Obituaries
AVMA member
AVMA honor roll member
Nonmember
William H. Baker
Dr. Baker (Cornell ’57), 84, Powell, Wyoming, died May 21, 2016. He co-owned Warrenton Veterinary Clinic, a mixed animal practice in Warrenton, Virginia, prior to retiring.
An avid sailor, Dr. Baker served as an instructor and course director at Outward Bound School in Maine. He was a past president of the Rotary Club of Powell and helped establish the Powell Health Care Coalition board of directors, bringing affordable health care to the underserved in the Big Horn Basin. Dr. Baker’s efforts also helped establish Powell’s Heritage Health Center as a federally qualified community health center in 2015. He is survived by his wife, Sharon; five daughters and one son; and 10 grandchildren. Dr. Baker’s niece, Dr. Caroline Van den Berg (Pennsylvania ’15), is a veterinarian in Arlington, Virginia. Memorials may be made to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box 39, Ithaca, NY 14583.
Seymour B. Bigman
Dr. Bigman (Middlesex ’46), 91, Needham, Massachusetts, died June 28, 2016. He owned Kindness Animal Hospital, a small animal practice in Waltham, Massachusetts, from 1971-2003. During that time, Dr. Bigman also served as a veterinary consultant for McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, supervising the health and welfare of the laborator animals.
Earlier, he worked for the Department of Agriculture, E.R. Squibb & Sons, Ethical Veterinary Supply Company, Laddie Boy Dog Food, and Arista Surgical Supply Company, and founded Arjay Medi-Surg Company.
Dr. Bigman was a past president of the New England VMA and a member of the American Public Health Association, British Society of Public Health, New Jersey and Massachusetts VMAs, and the state of Massachusetts Animal Response Team. In 2011, he was awarded the MVMA Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Bigman was also a past president of the Merrimack Lhasa Apso Club and Pets & People Foundation and a member of the American Lhasa Apso Club. Dr. Bigman chaired the Waltham Board of Health for 15 years and served as the animal inspector for the city of Newton, Massachusetts, for more than 20 years. In Needham, he was appointed to the local emergency planning committee and was a member of the Volunteer Medical Corps.
Dr. Bigman is survived by a daughter and a son, three grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090; Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Grafton, MA 01536; or Brandeis Development Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453.
R.J. Buckman
Dr. Buckman (Iowa State ’53), 87, Yankton, South Dakota, died May 21, 2016. He practiced large animal medicine in Yankton for 34 years prior to retirement in 1989. Prior to that, Dr. Buckman served as a veterinary officer in the Air Force. He was a member of the South Dakota and Interstate VMAs. Dr. Buckman’s wife, Betty; three sons; and seven grandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to Gideons International, P.O. Box 334, Yankton, SD 57078.
Timothy J. Cutler
Dr. Cutler (Dublin ’93), 45, Wellington, Florida, died April 28, 2016. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, he owned an equine ophthalmology practice in Wellington. Dr. Cutler is survived by his wife, Dr. Samantha Martin (Auburn ’09), a small animal practitioner in Wellington, and a daughter. His father, Dr. Robin S. Cutler (Dublin ’66), is a retired equine practitioner in Ireland. Memorials may be made to ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation, 302 Pearl St. #108, Providence, RI 02907.
Rose M. Davidson
Dr. Davidson (Iowa State ’93), 53, Brookings, South Dakota, died July 8, 2016. She practiced small animal medicine at Gentle Doctor Animal Hospital in Brookings prior to retirement in 2006. Dr. Davidson helped establish the Brookings Regional Humane Society and continued to provide veterinary services for the society in retirement. She also traveled to Native American reservations in the state several times each year to provide spay-neuter and general health care services. Early in her career, Dr. Davidson worked in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In 2012, she was recognized as a National Hero of Hope by the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The Brookings City Council declared July 23, 2016, as Dr. Rose Davidson Day in honor of her work, including the founding of the humane society. Dr. Davidson is survived by her husband, Bill, and a son. Memorials toward the Brookings Regional Humane Society may be made here.
Robert M. Diener
Dr. Diener (Michigan State ’60), 85, Milton, Massachusetts, died July 16, 2016. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, he served as a consultant in toxicology and pathology for almost 20 years prior to retirement in 2011. Dr. Diener began his career as an instructor at Michigan State University, also working as a medical laboratory technologist at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan. He subsequently joined what was known as Ciba Pharmaceutical Company as a clinical investigator. During his career with what later became Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Diener served as a senior research veterinarian in the animal health division and was executive director of safety evaluation and head of toxicology and pathology.
He was a past president of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology and American College of Toxicology, a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, and a member of the Society of Toxicology and the Middle Atlantic Reproduction and Teratology Association. Dr. Diener also served as editor-in-chief of the ACT’s International Journal of Toxicology.
In 2006, he was awarded the ACT Lifetime Contribution Award. Dr. Diener served in the Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. He is survived by two sons, two daughters, and six grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, East Lansing, MI 48824.
