the a l-Hummadi Gift e xtends Opportunities to Others

Dr. Abdul Amir Al-Hummadi is one of 18 members from the class of 1958 who returned to Stillwater in May 2008 to celebrate the class’ 50-year reunion. Born in Iraq, he’s sometimes amazed that his life took this path.

“When you finished the sixth grade, ninth grade and high school, you were tested on all subjects,” explains Al-Hummadi. “If you passed, you went on. If you didn’t, you didn’t go to school anymore.”

He later qualified to study abroad, and in 1952 he and another young man named Murtadha El-Hashimi were sent to Northeastern A&M College in Miami, Okla., for veterinary training. It was only later they realized they were enrolled in a junior college pre-veterinary program.

“By the time we applied to Oklahoma A&M, there were 300 applications for 40 openings,” he says. “Our government thought we would be studying veterinary medicine, so there was a dilemma. And we were caught in the middle.”

The young men didn’t know all the particulars but OSU’s veterinary college expanded its program from 40 to 42 to accommodate the two international students, whose grade point averages exceeded the required 3.5 for admission.

“We just happened to meet some good people who took care of us,” Al-Hummadi says.

According to Al-Hummadi, veterinary college changed his way of thinking. He had never met people who cared so much for strangers, and now he was learning how to care for animals.

Following graduation, he returned to Iraq to teach veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad. “I had to translate my veterinary books into Arabic,” he recalls. “At that time, these resources were only available in English.”

Lorenz summarized the outstanding careers of these veterinary pioneers to illustrate to the young graduates the variety of opportunities and the many successes that await them in veterinary medicine.

In 1963, when the Iraqi government was overthrown, Al-Hummadi faced a concentration camp. With help from the American Embassy, he returned to America and went to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Department of Food Safety and Health. He spent the next 39 years working for the USDA.

In 1967, the USDA selected Al-Hummadi to be its veterinarian medical officer at a new chicken plant in Carthage, Texas. He, his wife and four children moved to Carthage, where he resides today. In 2006, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and today they have eight grandchildren.

In appreciation of the opportunity he received, Al-Hummadi and his wife, Veronica, have established a planned gift of a percentage of their estate to fund a scholarship endowment to support diversity in student enrollment at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The award will be given to an Iraqi or Middle Eastern veterinary student to help defray the costs of veterinary college. If there are no Iraqi or Middle Eastern students, an American student will have the opportunity to study abroad in Iraq.

Pictured, from front row left, are Drs. Joe Jolliffe, Louis Heavner, Abdul Al-Hummadi, Sam Cheesman, Clem Cottom, Kermit Minton, and Paul Kunneman; and, from back row left, Drs. John Rust, Lawrence Erwin, Tom Lathan, Harold Rinker, Alfred Robinson, James Sewell, Rex Every, George Lester, Wayne Stout and Tom Byrd Dr. Jack Peterson, who also attended the reunion, is not pictured.

His sons, William and Patrick, along with his grandson Bill, followed in his footsteps as veterinarians. In 2006, Carter and his sons attended the OSU hooding ceremony to hood the newest family veterinarian, Dr. Bill Carter.

(Source: Saul funeral Homes)

Dr. William C. Carter, class of 1951, died at his longtime residence in Hamilton, N.J., on June 11, 2008.

Born in Pueblo, Colo., Carter received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Cornell University. He was among OSU’s first class to graduate with a DVM degree. He also earned a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and was a diplomate of the American Board of Public Health.

He was a U.S. Coast Guard World War II veteran, serving aboard the USS Joyce D.E. 317, where he earned commendations for rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks.

In 1959, Carter established the Mercerville Animal Hospital in New Jersey. Clients refer to the late veterinarian as “compassionate, caring and dedicated.” He also served as a consultant for the Hamilton Township Animal Shelter and the Animal Control Officers for several years.

He retired in 1976 from the state of New Jersey, Department of Health, where he specialized in zoonotic diseases and arboviruses. He pioneered research into the causes and transmission of Eastern and St. Louis encephalitis outbreaks that occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Excerpts of his scientific research are written into congressional records.

