In Memory, Winter 2024-25

1940s

Katherine Robison Shope (49BSCh, 51MS) of Willow Street, Pennsylvania, on June 7, 2024.
Roger Simpson (49BA, 52MD, 57R) of Iowa City on July 24, 2024.

1950s

Mace Braverman (57BA) of Lone Tree, Iowa, on June 23, 2024.
Charles Cebuhar (51BA, 54JD) of Edina, Minnesota, on July 29, 2024.
Robert Essman (59BFA) of Shelburne, Vermont, on May 1, 2024.
Harold Gannon (54DDS) of Scottsdale, Arizona, on June 8, 2024.
Dorothy Krebill Karayanis (51BM) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Aug. 3, 2024.
Richard Mau (54BA) of Gloucester, Virginia, on June 8, 2024.
Donald Mosier (56BA) of Las Vegas on July 28, 2024.
Judith McLaren Napier (58BSN) of West Des Moines on Sept. 4, 2024.
Fred Palumbo (56BSC) of Huntley, Illinois, on Feb. 3, 2024.
Jane Mackey Pinkerton (57BSPh) of Glendale, California, on May 28, 2024.
W.J. “Bill” Robison II (53BSC) of Tiffin, Iowa, on Aug. 2, 2024.
Charles Skaugstad (58BA, 63MD) of Coralville on Aug. 5, 2024.
Don Suchy (57BA) of Raleigh, North Carolina, on Aug. 8, 2024.
Richard E. Tupper (50BSC) of Huntington, New York, on May 13, 2024.
George Vieth (53BSC) of Davenport, Iowa, on June 7, 2024.
Lois Kay Johnson Weede (58BA) of Oro Valley, Arizona, on July 11, 2024.
Peggy Van Patten Youngers (53BA) of Reston, Virginia, on July 11, 2024.

Hualing Nieh Engle (66MFA)

Chinese novelist, translator, and editor Hualing Nieh Engle (66MFA) is known for co-founding the renowned University of Iowa International Writing Program with her late husband and former Iowa Writers’ Workshop director, Paul Engle (32MA).

Hualing met Paul in Taiwan while he was scouting literary talent in 1963. She accepted his invitation to study at the workshop, and after having a formative experience in Iowa City’s literary community, Hualing hatched an idea.

“Iowa City is such a wonderful place for writers, so I said, ‘Why not expand the workshop to focus on international writers?’” she said in a 2012 interview.

Paul, whom Hualing later married, was intrigued—and in 1967, they created a new residency for international writers at the UI called the International Writing Program (IWP).

The nonacademic program, which receives some support from the U.S. Department of State, brings international writers to Iowa each fall. Since its founding, more than 1,600 writers from more than 160 countries have participated. For their efforts to promote cultural diplomacy by convening writers from around the world, especially from regions overseen by repressive governments, the Engles were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976.

Hualing was drawn to writing as a girl, listening to her grandfather chant classical poetry. She studied English literature in China, but as the political climate grew more turbulent—her father was executed in the Chinese civil war when she was 11—she fled to Taiwan.

At Iowa, Hualing co-directed the IWP with Paul until his retirement in 1977 and took over as sole director until her retirement in 1988. She remained involved in the IWP, serving on its advisory board and hosting writers. The English translation of her book Mulberry and Peach (1976) won an American Book Award in 1990.

Hualing died Oct. 21 in Iowa City at age 99.

1960s

Benjamin Blackstock (60BA, 68JD) of Mesa, Arizona, on June 6, 2024.
William DeKock (60BA, 63DDS, 67MS, 67OrthS) of Flagstaff, Arizona, on Aug. 18, 2024.
Melvin Holubar (60BSME, 69MS) of Solon, Iowa, on Aug. 21, 2024.
Terry Housman (66MA) of Marengo, Iowa, on July 21, 2024.
Jeanne Jaggard (60MD) of Iowa City on Aug. 6, 2024.
Roderick Kellogg (60BA, 64MD, 70R) of Burlington, Iowa, on April 26, 2024.
Milford Limesand (60BA, 62JD) of Tonganoxie, Kansas, on Aug. 29, 2024.
Andrew Wehde (60BBA) of Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 25, 2024.
Larry V. Wright (63BBA) of Naperville, Illinois, on Aug. 30, 2024.