Roy Dillon
Dr. Dillon (California-Davis ’54), 92, Angels Camp, California, died May 21, 2016. An equine practitioner, he served as racetrack veterinarian at Santa Anita Park prior to retirement in 1989. In the 1970s, Dr. Dillon co-designed a hydraulic equine ambulance that is still used today. He was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. Memorials may be made to Hillsdale College, 33 E. College St., Hillsdale, MI 49242, or Flying Tiger Historical Organization, 21133 Jimmersall Lane, Groveland, CA 95321.
Robert Hadek
Dr. Hadek (Vienna ’48), 91, Hallandale Beach, Florida, died May 21, 2016. He was a professor of anatomy and histology at the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago prior to retirement in the late 1970s.
After earning his veterinary degree from the University of Vienna and a doctorate in histology, histochemistry, and embryology from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, Dr. Hadek joined the faculty at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. During his tenure at ISU CVM, he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology. Dr. Hadek was a member of the American Association of Anatomists and authored the book “Mammalian Fertilization: An Atlas of Ultrastructure.” He is survived by his wife, Renate; a daughter and a son; and four grandchildren.
Paul B. Hoppestad
Dr. Hoppestad (Minnesota ’72), 68, Mahnomen, Minnesota, died June 26, 2016. A mixed animal veterinarian, he practiced in Mahnomen prior to retirement in 2005. Earlier, Dr. Hoppestad worked in Pierze, Minnesota, for two years. His three brothers survive him.
David L. Huso
Dr. Huso (Iowa State ’80), 59, Parkton, Maryland, died Jan. 27, 2016. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, he was an associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology at Johns Hopkins University, also working at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
During his tenure at Johns Hopkins, where he earned a doctorate in molecular microbiology and immunology in the 1980s, Dr. Huso also headed a laboratory at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was known for his expertise in developing and working with genetically engineered mouse models that emulated human diseases, and his work on molecular changes that lead to breast cancer.
Early in his career, Dr. Huso practiced at St. Michael Veterinary Clinic in St. Michael, Minnesota. He was active with Habitat for Humanity.
Dr. Huso is survived by his wife, Angie, and three sons and a daughter. One son, Dr. Nick Huso (Wisconsin ’16), practices large animal medicine in Warren, Ohio.
Memorials may be made to the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, 750 E. Pratt St., 17th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202.
J. Fred Love
Dr. Love (Texas A&M ’61), 79, Panhandle, Texas, died June 10, 2016. A small animal veterinarian, he joined Amarillo Veterinary Clinic in Amarillo, Texas, following graduation. Dr. Love subsequently became a partner and then sole owner of the practice. He was a past president of the High Plains VMA and a member of the Texas VMA, Texas Academy of Veterinary Practice, and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Dr. Love served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1956-1962. His wife, Fern; two daughters and a son; three grandchildren; and a great-grandchild survive him. One daughter, Dr. Donna L. Regehr (Kansas State ’92), practices at Amarillo Veterinary Clinic.
Memorials may be made to Polk Street United Methodist Church, 1401 S. Polk St., Amarillo, TX 79101, or Bible Believers Baptist Church Youth Ministry, 12200 W. Rockwell Road, Amarillo, TX 79118.
Everett C. Martin Jr.
Dr. Martin (Texas A&M ’50), 94, Bryan, Texas, died April 19, 2016. He practiced mixed animal medicine in Texas’ Cherokee County for 36 years. Dr. Martin is survived by his two sons and a daughter, 10 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
William R. Miller
Dr. Miller (Auburn ’50), 91, Summerdale, Alabama, died June 2, 2016. He began his career practicing mixed animal medicine in Mobile, Alabama. In 1960, Dr. Miller joined the faculty of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he remained until retirement in 1988. He was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a past member of the American Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine and AVMA Council on Education. Dr. Miller was also a member of the Alabama VMA. In 1980, he received the American Association of Food Hygiene Veterinarians’ Outstanding Teacher of Veterinary Food Hygiene Award. Dr. Miller was a recipient of the ALVMA Service Award in 1981. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II.
Dr. Miller’s wife, Mary Anne; a son and a daughter; four grandchildren; and a great-grandchild survive him.
Memorials may be made to Ruth Sherman Underwood Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Marlow United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 343, Summerdale, AL 36580.
Bennett T. Simms Jr.
Dr. Simms (Auburn ’51), 92, Pontotoc, Mississippi, died June 9, 2016. He was an inspector-in-charge with the Department of Agriculture prior to retirement. Earlier, Dr. Simms taught at Oklahoma State University and owned a practice in Pontotoc, where he served on the board of the Pontotoc Library and the Beautification Committee. In honor of his volunteer work in the community, the Dr. B.T. Simms Jr. Senior Community Center Building in Pontotoc was named for him in 2006. Dr. Simms was also named the Mississippi Outstanding Senior of the Year in 1993 by the Joint Conference on Aging and received the Mississippi Older American Award in 2009.
He is survived by a daughter and a son, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging-Nutrition Program, P.O. Box 690, Pontotoc, MS 38863, or First Baptist Church, 31 W. Washington St., Pontotoc, MS 38863.