ROBERT A CRANDELL (DVM ’49) of College Station, Texas, died December 15, 2019. He served as head of the microbiology section at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) for 7 years, and retired as microbiology section head emeritus. Following graduation, Dr. Crandell was in the Air Force for 20 years. He eventually served as chief of the biosciences division at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and attained the rank of colonel. During that time, he earned a master of public health degree from the University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Crandell subsequently served as a professor and directed the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Illinois before joining the TVMDL. A diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) and American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, he made significant contributions to the understanding of feline viruses. Dr. Crandell isolated and identified the feline rhinotracheitis virus and established a feline kidney cell line. While at the TVMDL, he helped explain the role of Cache Valley fever virus, isolated a calicivirus from vesicular lesions of canines, and expanded the serologic and virological testing capabilities of the Laboratory.
Dr. Crandell was the founding editor of the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation and served on the American Journal of Veterinary Research’s board of scientific review. A past president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), he consulted in comparative virology with the National Institutes of Health.
He received the AAVLD’s E.P. Pope Award in 1991 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1993. In 2001, Dr. Crandell received the NIAA’s President’s Award in recognition of exemplary leadership and dedication to the institute and to the NIAA’s Emerging Diseases Committee. He was honored with the AAVLD Pioneers in Virology Award in 2005 and was a co-recipient of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society’s Karl F. Meyer–James H. Steele Gold Headed Cane Award in 2014.
RICHARD J KRATOCHVIL (DVM ‘52) of Traverse City, Michigan, died August 18, 2019. In 1952, he co-established Grand Traverse Veterinary Hospital, an American Animal Hospital Association-certified (AAHA) clinic. He was a lifelong member of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA), where he served on the Ethics Committee from 1964–68. After his retirement in 1996, he thoroughly enjoyed his part-time position at Cherrybend Animal Hospital, where he worked with his former mentee and good friend, Dr. Dan Aja. Dr. Kratochvil was a veteran of the US Army Air Corps, and served with the Fifth Air Force in the South Pacific.
PETER C BALDWIN (DVM ’54) of Quincy, Michigan, died April 15, 2019. He founded and operated Baldwin Clinic Veterinary practice in Quincy, where he initially practiced large animal medicine, but later focused on small animals. Dr. Baldwin retired in 1991. He was a veteran of the US Army and spent time in Seoul during the Korean conflict. Active in his community, he was a past president of the Quincy City Council and Branch County School Board. Dr. Baldwin also was a past president of the Quincy Rotary Club and a Paul Harris fellow.
CHARLES W RENSHAW (DVM ’55) of Auburn Hills, Michigan, died January 6, 2020. Dr. Renshaw established his veterinary clinic in 1955. He practiced in Imlay City, Michigan for 30 years until his retirement in 1985. While at MSU, he was a member of the Livestock Judging Team from 1950–51, and a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity. A past president of the Thumb Veterinary Medical Association and Eastern Michigan State Fair board of directors, Dr. Renshaw was a lifelong member of the MVMA.
GERALD F VERMEULEN (DVM ’55) of Lake Forest, Illinois, formerly of Norway, Michigan, died November 5, 2019. He owned a small animal practice in Lake Forest, Illinois for 37 years. He was happiest at his farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he enjoyed visiting with friends and family and taking trips to the DeYoung Family Zoo.
RICHARD E BILLINGS (DVM ’56) of Indianapolis, Indiana, died September 29, 2019. A small animal veterinarian, he was a founding partner of the Michigan Road Animal Hospital in Indianapolis. Dr. Billings also helped establish the Airport Animal Emergi-Center in Indianapolis. Following retirement from his practice, he co-founded C Specialties in Indianapolis, an animal care supply company, and also served as president of Billings Farm Corporation, a family enterprise. Dr. Billings was a member of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA) and Sertoma Club of Indianapolis. He was a mentor to numerous veterinary students from Purdue University who worked with him at the Michigan Road Animal Hospital.
ASA E KELLEY (DVM ’57) of Addison, Michigan, died November 23, 2019. Following graduation, he embarked on a career in large animal medicine and served farms across southern Michigan. Dr. Kelley later owned a practice in Addison, where he practiced small animal medicine until retirement in 1994. He also farmed corn, soybeans, and wheat. In 1986, Dr. Kelley was named Lenawee Conservation District Conservation Farmer of the Year. An avid coon hunter, he served several years on the board of directors for the Purina Outstanding Nite Hunt Coonhound Award. Dr. Kelley also served on the board of education for Addison Community Schools. He was a veteran of the Navy as well.