William D. Ashton (62BSCE, 63MS)

William “Bill” Ashton (62BSCE, 63MS) leaves behind a legacy of leadership in engineering and giving back to the community—both in his hometown and at the University of Iowa.

The lifelong Davenport resident followed his father and uncles’ footsteps to the UI College of Engineering, where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering.

A former U.S Army Ranger and combat engineer officer, Ashton worked at the U.S Army Corps of Engineers after graduation. In 1982, he founded Ashton Engineering, which has designed trails and bridges across Iowa, including the High Trestle Trail Bridge in Madrid.

Along with his brothers George Ashton (61BSCE, 71PhD) and James “Jim” Ashton (64BSCE), he helped create the Ashton Cross Country Course at Iowa in honor of his coach, Francis X. Cretzmeyer (1906MD); three named professorships for the UI College of Engineering; and the Ashton Prairie in Iowa City.

Ashton, a letter winner for the Hawkeye cross-country team in 1960, also previously served as the UI Varsity Club president. He was inducted into the UI Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy in 2008, and the university recognized his family’s dedication and philanthropy with the Family Spirit Award in 2022.

Ashton died Oct. 6, 2024. He was 84.

1970s

Duane Chamberlain (77BBA) of Omaha, Nebraska, on Aug. 2, 2024.
Joe L. Clark (74MS, 74R) of Lynchburg, Virginia, on June 17, 2024.
Nadine Bunge DeVoss (77BS) of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Sept. 25, 2023.
James Haddad (79BBA) of Hiawatha, Iowa, on Aug. 8, 2024.
William Holtze (76MD, 80R) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, on June 1, 2024.
Sherry Creps Marlowe (70BA) of Le Claire, Iowa, on June 6, 2024.
William McGinnis (73MD, 77R) of West Des Moines, Iowa, on June 13, 2024.
Meenal Dalal Menezes (72R) of Coralville on May 26, 2024.
Kenneth Oberembt (72PhD) of Renton, Washington, on Aug. 7, 2024.
James L. Olson (68BS, 71MD) of Seattle on Aug. 9, 2024.
Cornelius “Perk” Thornton (71BBA) of Chicago on July 14, 2024.
Rick White (77PhD) of College Station, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2024.

1980s

Steven Banwart (81BSCE, 83MS) of South Anston, England, on Dec. 30, 2023.
Dorothy Bouleris Paul (81BGS, 84MA) of Iowa City on June 7, 2024.
Debra Susie-Lattner (83MD) of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, on July 17, 2024.

1990s

Terri Jo Ottoson Erickson (96MBA) of Cedar Rapids on Aug. 5, 2024.

2000s

James Van Winkle (02PharmD) of Washington, Iowa, on June 15, 2024.

2010s

FayeLin Bartram (10MA, 17PhD) of Chaska, Minnesota, on Aug. 29, 2024.

Faculty & Friends

Stuart Cross of Atlanta on July 14, 2024.
Jaroslaw Pelenski of New York on Feb. 20, 2022.
Alan Spitzer of Philadelphia on July 23, 2024.

Usha Mallik

University of Iowa physics professor Usha Mallik, an internationally renowned physicist and committed mentor, worked tirelessly to advance scientific discovery about the origins of the universe.

Born in Kolkata, India, Mallik earned a PhD from City College of New York and completed postdoctoral work in France before becoming a professor at Iowa. In addition to teaching, she joined high-energy physics projects and collaborations including ZEUS, International Linear Collider, and BaBAR, for which she was the run coordinator.

In 2006, Mallik and her UI team joined the ATLAS project at CERN in Switzerland, which houses the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, including the Large Hadron Collider. In her time there, the team made significant advancements to particle physics, including the discovery and study of the Higgs boson particle, which answered longstanding questions about how matter behaves.

A fellow of the American Physical Society and an advocate for equality in science and education, Mallik also worked throughout her career to support young scientists and future discoveries.

Mallik died Aug. 4, 2024. She was 77.