Dr. Thomas Ritchie , class of 1951, died on Oct. 21, 2007, losing his battle with cancer. After serving his country in the Navy during World War II, he was one of the 26 men who graduated from OSU’s first veterinary medicine class.

For 55 years, he owned and operated the Ritchie Animal Clinic in Sapulpa, Okla., the first veterinary practice in Creek County. For 16 years, he and his son, Jimmy, ran the R&R Ranch, a working cattle operation in Kiefer, Okla.

Their interest in continuing education led Richie and his wife, Catherine, to develop an annual freshman scholarship fund for a deserving Sapulpa High School senior.

As the devoted father of 10 Sapulpa High School graduates, Ritchie was instrumental in the growth of Sapulpa’s athletic programs. Through coaching tennis, basketball and other sports, he touched the lives of many young men who grew to love and respect him.

Ritchie served as Sapulpa city commissioner, Sacred Heart Catholic School athletic director and was a member of the Jaycees and Kiwanis organizations. He was also a member of Rancheros Visitadores, Sacred Heart Men’s Club and the OSU Alumni Association.

(Source: Tulsa World)

Dr. C. Mark Wilson , class of 1951, died on Dec. 30, 2007, in Owasso, Okla., at age 86.

He was born in Broken Arrow, Okla., on Dec. 11, 1921, one of four sons in the Wilson family. He and his three brothers served in four different branches of the service. Although he was attending college before World War II, Wilson left to join the U.S. Marines. He flew a Corsair plane as a fighter pilot stationed on Leyete Island in the Philippines.

When he returned to the U.S., he attended OSU. After graduation, Wilson moved to Wagoner, Okla., where he opened Wagoner’s first licensed veterinary practice.

He was a member of the Wagoner Lions Club, the First United Methodist Church and the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association.

(Source: Wagoner Tribune)

Dr. Glen Clefisch , class of 1952 , earned a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology from South Dakota State College. He then served in the U.S. Army. Following his military service, he attended OSU where he graduated with his DVM and his master’s degree in bacteriology.

After graduation, Clefisch moved to Minnesota where he practiced large-animal veterinary medicine, primarily dairy cattle with some small-animal work for a number of years.

He also worked for a drug company as a salesman and trouble shooter before moving to Clinton, Wis., as a partner in the veterinary clinic there. He then went to work for the FDA as a meat inspector covering North Platte, Neb., and eventually Berryville, Ark.

He and his wife, Betty, were living in Berryville when he retired. For the next 16 years, he served as the veterans service officer for Carroll County, coordinating services for veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(Source: betty Clefisch)

Dr. Anton Yanda, Jr., class of 1953, died Jan. 5, 2008. Yanda graduated from high school as Best All-Around Student in his hometown of Yukon, Okla. He spent one year on scholarship at Northwestern University of Wisconsin at Madison before he returned to Yukon to help on his father’s farm and to work at Yukon Mill and Grain Co.

Drafted into the Army Air Corps in 1942, Anton served five years, obtaining the rank of staff sergeant and receiving the Good Conduct Medal. After the war, he returned to Yukon and worked for Armour Company before deciding to study veterinary medicine. After earning his DVM he opened a mixed-animal practice in Yukon.

In 1959, Yanda and his wife, Helen, became licensed funeral directors, opened the Yanda Funeral Home and started an ambulance service that later became known as Yukon EMS. Also a farmer, he retired from veterinary medicine in 1982 and continued to enjoy farming until the age of 90.

Yanda served on the Yukon Board of Adjustments, was a past president of the Yukon Lions Club, past member of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, past president of WFLA Lodge No. 86 and a member of St. John Nepomuk Catholic Church.

(Source: Yukon Review)

Dr. Elmer A. “Red” “Doc” Barce, class of 1954, died on July 24, 2007, at age 83. He was born in Middleboro, Mass., graduated from Brockton (Mass.) High School and then joined the U.S. Army Air Force.

Following his military service, he attended Newman Prep School in Boston and then studied preveterinary medicine at Centre College in Danville, Ky. After he graduated from OSU, Barce did an internship from 1954 to 1955 at Pine Tree Veterinary Hospital in Augusta, Maine.

