Richard S. Stolarski ’63
1941–2024
Richard S. “Rich” Stolarski ’63, whose work was pivotal in the discovery of the ozone hole and the subsequent efforts to address the environmental threat, died Feb. 22, 2024, in Maryland of cancer. He was 82 and considered a pioneer in the field of atmospheric ozone chemistry.
Stolarski studied physics at Puget Sound under the guidance of Professor Martin Nelson ’37. He was working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Space Physics Lab when he coauthored a 1974 paper on ozone loss caused by chlorine. The work, credited with setting the stage for the global response to the ozone hole, also earned Stolarski recognition years later in the citation for the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Stolarski moved to NASA in 1974 as a research physicist, and he continued his work on the chemical composition of the atmosphere for the next 34 years. He retired from NASA in 2010, earning the agency’s Exceptional Achievement Medal, and became a research professor at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Johns Hopkins called Stolarski’s early work on ozone pivotal to “one of the greatest successes in environmental protection.”
In 2013, Stolarski and his classmate Robert Gibbs ’63 created the Dr. Martin Nelson Endowed Scholarship at Puget Sound in honor of the longtime Puget Sound physics professor whom Stolarski credited with his decision to pursue graduate school. Among his survivors are his wife of 59 years, Shirley Jewett Stolarski ’64.
—Ted Anthony
Francisco Menéndez ’85
1962–2024
Francisco Menéndez ’85, an accomplished film professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, died of a sudden heart attack Feb. 29, 2024.
Menéndez grew up in El Salvador amidst the turmoil of a civil war and an oppressive regime. It was there that he fell in love with cinema and began shooting films with a Super 8 camera. In 1980, he immigrated to the United States to study theater at Puget Sound, where he was named Outstanding Graduate of the Year. He regularly returned to El Salvador to cover the civil war as a stringer for Time magazine and liaison for CBS News. After graduation, he pursued an MFA in film and video at California Institute of the Arts, shooting his thesis film, Backstage, on the Puget Sound campus.
In 1990, Menéndez joined UNLV as a film professor; he later served as the film department’s chair and founding artistic director. He also directed multiple movies, including Stealing Las Vegas, a 2002 heist film produced by legendary director Roger Corman’s New Horizons Picture company. In 2022, Puget Sound honored him with its Professional Achievement Award.
At UNLV, he pioneered many initiatives, such as the Professional Film Crew Training Program, which gives film majors the opportunity to work in film production, and received many accolades for his work.
—Julianne Bell ’13
Lawrence D. (Larry) Writer ’63
1940–2024
Lawrence D. (Larry) Writer ’63, a decorated U.S. Air Force colonel who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, died Jan. 2, 2024. He was 83. He was interred with full military honors at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Wash.
Writer was born in Olympia, Wash., and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Puget Sound, where he was in Sigma Nu. He was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program after graduation and worked as a research and development officer in chemical and biological weapons and defense before training as a navigator on the F-4 Phantom II.
Writer deployed to Vietnam in January 1968 and flew six successful combat missions. On the seventh, he had to eject over North Vietnam during an attack against an enemy convoy of 40 trucks. According to the Silver Star citation, the “courage and outstanding airmanship [he] demonstrated in stopping the convoy significantly degraded the North Vietnamese logistics capabilities.”
Writer was captured and became a POW, ultimately spending 1,855 days in captivity—666 of them in solitary confinement. He was one of 108 POWs, including future U.S. Sen. John McCain, released on March 14, 1973. He remained in the Air Force until his retirement in 1987, having earned a Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and other medals. Among his survivors is his wife, Molly Brown Writer ’65.
—Lisa Kozleski ’94
Ron Simonson
1942–2024
Ron Simonson, one of the winningest coaches in the history of Puget Sound football, died June 15, 2024, in Portland, Ore., at the age of 82. As one of his former players said, “He made it easy to love being a Logger.”
Simonson came to Puget Sound in 1973 as the defensive coordinator and became head coach in 1978. He compiled a 53-19-1 record over seven seasons, holding the best win percentage (.733) among all head coaches in program history. He led the 1981 Loggers to a 10-1 regular season record, sending the team to the NCAA Division II playoffs and finishing as a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Puget Sound Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.