WILLIAM HOWARD BALL, JR. (DVM ’58) of Grand Haven, Michigan, died February 29, 2020. He co-owned a practice with his late father, Dr. William Ball, Sr. (DVM ’49) in Marne, Michigan for 40 years. Dr. Ball also was a veterinarian for John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan for 20 years. He had a lifelong passion for music and playing tuba. He loved entertaining people with several area bands including the River Rogues and Docs of Dixieland. He volunteered as a firefighter and paramedic with the Wright Tallmadge Fire Department.
WALTER RAYMOND HARTHUN (DVM ’58) of Bear Lake, Michigan, died July 19, 2020. Dr. Harthun began his career inspecting beef at the USDA before he opened Bear Lake Animal Clinic, which he operated until 2003. He was known for his compassion for animals; when asked why he chose the veterinary profession, he would reply that there was a need and he couldn’t stand to see animals suffer. Well into retirement, he kept his license current and would see patients for shots, nails, and occasional emergencies.
JAMES W BUCHANAN (DVM ’60) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died July 20, 2020. Dr. Buchanan grew up in Jackson, Michigan and graduated at the top of his class in veterinary school. He played drums for the MSU marching band, which included a trip to the Rose Bowl parade. In 1960, Dr. Buchanan accepted a research and teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School and Hospital, where he remained as a full professor for more than 40 years. He served as department chair for many years and published numerous books, films, and articles on veterinary cardiology. His research interests bridged human and animal medicine, especially heart valve repair, transplantation, and artificial heart development. A library of his teaching films and slides can be found online.
He was an innovator and pioneer, widely known as the first to implant a pacemaker into a disabled dog, and helped develop veterinary cardiology as a specialty. He became an active emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University in 1988.
EUGENE HOWARD KILLAM (DVM ’66) of Mesquite, New Mexico, died July 12, 2020. Dr. Killam grew up in Waupan, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. After earning his DVM from MSU, Dr. Killam and his wife Val opened Provincial Animal Hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin in 1969. In 1982, he moved to Hastings, New Zealand to work a government job inspecting the care of animals. He returned to Wisconsin in 1984 to reside in Neshkoro on a modest tree farm, where he collected and restored John Deere tractors. His hobby and love of John Deere tractors continued throughout his life; he and his brothers collected and restored many tractors for local enthusiasts and national collectors.
KENNETH ROBERT HOLMES (MS ’66, PhD ’73) of Urbana, Illinois, died September 5, 2019. Dr. Holmes earned his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, Master of Science in anatomy, and PhD in physiology from Michigan State University. From 1959–62, he worked as an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry at Martin Co. in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1962–65, he was employed as an electrical engineer with the Michigan Department of State Highways in Lansing, Michigan. He returned to MSU to pursue a graduate education, and after earning his PhD, he joined the faculty at the College of Dental Medicine at Southern Illinois University, Alton.
In 1975, he joined the faculty at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois as an assistant professor of anatomy and physiology. As an associate professor, he served as assistant head of the Department of Veterinary Biosciences from 1989–94. From 1994–95, he served the department as interim head. In 1995, he returned to the position of assistant head, where he served until his retirement. From 1989–2001, he was the director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences. He was a member of the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists and the Phi Zeta Veterinary Medicine Honor Society. During his time at the University of Illinois, he also was a member of the bioengineering faculty in the College of Engineering, where he taught the Introduction to Bioengineering course. In 1987 and 1988, he was nominated for the Stanley H. Pierce Faculty Award, an award that honors the promotion of faculty-student interaction within the College of Engineering. He received a Special Commendation for Outstanding Contributions to the Continuation of Excellent Student-Faculty Relations Within the College of Engineering. Upon his retirement in 2001, he became an associate professor emeritus at the University of Illinois.
Dr. Holmes taught undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and professional students and graduate students in veterinary medicine. He was an active researcher, and authored and coauthored more than 110 scientific publications and invited scientific presentations. His research involved bioheat transfer and the investigation of tissue microvascular architecture.
FRANCIS L WELCOME (DVM ’71) of Ithaca, New York, died January 9, 2020. A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and American College of Theriogenologists, he was senior extension veterinarian for the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center’s Quality Milk Production Services Program from 2000 until retirement in 2018. Earlier in his career,Dr. Welcome was a partner at Cherry Valley Veterinary Associates in Springfield Center, New York, where he practiced primarily large animal medicine.
Active in organized veterinary medicine, he twice served as president of the Catskill Mountain Veterinary Medical Association, and was a member of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS), American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and National Mastitis Council. Dr. Welcome received the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Birth of a Purebred Food Animal Practitioner Award in 1993. In 1994, he was honored with a NYSVMS Merit Award.
