Alums In Memoriam
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
2000s
1940s
JOHN F. HENNING JR. (attended ’41–’43) died
March 6, 2006, at the age of 82. He enlisted in the U.S. Naval
Air Corps during World War II. He spent 40 years with Sunset magazine,
eventually becoming president of advertising and management. He
owned a cattle ranch near Chico for 38 years; this property is
now part of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. He is survived
by wife Frances, sons John F. III and Robert, and grandsons Adam
and Blair.
LORETA CHOATE LANDRY (AB, Education, ’41; Credential, ’41)
died Sept. 3, 2006, at the age of 86. She was a schoolteacher,
homemaker, and lifelong member of Beta Sigma Phi and United Methodist
Church. Landry was predeceased by her husband James and is survived
by her son Paul, daughter Beth, and six grandchildren.
C.A. “CHARLIE” MARSHALL (AB, Education and Credential, ’41)
died June 23, 2006, at the age of 96. He served in the Signal Corps
of the Army Air Corps in World War II. He was also a teacher and
principal, salesman, probation officer, and Realtor. He is survived
by his daughter Marleah and many nieces and nephews.
JAMES “ED” SIMMONS (BA, Social Science, ’48)
died Aug. 28, 2006, at the age of 83. He served in the Naval Air
Corps during World War II, then lived in Chico, where he was a
horse rancher and real estate broker. He is survived by his wife
Jean, daughters Christina and Kathy, son Steve, and nine grandchildren.
1950s
ABRAHAM AUGUSTINE MEMEO (BA, Physical Education, ’52; Credentials, ’52, ’57)
died Sept. 29, 2006, at the age of 78. He served with the U.S.
Army for two years in Korea. He taught and coached at CK Price
in Orland and was principal of Fairview Elementary in Chico and
Ponderosa Elementary in Paradise for 32 years. He is survived by
his wife Ann, son Brad, daughter Gina, six grandchildren, and two
great-grandchildren.
JANET DOLORES CAVENDER PRENTICE (BA, Home Economics, ’53;
MA, Psychology, ’68; Credentials, ’65, ’68, ’72)
died Aug. 28, 2006, at the age of 76. She was an educator, administrator,
and counselor in the Chico Unified School District, former president
of the Chico Unified Teachers Association, certified financial
planner, and volunteer at the Chico hospital. She is survived by
her husband Eugene, daughter Kimberly, son Kevin, and two grandchildren.
PATRICIA CAROLYN MARSH (BA, Education and Credential, ’56)
died May 27, 2006, at the age of 72. She was a lifelong elementary
schoolteacher and taught at the Department of Defense schools in
Okinawa, Japan. She was named Distinguished Teacher in 1991 by
the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. She is survived
by brothers Gordon, Rodney, and Kenneth, and 13 nieces and nephews.
1960s
RONALD RE CONTE (BS, Business Administration, ’60; Credential, ’61)
died July 28, 2006, at the age of 69. He served in the Air National
Guard as a staff sergeant before spending 30 years as a teacher
at Orland High School. He lived in Chico. Conte is survived by
his wife Joyce; sons John, Ron, and Robert; daughter Kim; and two
grandchildren.
WILLIAM LESLIE STOKES JR. (MA, Elementary School Administration, ’61)
died July 30, 2006, at the age of 79. He served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II as a motor machinist and spent his professional
life as an educator, retiring from Sierra Sands School District
in June 1982. He is survived by his wife Barbara, son William,
daughter Marie, stepdaughter Mariana, stepson Richard, and nine
grandchildren.
GARY MERRILL GREEN (AB, Chemistry, ’63) died July 21, 2006,
at the age of 69. He served in the U.S. Army before attending CSU,
Chico. He was a chemist and national sales manager. He is survived
by wife Lynette, sons Chris and Steve, daughter Amy, and five grandchildren.
MIKE (AHMAD) MIAN (BS, Agriculture, ’63) died Oct. 14, 2006,
at the age of 74. He was born in Tehran, Iran, and was the first
of his family to come to the United States, in 1958. Mian taught
for 35 years, first in the Sacramento City Unified School District
and then for the California Youth Authority. He is survived by
his wife Darleen, daughters Michele and Melinda, and two granddaughters.