The athletes who played for him remember him equally for his nurturing attitude. “Ron was an intensely competitive man, and relentlessly sought excellence in both himself and his players,” remembers Brian Threlkeld ’83. “But he was never punitive and threatening in his approach. Instead, he was consistently positive and encouraging. What especially sticks with me is how he nurtured the bonds of his team’s players and their bonds with the coaches and others on the staff.”
After leaving Puget Sound, Simonson coached at the University of Northern Colorado and Oregon State University as well as with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. After retiring, he started a career as an author and enjoyed woodworking, country music, and golf.
—Lisa Kozleski ’94
We received word in June of the death of Janet Allen Porter ’50 of Sherwood, Ore. She earned her degree in occupational therapy and was in the Sigma Alpha Iota honor society; she also earned a Master of Occupational Therapy from the University of Washington.
Joyce Christie Kleinsmith ’51 died Feb. 1, 2023. She was 93. She was a member of Lambda Sigma Chi and the ski club at Puget Sound. After graduation, she worked as a flight attendant for Northwest Orient Airlines. She married her husband in 1956; they settled in Portland, Ore., where they raised their family.
We learned in July of the death of Albert Slaughter ’51, of Vashon Island, Wash. He served in the U.S. Navy and the Merchant Marines before attending Puget Sound. He majored in business administration and was a member of Sigma Chi.
Patricia Williams Cox ’52 died on Nov. 4, 2023, at age 92. She earned her degree in home economics and spent more than 20 years as a home economist at Puget Power in Puyallup, Wash. Later, she wrote a column for the Kirkland Courier where she shared recipes and cooking tips.
Armeda Dole Hayer ’52 died July 6, 2024, at age 99. She studied occupational therapy at Puget Sound. She and her husband ran Peringer Farms in Belmont, Wash., until their retirement, and she was active in the community, including volunteering at a local elementary school where she helped children learn to read.
We learned in June of the death of Nick Mosich ’52. He was a business administration major and played golf while at Puget Sound.
Chester Torgerson ’52 died March 25, 2024, in Tacoma. He was 99. He taught mathematics at Stewart Junior High in Tacoma and high school at the Army base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Among his survivors is his wife, Marilyn MacInnis Torgerson MEd‘59.
Clara Brakke Garrison ’53 died April 4, 2024. She and her husband lived in University Place, Wash., and she was a member of CityLights Church (Central Baptist Church) for 70 years.
Bruce Jorgenson ’53 died June 14, 2024, at age 92. He had a 32-year career in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea and achieving the rank of colonel. He also was the founder and owner of KMAS Radio in Shelton, Wash., and served 28 years as a commissioner of Mason County Public Utility District 3.
Joan Stensen Winden ’53 died Jan. 23, 2024. She was 92. She studied music at Puget Sound before completing her degree at Stanford University and embarking on a career as a vocalist, performing throughout Europe and the United States. She later taught voice lessons to generations of young singers in her Olympia home and at the University of Puget Sound.
Geraldine Baic Woods ’53 died Sept. 19, 2023. She grew up in the Croatian community of Old Tacoma and was proud of her Croatian heritage, staying in touch with her extended family throughout her life She and her late husband, Bob, owned and operated South Tacoma Pharmacy for many years.
Gerald C. Campbell ’55, of Wilmington, Del., died Jan. 24, 2024, at the age of 93. He attended Puget Sound before serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and completed his studies after returning home. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Elizabeth Anne (Bette Sheasgreen) Campbell ’55.
In July, we learned of the death of Ivan Francis ’55. He studied mathematics at Puget Sound.
Frederic Arthur Pease ’55 died May 27, 2024, in Spokane Valley, Wash., at age 92. He was a musician, sailor, longtime Special Olympics coach, and diehard skier who made his last run on Christmas Day 2023. He worked for Boeing for 30 years in supervisory and executive positions in finance and estimating.
Gordon Bailey ’56 died Feb. 20, 2024. He was 90. He earned a degree in business administration and had a 33-year career at Boeing, working on all jets from the 727 to the 777. After he retired, he volunteered as a docent at the Pima Air and Space Museum.