In 1955, he oversaw the construction of his clinic, Dr. Barce’s Animal Hospital in Randolph, Mass., which he owned and operated from 1956 until he retired in September 1994.

He wanted to be a veterinarian since he was a young boy and loved working with animals and developing friendships with their owners.

He was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association.

(Source: Randolph Herald)

Dr. Robert M. Kenney, class of 1954, of Kennett Square, Pa., died on May 27, 2008, at age 83.

He was born in Providence, R.I., served in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1943 and graduated from the University of Rhode Island before earning his DVM. He also earned a doctorate in veterinary pathology from Cornell University in 1963.

He was an assistant professor at both the University of Pennsylvania and then New York State Veterinary College. He joined the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center where he was an associate professor, chief of the section of reproductive studies and a professor in the department of clinical studies from 1975 until he retired in 1992.

He was one of the founders of the Society for Theriogenology and served on its executive board for six years. He was inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Equine Research Hall of Fame in 1990 and was given the Society’s David E. Bartlett Award in 1991. In 1993, he received an OSU College of Veterinary Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award.

As a reproductive pathologist, Kenney developed the concept, scientific basis, technique and interpretation of uterine biopsy in the mare. The scale relating the histological changes in the equine endometrium to the potential for pregnancy is still referred to as the “Kenney biopsy scale.”

He has researched, lectured and published extensively on fertility evaluation in stallions, pharmacological manipulation of sexual behavior, and semen collection and storage techniques. In collaboration with his associates, he developed the phantom mare used for mounting stallions during semen collection.

Kenney was active in many professional organizations and activities, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the Society for Theriogenology, the American Dairy Science Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the International Equine Reproduction Symposia (on the board of directors since its 1974 inception).

In 1986, he received a special diploma and the Professor Ladilai Bielanski Award from the Academy of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland, as a symbol of appreciation of close ties and cooperation.

(Source: university of pennsylvania School of Veterinary medicine)

Dr. John Luther Azlin, class of in 1955, died on May 25, 2008.

Azlin practiced in Midwest City, Okla., for 52 years — first at Midwest Veterinary Hospital and then Azlin Veterinary Clinic. The Midwest Veterinary Hospital is a Midwest City landmark and has been a stepping-stone for new graduates.

“He was a mentor for many of us and will be remembered for the lessons he taught,” says Dr. Jim Jorgensen, class of 1981.

Azlin was an honor roll member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association and the Oklahoma County Veterinary Medical Association.

(Source: The Oklahoman and oVma notice)

Dr. John L. Weeks , class of 1957 , died of cancer March 23, 2007, in Clinton, N.C., at age 78.

He graduated from the Ben Lippen Boys School in Asheville, N.C., and attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., before arriving at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Following graduation, he practiced veterinary medicine in Clinton for the next 50 years. He served the people of Sampson, Duplin, Bladen, and Cumberland counties following his father, Dr. J. I. Weeks, in the practice of veterinary medicine.

He was a member of the North Carolina Veterinary Association and served on its board of directors for six years. He was an honorary member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, a charter member of the American Association of Swine Practitioners and a member of the North Carolina Hampshire Swine Breeders Association. He also served on the board of the North Carolina Hereford Association.

Weeks, a veteran of the U.S. Army, served as director and president of the Clinton Lions Club and on committees to promote a veterinary school at North Carolina State University.

(Source: The Sampson Independent) C ontinues

Dr. Robert Spragg , class of 1958, of Rogersville, Mo., died April 19, 2006, in Cox Walnut Lawn, Springfield, Mo., at age 82.

Born in Fairview, W.Va., Spragg earned a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University before earning his DVM at OSU.

After graduation, he moved the family to Rogersville and established the Spragg Veterinary Clinic in 1959, providing smalland large-animal veterinary care for the community and surrounding area.

(Source: South County Mail, rogersville, mo.)

Dr. Truman Hudson, class of 1962, died on Dec. 24, 2007, at age 72.

He was a well-known and much loved longtime Duncan, Okla., veterinarian. He was known for his humor, his love of family and his commitment to providing the best veterinary care for his clients’ animals.