DOROTHEA “DEA” DIESBROCK SCHNEIDER (AB, Education and
Credential, ’63) died June 13, 2006, at the age of 64. She
was a teacher and librarian. She is survived by husband Lee, son
Loren, and daughter Lanae.
RAFAEL MARTIN (BA, Psychology and Credential, ’64; MA, Psychology, ’68)
died July 15, 2006, at the age of 88. She taught at Los Molinos
and Hamilton high schools and started the Hamilton High School
Continuation Education Program. She is survived by four of her
children, Ron, Gary, Jan, and Shelley; 23 grandchildren; 60 great-grandchildren;
and 11 great-great grandchildren.
ROBERT K. MINTO (BS, Agriculture, ’64) died Sept. 21, 2006,
at the age of 82. After a number of careers, including ranching,
logging, and working for PG&E, he taught agriculture science
and shop at Durham High School for 12 years. Minto is survived
by his wife Eldora; sons Robert David, Don, James, and Ralph; and
eight grandchildren.
JONATHAN NORRIS (BS, Business Administration, ’67) died July
27, 2006, at the age of 62. He served in the U.S. Army in Japan
before attending CSU, Chico. He worked for Matson and Isom in Chico.
He is survived by his wife Karolyn, sons Dan and Tom, and grandchildren
Abigail and Ian.
LOURENCE “CHARLIE” ALFRED SEALE (BS, Business Administration, ’67)
died June 14 at the age of 62. He was a U.S. Army veteran. He is
survived by his wife Beverlee, daughters Katie and Anne, grandchildren
Connor and Claire, sisters Mary and Maggie, and brother Jim.
GARY MARLOW SIMMONS (attended fall ’67–summer ’75)
died Oct. 10, 2006, at the age of 60. A local researcher and political
activist, Simmons was a lifelong resident of the Sacramento Valley.
He is survived by his mother Jeanne.
KATHLEEN C. BOYD (BA, Social Science, ’69; Credential, ’70)
died Aug. 14, 2006, at the age of 59. She taught third grade at
Bay View Elementary in Santa Cruz for 15 years. Boyd is survived
by son Tyler and daughter Kristin.
MARILYN J. WILLIS (BS, Business, ’69) died Aug. 5, 2006,
at the age of 59. She lived in Newberg, Oregon, and was a certified
public accountant in Portland. She is survived by sons Jason and
Derek.
1970s
CONSTANCE LEE PIERCE (BA, Psychology, ’70) died Sept. 8,
2006, at the age of 61. She worked as a nurse and Realtor, and
started G&L Precision Die Cutting with first husband Gerald
Alberico. She is survived by husband John Kunesch and sons Carl
and Vincent.
GREGORY C. SHANNON (BA, Industrial Art, ’70) died July 16,
2006, at the age of 48. He worked for PG&E and enjoyed riding
motorcycles. He is survived by his wife Mary, sons Charles and
Jake, grandsons Christopher and Zachary, and mother Rosanna.
JULIE ROBERTA COWDEN-DILG (BA, Information and Communication Studies, ’72;
Credential, ’74; MA, Information and Communication Studies, ’87)
died July 5, 2006, at the age of 56. She worked as a professor
at Butte College for 11 years teaching mass media, film, and communications.
She is survived by her children Alisha, Laura, and Scott; mother
Grace; and two grandchildren.
GILBERT “GIL” JORGENSEN (BA, Communication, ’72;
MBA, ’74) died Aug. 4, 2006, at the age of 61. In 1996, he
started a business providing financial consulting and compliance
to small wineries. He lived in Martinez, where he was most recently
a part-time employee at Ravenswood winery. Jorgensen is survived
by his wife Beth.
LAURIE (DENNIS) SCOTT (BS, Nursing, ’72) died Sept. 3, 2006,
at the age of 57. She worked as a nurse at Merritt Hospital in
Oakland and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She also
participated with the women’s ministries of the First Presbyterian
Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where she was living at the time
of her death. Scott is survived by husband Scott and mother Babette.
JACK N. DUCKETT (BA, Social Science, ’73) died June 14, 2006,
at the age of 74. He served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s and then
was self-employed as a real estate consultant in telecommunications.
He is survived by his wife Jerrie; sons John, Dan, and Richard;
daughters Paula and Pam; and 14 grandchildren.
JOHN EDWARD PETERSON (attended spring ’76) died June 24,
2005. He was gallery curator of the South Broadway Cultural Center
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Peterson is survived by his wife Connie.