Ronald Brown ’57 of Centralia, Wash., died July 5, 2024, at age 90. He played basketball for the Loggers and studied education, and went on to teach for 34 years. He served as head basketball coach for the Centralia (Wash.) Tigers for 56 years, where his teams racked up 723 career wins, ranking him third on the list of all-time winningest coaches in Washington. He never received a technical foul in his coaching career, and the Centralia High School court was named in his honor in 2008.
Joel Diven ’57 died April 13, 2024. He was 90. After graduation, he attended Loyola of Chicago Dental School and served in the Navy for 28 years, retiring at the rank of commander. He continued to practice dentistry for 18 years.
Roswitha Hies ’58, ’59 of Grants Pass, Ore., died Jan. 1, 2022. She studied music at Puget Sound and worked as a teacher.
Day Bon ’60, JD’80 died Nov. 5, 2023. He worked as an attorney in Centralia, Wash.
Dennis Flannigan ’61, Hon’12, former Washington state legislator and pioneering Tacoma community leader, died July 10, 2024, at the age of 84. He served four terms as a Washington state representative before retiring in 2010. He was the widower of Ilse Silins ’62, a Puget Sound history major he had met at the university library; after her death in 2009, he later remarried.
Roselind Bulatao Franklin ’61 died July 18, 2020. She majored in speech and minored in sociology at Puget Sound.
We learned in June of the death of John Parks ’61 of Virginia Beach, Va., at the age of 99. He was a World War II veteran.
In May, we learned of the death of Fred Wilde ’63 of Port Orchard, Wash. He studied math and played basketball at Puget Sound and went on to a career at IBM.
John P. Taylor ’64 of Indio, Calif., died Aug. 9, 2023. He worked as a banker and a real estate investor.
George Millen ’65 died July 2, 2024, at age 83. He majored in history at Puget Sound and went on to earn two master’s degrees—one in library science and one in history—while working in university libraries throughout the Midwest.
Susan Volkstorf Prescott ’67, P’97 of Anderson Island, Wash., died June 20, 2024. She was 78. At Puget Sound, she was a Gamma Phi Beta, and after graduation, she held jobs in real estate, as a senior executive assistant, and in art, creating her own line of porcelain figurines. Survivors include son John B. Culbertson ’97.
Ann Moen Stroupe ’68 died April 5, 2024, in Union, Ky. At Puget Sound, she majored in geology, minored in math, and met her husband, Howard Stroupe ’71, who died eight months before she did. She enjoyed documenting her family’s genealogy.
James Hacker ’69 died Feb. 22, 2024. Among his survivors is his wife, Barbara Butler Hacker ‘67.
Shari Berntsen Leavens ’69 died April 7, 2024, in Puyallup, Wash., at age 77. A music education major, she later served as assistant concertmistress of the Tacoma Symphony and taught elementary, junior high, and high school orchestra for 22 years. Among her survivors: husband David Leavens ’70, sister Janice Berntsen ’73, and brother Neal Berntsen ’82.
Dennis Hilling ’70, age 78, of Port Angeles, Wash., died May 5, 2023. While at Puget Sound, he played football and was a physical education major.
Margaret Hincks Pierce ’70, of Olympia, Wash., died July 13, 2024. Her career included roles as a U.S. Postmaster, a substitute teacher, an entrepreneur, a casino manager, and an apartment manager.
Donald Franklin ’71 of McMinnville, Ore., died July 22, 2024, at age 89. He was a teacher and coach at schools in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Montana. After his retirement, he had time to return to his love of music and played the trumpet in several bands.
Edwin Huston ’71 died March 25, 2024, in Whittman, Ariz. At Puget Sound, he scored 1,439 points and averaged 18.2 points per game during a three-year basketball career, and was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics. He was inducted into the University of Puget Sound Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. He also had a 50-year career in real estate and was an avid outdoorsperson.