(Source: The Duncan Banner and grantham funeral Homes)

LaVerne Jones, veterinary college librarian, died on June 30, 2007, at age 83. She wasn’t a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine; however, she had a huge impact on veterinary students.

In 1965, her late husband, Dr. Eugene (Gene) Jones, DVM, accepted a position at OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and the family moved to Stillwater. Now that she no longer was responsible for assisting with her husband’s veterinary clinic, she returned to college, earn ing a master’s degree in library science.

In 1970, she began her career in the Edmon Low Library, OSU’s main campus library. In 1981, she helped design and head the William Brock Memorial Library in the College of Veterinary Medicine. She retired from the CVHS Library in 1988.

(Source: NewsPress)

Dr. Lawayne Nusz , class of 1970, died on Nov. 7, 2007, at Israel Family Hospice House after a heroic five-year battle with cancer.

Nusz, 68, of Ames, Iowa, was born in 1939 outside Hitchcock, Okla. He attended Arapaho Country School and graduated from high school in Okeene, Okla., in 1957. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from OSU in 1961. He then served as a first-class hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy for two years before returning to OSU.

He began his veterinary career in New Jersey. His interest in live stock led him to northeast Iowa to start his own practice, Town and Country Veterinarian Clinic, which he owned and operated for 14 years.

After his career in private prac tice, he began a career in public service with the state of Virginia as a regional veterinary supervisor in Harrisonburg, Va. He ended his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Animal Disease Center.

After 15 years of federal service as a supervising veteri narian in animal resources, Nusz retired in 2006. His veterinary career took him around the globe to New Zealand, Russia, Sweden and Uzbekistan.

(Source: Mid-Iowa News)

Dr. Elizabeth Ann class of 1973, died in Bossier City, La., on Sept. 10, 2007 at age 67. She was born in Keithville, La.

She earned a degree in medical technology from the University of Arkansas in 1962 graduating with honors. She also graduated with honors from OSU, where she was on the Dean’s Honor Roll every semester and received many honors including the Pfizer Veterinary Scholarship in 1972. She later served on the college’s Committee of Education Innovation.

In 1980, she established the Alvarado Veterinary Clinic in Fallbrook, Calif., where she practiced until 1997. After retiring she

When Clark returned to Oklahoma, she settled in Tulsa and most recently resided in Norman, Okla. She was a long-time member of the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church.

(Source: Claremore Daily Progress)

Dr. Paul Peterson , class of 1974 , died on March 1, 2008, in Luther, Okla.

He was born in Thunderhawk, S.D. and served in the U.S. Navy. Peterson settled in Norman, Okla., after the U.S. Navy stationed him at the Navy base there.

Later, after graduating from OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Peterson began a large-animal veterinary practice in Norman. In 1993, he moved to Luther, where he established a mixed-animal veterinary practice.

(Source: The Oklahoman, march 7, 2008)

Dr. Rick Pickard, class of 1974, died Sept., 22, 2007, in Tulsa, Okla., at age 64.

He was a native of Woodward, Okla. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force as an air rescue medic.

He earned a master’s degree as well as his DVM at OSU. Following graduation, Pickard practiced veterinary medicine for more than 30 years in Tulsa.

He was a member of All Saints Procathedral, where he served in many capacities, most notably as senior warden, master craftsman and a member of the Bishop’s standing council.

Woods and later OSU. Clark went on to earn doctorates in toxicology, epidemiology and psychology from the University of Minnesota with extensive studies in book editing.

Pickard had many interests in life and was most passionate about his veterinarian work. He was a consummate craftsman, and the fruits of his labor adorn the homes of family and the church.

(Source: Tulsa World)

Dr. Jerry Cates, class of 1975 , died suddenly at Newport Hospital, Newport, R.I., on Oct. 8, 2007.

Cates was born in Okmulgee, Okla., where he graduated from high school. After attending junior college, he served his country for four years in the U.S. Navy.

In 1976, he moved to Aquidneck Island, R.I., and began his career as a veterinarian. In 1987, he opened Cates Animal Clinic in Middletown, R.I. to serve the residents of Newport County.

