Month: January 2022

In Memoriam

October 1 – December 31, 2021

Pref Class Full Name Degrees
1936 Esther R. Brodeur BS General Science
1942 Henry J. Hansen Jr BS Metallurgical Engineering, MS Metallurgy
1946 John V. Bergh BS Civil Engineering
1947 John G. Liadis BS Electrical Engineering
1947 William I. Pentin BS Electrical Engineering
1947 Oliver R. Simi BS Chemical Engineering
1948 Alice C. Crowell BS General Science
1948 Kenneth W. Harder BS Mechanical Engineering
1948 Henry G. Piper BS Mechanical Engineering
1949 William S. Auday BS Electrical Engineering
1949 Paul K. Goethe BS Electrical Engineering
1949 Melvin E. Orchard P.E. BS Civil Engineering
1950 Arne L. Anderson BS General Science
1950 Kenneth F. Nacke BS Mechanical Engineering
1950 Charles D. Putnam BS Electrical Engineering
1951 Dolores M. Adams BS General Science
1951 Mark W. Cross BS Mechanical Engineering
1951 George D. Eckstein BS Civil Engineering, MS Civil Engineering
1951 Andrew Groeneveld BS Metallurgical Engineering
1951 John J. Loughray BS Forestry
1952 Cletus L. Courchaine PE BS Civil Engineering
1956 Sonny G. Edwards BS Mechanical Engineering, MS Mechanical Engineering
1956 Thomas B. Sullivan BS Metallurgical Engineering
1957 Donald L. Gooch BS Business Engineering Admin, BS Chemical Engineering
1958 Roland A. Mariucci BS Civil Engineering
1958 Dr. Robert J. Spahn BS Engineering Physics
1958 Dr. Laurence G. Stevens MS Chemistry
1959 Bruce M. Bertram BS Geological Engineering, MS Business Administration
1959 Gerald J. Fitzgerald BS Civil Engineering, MS Civil Engineering
1959 Ernest W. Lehtola BS Business Administration
1959 Stanley R. Michaelson BS Civil Engineering
1959 Robert B. Plater BS Civil Engineering
1959 Peter M. Rankin BS Electrical Engineering
1960 Donald N. Gibson BS Metallurgical Engineering
1960 Col. George T. LaBlonde Jr (Ret) BS Mining Engineering
1960 Robert H. Wieber BS Engineering Physics
1961 Thomas J. Bourke BS Business Administration
1962 Robert S. Eiferd BS Mathematics
1962 David Alexander McLachlan BS Business Administration
1963 William B. Wood BS Forestry
1964 John D. Truax BS Applied Physics
1965 Kenneth C. Chermak BS Mechanical Engineering
1965 Paul A. Polus BS Physics, MS Nuclear Engineering
1965 Franklin V. Vresk BS Electrical Engineering
1966 Allan R. Knivila BS Applied Physics, ’88 MS Physics
1966 Joanne E. Potter BS Business Administration
1966 Donald R. Wick BS Civil Engineering
1968 Dr. Ronald L. Heninger BS Forestry, ’69 MS Forestry
1970 Ronald N. Buswell BS Electrical Engineering
1970 Dr. Timothy R. Pinchback BS Metallurgical Engineering, ’74 MS Metallurgical Engineering, ’77 PHD Metallurgical Engineering
1971 David B. Kremheller BS Geology
1971 Bruce M. Lahti BS Business Administration
1971 Casann E. Ray BS Biological Sciences
1971 Gary R. Scriver BS Business Administration
1972 George E. Bien BS Chemical Engineering
1972 Fouad Bsat BS Mechanical Engineering
1972 Robert A. DeLoskey BS Mechanical Engineering
1972 James T. Gourd BS Business Administration
1972 Raymond W. Gronevelt BS Business Administration
1972 Terry L. Horton BS Civil Engineering
1972 Andrew Iskra AAS Civil Engineering Technology
1972 Bruce A. Jones BS Electrical Engineering
1972 Ronald J. Kadelsik BS Civil Engineering
1972 James E. Kattelus BS Mechanical Engineering
1972 William L. Kennedy BS Business Administration
1972 Herman K. Kinnie BS Civil Engineering
1972 George B. Mackey BS Mechanical Engineering
1972 Larry D. Mustamaa BS Biological Sciences
1972 Peter R. Nardi BS Electrical Engineering
1972 William P. Quinn BS Business Administration
1972 Michael L. Schoenherr BS Civil Engineering
1972 Paul M. Schuer AAS Electrical Eng Tech (AAS)
1972 Gregory C. Vopal BS Business Engineering Admin, BS Electrical Engineering
1972 William W. Willis BS Mechanical Engineering
1972 Dr. Charles A. Wilson MS Chemistry, PHD Chemistry
1972 Thomas N. Zatkovic BS Civil Engineering
1973 Marvin F. Herstrom BS Business Administration
1974 Bela T. Lanczy D.O. BS Biological Sciences, ’80 MS Biological Sciences
1974 Cynthia S. Stock BS Medical Technology
1975 Roger A. Briggs BS Chemical Engineering
1975 Richard C. Dover AAS Forest Technology
1975 William J. Merrill MS Business Administration
1976 Michael W. Hoeft BS Chemistry
1977 Marvin R. Babler BS Wood Science
1978 Kurt D. Friesth BS Forestry
1978 David A. Parker BS Electrical Engineering
1979 Denise Ann Osterholm AAS Electrical Eng Tech (AAS)
1979 Susan B Sinclair BS Chemical Engineering
1981 Judith M. Haataja AAS Nursing Technology
1983 David J. Stanley BS Mechanical Engineering
1985 Nena M. Evans, P.E. BS Electrical Engineering
1985 Richard D. Strieter AAS Electrical Eng Tech (AAS), ’87 AAS Civil Engineering Technology
1989 David L. Hekker BS Electrical Engineering, ’91 MS Operations Management
1995 Paulette T. Noble BS Business Administration

