In Memoriam

A Visionary Leader

George Frederickson, the revered former president of Eastern Washington University who led dramatic advancements in academics, athletics and fundraising, died on July 24 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was 86.

Over the university’s long history, few individuals have had a greater impact than Frederickson. During his decade-long tenure, he was instrumental in transitioning Eastern Washington State College into the thriving regional university today known as Eastern Washington University. He helped create the university’s schools of health sciences, public affairs, and mathematical sciences and technology. And because he saw a need for a fundraising vehicle to help Eastern students succeed long into the future, Frederickson also helped establish the EWU Foundation.

Born in Twin Falls, Idaho, Frederickson held faculty positions at the University of Maryland, Syracuse University, Indiana University and the University of Missouri. In 1977, at age 42, he became Eastern’s president.

Frederickson was by all accounts a dynamic leader, one whose vision for what Eastern could become sometimes clashed with those reluctant to embrace change. Among his more controversial moves was one that generated perhaps his most high-profile success — transitioning EWU Athletics from membership in the NAIA to the NCAA and the Big Sky Conference. Frederickson left EWU in 1987 to become the Edwin O. Steen Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at the University of Kansas, but made a point of attending the 2010 FCS National Championship Game, where he cheered his beloved Eagles on to victory.

Frederickson was unable to watch the Eagles face North Dakota State in their

return to the national championship game. “I don’t drive anymore, and my wife doesn’t see very well,” Frederickson told Cheney Free Press and Eastern magazine writer Paul Delaney at the time. But, he added, “I think that it’s been a blessing to me to live long enough to see some of the results of our hard work.”

2010s

’18 Keigan Baker, age 24, died March 19, 2020.

’13 George Baker, age 25, died June 12, 2020.

’11 Robert Yamada, age 31, died June 16, 2020.

2000s

’06, ’11 Natividad “Nate” Rubio Jr, age 36, died Jan. 11, 2020.

1990s

’95 Melanie Sue Roberts, age 47, died Jan. 22, 2020.

’93 Rev. Christine J. Soule, age 82, died Jan. 20, 2020.

’91 Paul Anders, age 58, died Jan. 25, 2020.

’90 Frederick Brian Burke, age 64, died July 9, 2020. ’90 Carl Humphreys, age 58, died Jan. 7, 2020.

1980s

’87 Diane Rosman, age 54, died Sept. 16, 2019.

’86 John Pettibone, age 55, died Jan. 14, 2020.

’86 Steven Ulrich, age 58, died June 6, 2020.

’84 Mark R. Charlton, age 65, died Feb. 1, 2020.

1970s

’78 Sue Ann Mauk-Olsen, age 66, died Feb. 10, 2020.

’77 Sandra Mead, age 69, died Jan. 8, 2020.

’76 Janice Erickson, age 66, died Feb. 7, 2020. ’75 Mike Blatman, age 65, died Jan. 28, 2020.

1960s

’68 Ronald H. York, age 73, died Feb. 4, 2020.

’67 Lawrence “Larry” Klavano, age 75, died June 10, 2020.

’65 Michael Boutz, age 60, died June 19, 2020.

’63 Sharon Jameson, age 78, died Nov 9, 2019.

’60 Matthew Finnigan, age 84, died Jan. 7, 2020.

1950s

’53 Bill Hake, age 88, died April 26, 2020.

’51 Altamae Sims Whitehill, age 90, died Feb. 13, 2020.

Faculty and Staff

Christie Brooks, died April 5, 2020. She served for 29 years as an administrative assistant in a number of EWU departments.

Mariann Donley, died May 12, 2020. Donley worked for 15 years in the university’s Department of Education supervising student teachers and teaching classes.

Pauline Flett, died April 13, 2020. See story below.

Earl Forsman died July 13, 2020. He served as a professor of physics and astronomy professor for 27 years before his retirement in 1997.

H. George Frederickson, died July 24, 2020. See story Page 45.

David McKinstry, died Feb. 24, 2020. An emeritus professor and former chair of the university’s Department of Physics, he retired in 2008.

Donald McManis, died March 8, 2020. McManis, a professor and noted researcher in the area of applied psychology, retired from the university in 1996 after 27 years of service.

Jay Rea, died April 18, 2020. Rea retired in 1998 after serving as the university’s collection management librarian and archivist for 28 years. He was a former president and secretary-treasurer of the EWU Retirees Association.

Dorothy “Muriel” Radebaugh, died June 5, 2020. A professor of education, she taught pre-service and master’s level students. Radebaugh retired in 2003 after 21 years of service. Demitrios “Jim” Prekeges, died April 24, 2020. After earning a BA in education from EWU and a doctorate from the University of British Columbia, he served for 20 years as a member of the university’s mathematics faculty. In 2007, he was inducted into the Washington State Mathematics Council Hall of Fame.

Alys Seifert, died March 4, 2020. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Eastern, she served for 22 years teaching French language while also leading the university’s study abroad program.

Randy R. Wagner, died December 22, 2019. He served as director of vocal studies and choirs at EWU for nearly 20 years.

William “Bill” Wolrehammer, died May 8, 2020. He served for 15 years with EWU Dining Services.

Treasured Preservationist

In June 1998, Pauline Flett appeared on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio show. With the host translating at her side, Flett told the traditional story of the coming of the salmon in her native dialect of Salish, a language she was working tirelessly to preserve from extinction. It was an inspiring, moving performance, one of many such inspirational moments in the life and work of Flett, a treasured teacher and elder of the Spokane Tribe, who died on April 13, 2020 in Spokane. She was 93.

“She was a trailblazing linguist who taught at EWU for years and compiled the Spokane Dictionary,” says Margo Hill, assistant professor of urban and regional planning at EWU. “She inspired myself and many others.”

Growing up in a Salish-speaking household in the West End area of the Spokane Indian Reservation, as a youth Flett became completely fluent in language. As the years passed and others’ knowledge of Salish waned, Flett became determined to ensure the language would remain accessible to new generations of speakers. She co-wrote the first Spokane-English dictionary, and for years taught the language at EWU, where her meritorius service earned her an honorary master’s degree in 1992.

“Pauline Flett was a beloved member of the EWU community and our whole region,” said EWU President Mary Cullinan in April. “Her work to preserve the Salish language was incredibly significant.”

In addition to her contributions at the university, Flett also helped

lay the groundwork for Native language education programs across Washington state. LaRae Wiley, executive director of the Salish School of Spokane, remembers Flett as her first Salish teacher.

“I did an independent study with Pauline through EWU,” Wiley says. “I had never heard a word of Salish in my life and I know I sounded horrible. But she always encouraged me and even translated a few of my original songs into Salish.”