Melvin Lehman ’71 died July 18, 2024, at age 75. After leaving Puget Sound, he earned a graduate degree in environmental science and founded an environmental engineering and consulting firm, which he ran for nearly two decades. He returned to his Montana roots to assist his family at the ranch, and then with his wife split their time between Kalispell and the Highwood Mountains.
Robert Lovett ’71 died July 12, 2024, at age 75. He gave 34 years of his career to the fire service, including 20 years as fire marshal for the City of Redmond. He was a founding member of the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals and the King County Zone One Fire Marshal group, and he was the first-ever recipient of the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals Career Achievement Award. Survivors include a granddaughter, Kayla L. Lovett ’17.
Janice Hallwyler McNeal ’71 died April 24, 2024. She was 74. She majored in music and music education at Puget Sound and was a member of Gamma Phi Beta. She went on to work as a nurse. Logger family members who passed away before her include her grandfather Bill McMaster ’43; mother, Marguerite L. Hallwyler ’35; and a sister, Jean H. Shaw ’63. Survivors include her husband, Delbert D. McNeal ’72; sisters Suzanne M. Hallwyler Butschun ’61, MBA’82, and Laurie A. Hallwyler ’75; and brother, James E. Hallwyler ’68.
Howard Stroupe ’71 died Aug. 29, 2023, at the age of 74 in Tacoma. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was a fighter pilot; after his discharge, he worked as an airline pilot. His widow, Ann Moen Stroupe ’68, died eight months after he did.
Skip Butler ’72 died Jan. 7, 2024, at the age of 76. He served in the U.S. Army and spent five decades teaching sixth-grade and middle school gym; he was also an award-winning Macy’s sales professional.
Robert Finney ’72 of Boise, Idaho, died June 26, 2024. He came to Puget Sound after serving in a U.S. Marine Corps combat unit in Vietnam. After graduation, he entered the Marines’ Officers Candidate School and served at many duty stations, including in Operation Desert Storm, before retiring as a major in 1992. He also was an accomplished photographer.
Jay Reifel ’72, MEd’72, a lifelong educator who split his time in retirement between Washington and California, died April 7, 2024. As an undergrad, he studied psychology and was president of Sigma Nu fraternity. After earning his master’s degree, he served in roles from teacher to assistant superintendent. He also was an adjunct professor at Puget Sound from 1992–98, teaching a course for teachers to become certified school administrators.
Kenneth Strain ’72, MBA’73 died Dec. 4, 2023. He was 78 and had majored in business administration at Puget Sound.
Peter J. Miller ’73 died May 19, 2024. He was 78. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and worked for Boeing for 20 years. After retiring, he worked at Lipoma Firs golf course in Puyallup, Wash.
Larry Myhres ’73 died Aug. 1, 2023. He studied business administration at Puget Sound. David Rosellini ’73 died May 11, 2023, at the age of 74. He spent his career as an educator, teaching at Reed Elementary, Park Avenue School, Fern Hill, and Baker Middle School.
Rocky Beach ’74, of Olympia, Wash., died March 10, 2024, at the age of 71. He dedicated his career to wildlife conservation in Washington state, and his family says he will be remembered for his love of nature and wildlife.
Robert Butherus ’74 died Oct. 24, 2023, at his home in Virginia Beach, Va., at age 73. He served in the Army in Vietnam before coming to Puget Sound. After graduation, he attended Navy Officer Candidate School and served 25 years. He later worked as a civil servant for the Marine Corps in the supply and logistics area.
Del Kirby ’74 died Aug. 6, 2024, at the age of 72. He worked for more than 44 years as an occupational therapist, specializing in geriatrics. In 1978, he organized the first Geriatric Olympics in the Puget Sound region.
We received word in May about the death of Albert Schrader ’74. He majored in public administration at Puget Sound.
Bennie Walthall MPA ’74 died Oct. 5, 2020, in Everett, Wash., at the age of 83.
Christopher Nefstead JD’75, of North Manistique Lake, Mich., died June 22, 2024. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and continued his education at Puget Sound after his discharge. He worked as a criminal defense attorney in Arizona and later shifted careers to teaching and school administration.
Gary Bennett MPA’76 of Lakewood, Wash., died Feb. 23, 2024. He was 77.
