41) died April 4 at the age of 85. She was an elementary
school teacher in Sutter County. She is survived by her son Robert,
step-granddaughter Heather, and two step-great-grandchildren.
JOE WADLINGTON (AB, Art, ’46) died Nov.
30 at the age of 84. He was a speech and drama instructor, and acted
in plays in Marin County. He is survived by sister Dorothy, brother
Don, and five nieces and nephews.
NEWELL K. WITTER (AB, Accounting, ’47)
died Jan. 18 at the age of 87. He retired in 1980 as a tax administrator
in Redding. He is survived by his wife Maxine, daughter Dianne,
sons David and Richard, a brother, a sister, and four grandsons.
BARBARA (HITTSON) WEINZINGER (Junior College
Certificate, ’48) died April 12. She was 77. She was the office
manager at Pine Mountain Lumber Company in Yreka for 25 years. She
is survived by her husband Robert; children Vicki, Terry, and James;
sister Phyllis; seven grandchildren; and six great-granddaughters.
1950s
HERBERT JERGENTZ (BA, Education and Credential,
’51; Credential ’52; MA, Physical Education, Teacher
Education, ’64) died Aug. 11, 2004, at the age of 77. He was
a teacher and coach at Durham High School for 31 years. He is survived
by his wife Barbara, sons Erin and Eric, twin brother Harold, three
sisters, three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
HACK MCINTURF (AB, Industrial Arts and Credential,
’51) died April 28 at the age of 75. He was a Butte County
supervisor for several years, and taught and coached at Oroville
High School for 32 years. He is survived by his wife Judy, son Jeffery,
daughter Lynn, and one grandson.
IVOR “JACK” MONGER (BA, Education
and Credential, ’51) died April 11. He was 82. He was in the
U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he was a
teacher for 29 years in San Lorenzo. He is survived by his wife
Edith, son Wayne, daughters Gayle and Bonnie, and granddaughter
Jessica.
EDWARD J. OLSEN (BA, Education and Credential,
’51) died April 20 at the age of 80. He taught and coached
for many years at Sycamore Middle School in Gridley. He is survived
by his sons Jay and Mark, three grandchildren, and companion Virginia
Faulk. He was preceded in death by his wife Shirley.
RICHARD L. DAVIS (AB, Business, ’55) died
in June 2004. He was 70. In 1999, he retired from his law practice
in Menlo Park. He is survived by sons Matthew, Steven, Chris, and
Paul. He was preceded in death by his wife Sharon.
CHARLES D. JONES (BS, Civil Engineering, ’59)
died Dec. 24, 2004. He was 68. He was a civil engineer in the construction
industry. He is survived by his wife Roberta; children Sharmon,
Brant, and Cliff; four stepchildren; and 13 grandchildren.
1960s
ALICE (THURMAN) MAXWELL (BA, Education, ’61)
died December 9. She was 88. Maxwell spent 33 years as an elementary
school teacher. She is survived by her husband Lin, daughter Mary,
son Andrew, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She
was preceded in death by son Marvin.
CATHERINE (ERICKSON) WHISMAN (BA, Home and Family
Living, ’61) died Oct. 24, 2004. She was 78. She was a bookkeeper
before moving to Hillsboro in 1989. Whisman is survived by her husband
Miran, daughters Cathy and Marie, sister Dorothy, brother Andrew,
and one grandchild.
DON BRANDT (BS, Agriculture, ’63; MS, Agriculture,
’78) died Jan. 7 at the age of 68. He was a high school teacher
and coach. He is survived by his wife Claudia, daughter Robin, son
Ron, mother Velma, two sisters, three grandchildren, and many relatives.
He was preceded in death by father George and brother Dick.
GINGER IVERSEN (BS, Nursing, ’63) died
May 6 at the age of 65. She worked for 25 years at Butte County
Mental Health. Iversen is survived by daughters Lilith and Naomi.