1980s
DUANE STURM (BA, History, ’80) died Aug. 7, 2006, at the
age of 54. He had spent the previous 25 years in Japan teaching
English. He is survived by his wife Toshie and his parents, Orville
and Ada.
ELVIRA GRANIERI (BA, French, ’81) died Aug. 23, 2006, at
the age of 89. She worked full time in the business world until
her retirement to Chico in 1976. Then, after completing her bachelor’s,
she taught Spanish and Italian at Butte College. She is survived
by her daughters Silvia and Maria, four grandchildren, and four
great-grandchildren.
JOHN DOYLE BARBER JR. (attended fall ‘82 to spring ’85)
died Aug. 9, 2006, at the age of 45. He worked as a counselor at
Santa Rosa‘s Juvenile Hall until the late 1990s. He is survived
by his son Thomas.
DAVID L. FRANKLIN (BS, Business Administration, ’84) died
July 29, 2006, at the age of 47. His career was computer technology,
and he was most recently a technical consultant with Verigy. Franklin
enjoyed traveling, outdoor activities, and participating in Boy
Scout activities with his sons. He is survived by his wife Heather,
sons Jarrod and Eric, and father John.
KRISTINE SHULER WILSON (BA, Speech Pathology/Audiology, ’87;
MA, Speech Pathology/Audiology, ’89) died July 23, 2006,
at the age of 48. She started the business EdYouCare as an educational
therapist and wrote and taught online courses to help parents and
teachers learn to foster language development in children. She
is survived by husband Dan, father Al, mother Peggy, daughter Trenna,
son John, and granddaughters Cadence and Xander.
EILEEN STENSRUD (BA, Social Work, ’87) died Sept. 29, 2006,
at the age of 55. She worked as a social worker for Butte Home
Health and Hospice before becoming the administrator of the Townsend
House Assisted Living Facility, and then manager of Prestige Assisted
Living, both in Chico. In 1999, she co-founded Community Care Options.
Stensrud is survived by her husband Howard; daughters Amy, Sarah,
and Rebecca; sons Paul and Rich; and four grandchildren.
1990s
JONI RAE MUSSO PICKETT (BA, Psychology, ’95) died Aug. 21,
2006, at the age of 50. She had a longtime job with the Children’s
Services Division in Chico. She is survived by her sons Joseph
and Caleb, their father Tim, and two grandsons.
NANCY MARIE HAINES (BS, Industrial Technology, ’97) died
Oct. 7, 2006, at the age of 47. She lived in Corrales, New Mexico,
and was a passionate advocate for animals and the underprivileged.
She is survived by her parents Janice and Charles.
JOSHUA READ (BA, Music, ’99) died Oct. 14, 2006, at the age
of 33. He was the general manager of Woodstock’s Pizza in
Chico and played music with the Chico Symphony Orchestra and many
local bands. He is survived by his parents Kenneth Read and Millie
Beddard.
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2000s
KYLE S. BARTLEY (attended fall ’02–spring ’06)
died Aug. 19, 2006, at the age of 22. He was pursuing a degree
in business administration and worked at Gates Resale. He is survived
by his parents, Sherman and Sarah.
ROSS OLMSTED (MA, Psychology, ’02) died Aug. 6, 2006, at
the age of 64. He made his living as a drummer before earning a
BA in English and MA in library science from USC. He worked in
the Butte County library and as the Plumas County librarian for
12 years. After retirement, he studied Tibetan Buddhism, earned
his MA in psychology, and worked for the Butte County Department
of Behavioral Health. He was a member of many local bands and produced
a solo album in 1995.
THOMAS TURNER JR. (attended spring ’02, summer ’02,
and fall ’02) died July 14, 2006, at the age of 31. He was
serving in the U.S. Army in the Iraq war at the time of his death.
He had owned Tommy Turner Trucking in Cottonwood. He is survived
by wife Jennifer, son Ethan, stepdaughter Sarah, and mother Frances.
LUKE BENJAMIN PEDEMONTE (BS, Recreation Administration, ’04)
died July 22 at the age of 28. He worked at the Green Tortoise
Hostel in San Francisco. He is survived by his parents Richard
and Therese and sister Rachel.
Anna Harris, Public Affairs and Publications |