Dwayne House ’77 died Aug. 26, 2022. He studied business administration at Puget Sound.
On June 1, 2024, Wilma Seiber ’78 died at the age of 87. She spent her early adulthood as a military chaplain’s wife and at-home mother, and she came to Puget Sound to study business administration in 1975 after her husband retired from the U.S. Air Force. She worked at Lincoln Construction and Ralph Brink Estate until she retired.
In May, we learned of the death of Paula Brunswick Tweten ’79. She majored in biology at Puget Sound and was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
Petter Jahnsen ’80 died March 20, 2024. He worked for National Bank of Alaska, Alaska Permanent Capital Management, and finally LaTash Investments and served on numerous boards, including for Hope Community Resources and the Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis nonprofit, the largest domestic violence safe shelter in Alaska.
R. Paul P. Kay ’80, P’23 died May 9, 2024, the day before his 66th birthday. He studied history and economics, and he went on to earn a master’s degree in military history from Norwich University. He had a long and successful teaching career, served as a debate and chess coach, and published four children’s books.
We received word in June of the death of Frederick W. Stevens MBA’80. He worked for Boeing Computer Services and lived in Tucson, Ariz.
Elizabeth Fitzgibbon Baren MA’81 of Davenport, Iowa, died June 20, 2024, at the age of 70. She graduated from St. Ambrose University in 1976 and came to Puget Sound, where she earned a master’s degree in literature. After graduation, she taught English and then went on to a career as an FBI special agent.
Carol Wardell JD’81 died May 22, 2024, in Wenatchee, Wash., at the age of 68. She was on the law review at Puget Sound. She started her career working as a lawyer in Wenatchee and was appointed as a Chelan- Douglas County Superior Court judge in 1991. After stepping down from the bench in 1998, she became the first in-house general counsel for Chelan County Public Utility District, from which she retired in 2015.
Anne Barton Schonhardt ’82 died in April 2024, in Boise, Idaho. She studied physical therapy at Puget Sound and worked as a physical therapist in Idaho. Her survivors include a sister Deborah D. Ford ’75 and a niece Katie E. Barton ’10.
Barbara Pawlitschek Sellers ’82 of Tacoma died June 1, 2024. She studied English at Puget Sound and worked in the Army’s Public Affairs Office as a reporter, photojournalist, and editor of the Northwest Guardian newspaper. She earned 32 journalism awards during her career, and was a Toastmasters International member.
William Bonney ’83 of Hoquiam, Wash., died May 5, 2024, at age 67. He studied economics at Puget Sound and returned to Hoquiam after graduation to join the family business, Most Western Laundry, eventually taking over as general manager. Following a fire that destroyed the business in 1994, Bill went on to work for the State of Washington and then transitioned to real estate, where he continued to build strong community relationships.
Gretchen Goodman Whitney ’84 of Edmonds, Wash., died April 18, 2024. She was 61. She studied physical therapy and worked as a physical therapist.
Wendie A. McDonald ’91 died May 22, 2024, at the age of 59. She studied business administration at Puget Sound. She operated her own bookkeeping business for more than 20 years and, according to her obituary, was happiest reading her books on a warm beach with a margarita in hand.
David A. Anderson ’92 died Sept. 13, 2022. He studied politics and government at Puget Sound and was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
Janis Lindley ’93, MAT’98, P’02 died July 3, 2024, at the age of 71. She studied fine arts at Puget Sound and worked as a business owner, entrepreneur, pastor’s wife, mother, teacher, artist, missionary, and lifelong advocate for the arts. Her survivors include daughter Heather Lindley McClung ’02.
In June, Justin Bernthal ’96 died at the age of 50. He studied history at Puget Sound and volunteered with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps after graduation. After completing that service, he started a 22-year career with Columbia Bank in Tacoma. He stayed connected to Puget Sound, attending reunions regularly and cheering on Logger athletic teams.
Tyler Dumm DPT’10 died May 27, 2024. Look for a full obituary in the winter issue.
FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS
Larry Stern, who taught philosophy at Puget Sound from 1982 to 2002, died June 26, 2024. Look for a full obituary in the winter issue.