In Memoriam July 1 – September 30, 2021

Alumni Reunion All Year Long

We are excited to celebrate Alumni Reunion 2022 all year long with all alumni, but especially our honored classes of 1962, 1967, 1972, 1982, 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2012.

Our celebration will be bookmarked with a weekend together on campus in August.

In the spirit of celebrating your reunion all year, we invite you to post your favorite memories below. 

Keep an eye on the Reunion website for details of the in-person event August 4-6!


January–February

To get started with our celebration, let’s hear about your favorite Winter Carnival memories!

This year’s theme is “Come One, Come All to Our 100th Carnival.”

Were you involved in any of these past snow statues?

Remembering Professors Sewell and Schwartz

Bill Sewell

William “Bill” Clyde Sewell, 84, a resident of Houghton, passed away Thursday, November 25, 2021, at Aspirus Hospice House in Wausau, WI.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Delbert and Walter and a sister Nancy.

He is survived by his sons Andrew (Elizabeth Simoneau) of Columbus, OH and Michael (Kathy Johnson) of Wausau, WI. Bill is further survived by his grandson, Ian of Columbus, OH, a sister, Ruth of Canon City, CO, and his life-partner Ruth Robertson of Kansas City, MO and Houghton and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Bill was a Professor Emeritus at Michigan Technological University, having taught philosophy there from 1972 until 2004. He was active in many community organizations. He served on the Hancock Planning Commission and the City Charter Commission.

Bill was a den leader and then cub master for Hancock Cub Scout Pack 207 and later was an assistant scoutmaster and scoutmaster for Hancock Boy Scout Troop 207. He served as president of the Hancock Lions Club, president of the board of Portage Lake Hospice, and the first president of the board at The Omega House. He also served on the board for the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home for Abused Women. Bill served in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1959. He earned is B.A. in Philosophy from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville in 1965 and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1975.

Bill was a volunteer for Keweenaw Home Nursing, Portage Lake Hospice, Omega House and Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly with friends Scott Rutherford and Ray Weglarz who helped to initiate the effort to build the Omega House. He was awarded the National Hospice Organization’s Volunteer of the Year in 2004. Bill loved a good joke. Those who knew him well will remember him for his compassion and his sense of humor.

To view the full obituary, please visit memorialchapel.net.


Dick Schwartz

Richard Frederick Schwartz, 99, most recently a resident of White River Junction, died December 4 after suffering a fall several weeks ago. He was predeceased by his wife, Margaret, who died in May 2021.

Dick, as he was known to his friends, was a retired professor of electrical engineering, a devoted father, a dedicated amateur musician, and an active member of the communities where he lived. For the last 15 years of his life, Dick and Margaret lived in Peru, New York. As residents there, they were both active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Plattsburgh. Dick also was a member of the community band, the church choir, Peru’s Democratic Central Committee, and the board of the town’s public library.

Before their move to Peru, Dick and Margaret lived in Endicott, NY, where they relocated when Dick took a position as a full professor of Electrical Engineering at Binghamton University’s Watson School in 1985. Previously, he was a professor at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI, and at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. He also taught at University of Michigan on sabbatical in 1960-61.

Dick, a clarinetist and a pianist, combined his love of music with his professional interests, developing courses on acoustical engineering at the universities where he taught. A gifted tinkerer, Dick would attempt to fix just about any piece of electronic equipment, and could build a functioning radio with a lump of galena and some spare parts lying around his shop. Dick had several patents to his name, dating from when he worked for RCA early in his career.

The son of a professor himself, Dick loved teaching – and he continued teaching long past his retirement. He was especially active in mentoring young male students in Binghamton-area public schools, and fostered relationships that continued for decades afterward.

Dick loved his large extended family, remembering birthdates of his relatives and often sending them a personalized “birthday poem” and a birthday check. He also was a prolific letter writer, addressing missives to family and friends – and also to public figures and companies. A World War II veteran, he was resolute in hating war. He remained politically active and engaged until the end of his days.

In May 2021, Dick was honored by the Hartford Historical Society for being the oldest resident of Hartford County. His name was inscribed on a plaque in the Garipay House, and he was given an honorary cane to mark his elder status.

He is survived by his children Kate Mortimer, Stuart Holland (Doug Federhart), Frieda Cialek (Brett Nyman) and Eric Schwartz (Margaret Yaukey); his step-children Rachel Romanowicz (Ed) and Richard Boes (Lori); his grandchildren Christopher, Andrew, and John; and his step-grandchildren Joshua, Matthew, Rebecca, and Alex. He was predeceased by his wife Margaret, his former wife Ruth Wadlin, his son Frederick Schwartz, and his grandson Andy.

To view the full obituary, please visit knightfuneralhomes.com.