WILLIAM SCHRAUBEN, JR. (DVM ’77) of Portland, Michigan, died April 25, 2020. He practiced as a small animal veterinarian at the Arbor Hills Veterinary Clinic in Jackson, Michigan for 37 years, including owning and running the clinic for 27 years. He retired in 2015 and moved to his hometown of Portland. As a mainstay in the Jackson community, Dr. Schrauben established and kept many clients through straightforward, genial, and compassionate animal care.
STEVEN STOCKHAM (MS ’80) of Manhattan, Kansas, died November 14, 2019. Dr. Stockham was a veterinary clinical pathologist, and spent 47 years in the veterinary profession. He received his DVM from Kansas State University. He entered a residency program at Michigan State University in 1977, where he earned his Master of Science in pathology and became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 1980. Upon successful completion of the residency, he became a faculty member and taught veterinary students at the University of Missouri from 1981–2001 and Kansas State University from 2001–16. He was passionate about teaching and had a positive impact on hundreds of students.
Dr. Stockham received numerous local, national, and international teaching awards, including the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology Educator Award and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award. He also was inducted into the European Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology. Dr. Stockham co-authored two editions of a highly respected textbook and published numerous articles. He was a captain in the United States Air Force from 1972–74, and served as the base veterinarian at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas.
DANIEL PATERNOSTER (DVM ’82) of Fowlerville, Michigan, died July 1, 2020. Dr. Paternoster spent the majority of his earliest years in Africa as a child of missionaries. After receiving his DVM, he practiced at the Patterson Veterinary Hospital in Mason, Michigan until 1987, served as a missionary in Niger, Africa from 1988–91, and then practiced at Fowlerville Veterinary Clinic from 1991–2014. He completed the MSU Practice Management Certificate Program from 2000–01. Dr. Paternoster was a member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Society of Tropical Veterinary Medicine, American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), MVMA, and Livingston County Veterinary Medical Association.
PATRICIA A PILLSBURY (DVM ‘90) of West Bloomfield, Michigan, died July 23, 2019 after a long, courageous battle with cancer. After she earned her DVM, Dr. Pillsbury began her career in small animal medicine on Long Island, New York. She subsequently returned to Michigan, where she worked in Birmingham and Grosse Pointe. In 2000, she joined Oakland Animal Hospital in Rochester, Michigan. Dr. Pillsbury had a special interest in feline and behavioral medicine. She was a member of the Southeast Michigan Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Pillsbury is survived by her husband Alexi Neverovich, her parents, and two sisters. One sister, Dr. Nancy Pillsbury (DVM ‘93), is a veterinarian in Grosse Pointe.
JACK W JUDY of Williamston, Michigan, died January 11, 2020. Dr. Judy earned his DVM at Kansas State University in 1958, went into general practice in Greencastle, Indiana until 1961, and then studied veterinary physiology at Iowa State University in Ames until 1962. Dr. Judy earned a PhD in agricultural economics at Purdue in 1968, with a business management major and pathology minor.
While working on his PhD, Dr. Judy was a veterinary instructor in anatomy, veterinary science, and agricultural economics. He left Purdue and became a professor and head of the Department of Medicine and Surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, Athens from 1969–71.
He then became professor of veterinary clinical medicine and continuing education, and taught in the Center for Zoonoses and Comparative Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, Urbana from 1971–76. He was the acting head of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine from 1974–76.
Dr. Judy then joined the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University, where he was the associate dean for Hospital Administration and Facilities Planning until August 1991. He served as acting dean at Michigan State from September-December 1982. Dr. Judy was a professor emeritus at Michigan State University and taught courses in veterinary business management in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences.
Dr. Judy published numerous research articles on veterinary economics and many other topics. He received the Best Instructor Award from Purdue University’s Student Government in 1969. Dr. Judy was on the Outstanding Teaching List at the University of Illinois from 1972–76. He received the Veterinary Service Award from the MVMA in 1985. Dr. Judy was given the Outstanding and Dedicated Service Award from the Michigan State University Veterinary Alumni Association in 1986 and the Honorary Veterinary Alumnus Award in 1993. In 1994, he received the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians’ Clinical Faculty Achievement Award. Dr. Judy also was presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Class of 1997 at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine Annual Awards Banquet in 1995. He received the Pioneer Award from the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors in 2005. He was chosen to receive the 2008 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to these awards, Dr. Judy has been a visiting professor at Tuskegee University in Alabama, Purdue University, the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, and the University of Illinois. He is a member of several state and national veterinary medical associations, and has served on more than 10 national committees. He made national and international presentations in several states including Kansas, as well as locations abroad including China, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Kenya, the former USSR, Australia, Egypt, the Galapagos Islands, East Africa, and Ireland.