NELSON BRILES (attended fall ’64 and fall
’65) died Feb. 13. He was 61. Briles was a major league pitcher
for 14 seasons and was to be honored in May as one of the first
nine to receive the Chico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame “Legends
of the Diamond” award. He is survived by his wife Ginger,
son David, and daughters Christina, Kelley, and Sarah.
ROGER “BUZZ” SCHROEDER (BA, History,
’66) died April 23 at the age of 61. He taught middle school
math and history in Napa for 30 years. He is survived by his wife
Jacquelyn, daughters Amy and Lisabeth, four grandchildren, and three
siblings.
HELEN (ROTH) WILLIAMSON (BA, Social Science,
’67; Credential, ’68) died Jan. 8 at the age of 59.
She taught elementary school for 34 years in Oroville. She is survived
by her sisters Mary and Linda, and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces
and great-nephews.
1970s
DAVID FARNEY (BA, Sociology, ’71) died March
11 at the age of 58. He was a rancher and oil field owner in Wyoming
for several years. He also worked on oil fields in Mongolia and
Sumatra. Farney is survived by his wife Dona, daughter Tika, mother
Mary, and brother Dan.
FEONA (STARKEY) STEEVES (BA, Natural Sciences,
’72) died March 22. She was 61. She was a Medicare analyst
for Blue Shield/Blue Cross. She is survived by her husband John,
sons Scott and Grant, stepchildren Jeff and Dianne, nine grandchildren,
and one great-grandchild.
JUDI LOWRIE (BS, Health Science,’73) died
March 30. She was 54. She owned and operated Floating Heart Gardens
in Chico, and created the Chico Pond Tours. She is survived by her
brother Jim and two nephews.
CHUCK BIAMA (BS, Business Administration, ’74;
MBA, ’80) died April 26 at the age of 52. He was a certified
public accountant for several companies in the Bay Area. He is survived
by his son Bryan, parents Richard and Mary Jane, and three brothers.
MARTHA (EVANS) KIERSCH (BA, Psychology, ’75;
MA, Psychology, ’77) died May 6. She was 58. Kiersch earned
a doctorate in neuropsychology at Washington State University at
Pullman. She had a private practice in Fresno.
1980s
VICTOR NICOLI (BS, Computer Science, ’81)
died March 13 at the age of 48. He worked in the cable television
industry as a computer programmer. He is survived by his wife Cherile,
daughter Victoria, and stepson Vincent.
MICHAEL DUCLOS (BS, Finance, ’82) died
Sept. 19, 2004. He was 45. Duclos is survived by his wife Liberty,
sons Justin and Christopher, parents James and Mary, and five brothers
and sisters.
1990s
BRADLEY GILLESPIE (BS, Business Administration,
’92) died Feb. 27 at the age of 41. He was a financial planner
and member of the Coast Guard. He is survived by his wife Wendy;
children Bradley Jr., Brittney, and Brooke; mother; grandmother;
sister; and nephews. His father Gerald preceded him in death.
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER (MA, Social Science, ’95)
died March 23 at the age of 48. She worked as an employment training
specialist for San Joaquin County. She is survived by sons Anthony
and Matthew, mother Mary, father Leonard, a brother, a sister, and
four nieces and nephews.
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2000s
MATTHEW AXELSON (BA, Political Science, ’00)
died in the line of duty in Afghanistan in June. He was 29. Axelson
was a member of a Navy SEAL team searching for Taliban and Al-Qaida
forces in the mountains in northeastern Afghanistan. His body was
recovered July 10 in the Kuranwal Valley. He is survived by his
wife Cindy, parents Cordell and Donna, brother Jeff, and many other
relatives.
KARL “MARCUS” BRANNSTROM died due
to a job-related accident on June 27 in Bakersfield. He was a sophomore,
majoring in construction management. Brannstrom is survived by his
parents Greg and Eva, brother Jeff, and sister Sarah, and many other
relatives.
Stacey Schooler and Lisa Kirk, Public Affairs and Publications |