He also donated his time to various organizations, particu larly the Robert Potter League for Animals. He was known in his community as a “great vet, a compassionate and generous man who was dedicated to the animals.” until 2007. She dedicated herself to the care of animals and made many friends during the course of her practice. The last one and a half years of her life, she volunteered her time and skills to the care of animals at the Safe Haven Clinic.

He was an accomplished bowler, bowling more than 30 sanctioned 300 games in his career. He traveled extensively to participate in tournaments and found time to coach bowlers of all ages.

She and her husband, John, both played in the church orchestra and enjoyed participating in the various musical programs.

(Source: The Oklahoman)

Friends say he was an “excellent example of good leadership and selfless community service” and a person who “made a positive difference to so many people and to his community.”

Jackson placed love of family above all else and was involved in all aspects of his children’s lives from coaching Little League to camping, snow skiing, going to the lake and earning his second degree black belt alongside his son.

(Source: b g boydston funeral Home)

Dr. David W. Henderson, class of 1984, died on April 11, 2008 in Houston, Texas, after battling cancer. He was born Feb. 22, 1957, in Borger, Texas. He lived in Russellville, Ark.

Dr. William “Bronc”

Dr. Marlys Easton class of

, died on May 19, 2008.

Forrester, 62, was born and reared in Stillwater, Okla. In addition to her DVM, she earned a bachelor’s in zoology and a master’s in natural science from OSU.

In the mid 1980s, she opened her own veterinary practice in Midwest City and worked there class

Born a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma in Chickasha, Okla., Benavidez grew up in Norman and Tulsa, after the family returned from Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1962. It was apparent early on that she was called to be a guardian to animals from the numerous dogs, cats and birds she rescued during her childhood.

In 1977, she graduated from Thomas Alva Edison High School in Tulsa and attended summer courses at Glendale Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., before entering the University of Oklahoma where she earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1981.

Prior to attending OSU, she lived in Gaithersburg, Md. While in veterinary school, she was editor of the school’s yearbook and pursued her lifelong hobby of photography.

Of

1981, died in a plane crash on Feb. 2, 2008, at age 53. A Purcell, Okla., native, he graduated from Duncan High School in 1972. After graduating from OSU, he opened the Jackson Animal Clinic in Lindsay, Okla. Its success led to his purchase of the Arbuckle Veterinary Clinic in Sulphur, Okla., in 2004.

Jackson was a volunteer fireman, a member of the United Methodist Church, a 13-year member of the board for Lind say Public Schools and presi dent of the Lindsay Chamber of Commerce.

He was a member of the Masonic Lodge since age 21 and an active member of the Royal Order of Jesters. He envisioned and organized the building of the Griffith Sports Complex in Lindsay and was instrumental in building the Lindsay skate park.

Following graduation from OSU, he practiced in Russellville for 20 years and owned Parkway Animal Hospital. Of the condolences offered to the family, there was a common theme — Henderson was a kind, generous, giving man who cared deeply about his patients and their owners.

He was a member of the River Valley Dirt Riders Association, the OSU Alumni Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association.

Benavidez practiced in Augusta, Ga., and Rogers, Ark., before purchasing the Valencia Animal Clinic in Belen, N.M., in 1992. She and her husband built a home and farmed in Bosque, N.M., and she continued to provide veterinary services for animals in need until her health forced her retirement.

(Source: The News-Bulletin)

Dr. Tamara George, class of 1993, died on Feb. 21, 2008. George, 47, was born in Stillwater, Okla. She attended elementary school in Cheyenne, Okla., and high school in Weatherford and Hobart, Okla. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OSU.

Dr. Gretchen LaRue class of

, died after a lengthy battle with cancer on Aug., 20, 2005, in Albuquerque, N.M., at age 46.

For a number of years, she practiced veterinary medicine in Blackwell, Okla., where she will be missed by many. In remembrance, one person wrote, “I have never dealt with a vet who was actually in it for the animals. But you could look in her eyes and see the love she had for them.”

(Source: baggerley funeral Home Chapel)