Obituaries

AVMA member

AVMA honor roll member

Nonmember

Billy S. Austin

Dr. Austin (Auburn '50), 92, Lake Mary, Florida, died Dec. 27, 2018. He most recently had a house call practice, serving Florida's Seminole, Orange, and Lake counties. Following graduation, Dr. Austin owned a farm practice for seven years in East Tennessee. He subsequently spent two years in tuberculosis research with the U.S. Public Health Service in Chamblee, Georgia, and two years in pharmacology research at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Austin then bought a small animal practice in south Miami, where he worked for 37 years. During his career, he spent several years conducting clinical research on a peptide from snake venom.

Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Austin was a past president of the South Florida VMA. He was also a past president of an emergency clinic in Dade County and what is now known as the Miami Veterinary Foundation. Dr. Austin was a member of the Florida VMA and American Animal Hospital Association. In 2007, he received the FVMA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Austin was an Army veteran of World War II. His wife, Violet; three daughters and a son; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren survive him.

Mark L. Besola

Dr. Besola (Washington State '90), 52, Lake Tapps, Washington, died Jan. 1, 2019. He most recently practiced small animal medicine with his sister, Dr. Amelia M. Besola (Washington State '89), at A Small Animal Hospital in Federal Way, Washington. Earlier in his career, Dr. Besola practiced at Aberdeen Animal Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, and owned Vetter's Veterinary Hospital, a mixed animal practice in Raymond, Washington. His four sisters survive him.

Joseph B. Coulter

Dr. Coulter (Texas A&M '50), 93, Brownsville, Texas, died Jan. 2, 2019. He practiced mixed animal medicine at Brownsville Veterinary Hospital for 67 years prior to retirement in 2017. In the 1970s, Dr. Coulter also took care of the animals at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. He was a member of the Texas VMA, Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary International. Dr. Coulter served in the Navy during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Betty; two daughters and two sons; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a brother. Memorials may be made to Central Christian Church, 1100 E. Alton Gloor Blvd., Brownsville, TX 78526, or Donja's Dogs, an animal rescue organization, c/o Becky Haley, 4085 N. Central Ave., Brownsville, TX 78526.

Arthur N. Griswold

Dr. Griswold (Missouri '64), 80, Paris, Missouri, died Nov. 24, 2018. A mixed animal veterinarian, he founded Paris Veterinary Clinic in 1969. Earlier in his career, Dr. Griswold practiced at Corydon Veterinary Clinic in Corydon, Iowa. He was a past executive board member of the Missouri VMA and a member of the Northeast Missouri VMA. Dr. Griswold is survived by his wife, Joyce; a daughter; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

R. Duane Holder

Dr. Holder (Kansas State '53), 90, Independence, Missouri, died Dec. 22, 2018. He practiced small animal medicine at Independence Animal Hospital for more than 50 years. Dr. Holder was a member of the Missouri VMA. Active in his community, he was also a member of the Independence City Council, Independence Regional Hospital board of trustees, and Kiwanis. Dr. Holder served in the Army Veterinary Corps, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. His wife, Shirley; a daughter and a son; five grandchildren; and a sister survive him. Dr. Holder's nephew, Dr. Marc S. Hardin (Kansas State '74), is a veterinarian in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Memorials may be made to Great Plains Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 21001 E. Missouri 78 Highway, Independence, MO 64057; Boy Scouts of America, 10210 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64131; or Blue Ridge United Methodist Church, 5055 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64133.

Eugene T. Kemp

Dr. Kemp (Cornell '57), 88, Owego, New York, died Jan. 4, 2019. A mixed animal veterinarian, he owned Day Hollow Animal Clinic in Owego, where he practiced until retirement in 2000. Dr. Kemp was a past president of the Southern Tier VMA. Active in his community, he was also a past president of the Owego Kiwanis, Tioga County Board of Health, Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Education Services, and Broome-Tioga Council School Board, and he was a member of the Owego-Apalachin Board of Education and Gideons International. Dr. Kemp's wife, Margaret, and a son survive him.

Leon A. Leach

Dr. Leach (Brandeis Middlesex '44), 97, Norfolk, Virginia, died Jan. 26, 2019. A mixed animal veterinarian, he began his career in Portsmouth, Virginia. Dr. Leach later owned two clinics in Virginia Beach, Virginia, prior to retirement. He was a member of the Virginia VMA and Masonic Lodge. Dr. Leach's daughter, Sharon, and four grandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, c/o Donor Relations, 2900 N. Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607, or Strelitz Diabetes Center, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 855 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, VA 23510.

John G. McDevitt

Dr. McDevitt (Georgia '88), 57, Chester, West Virginia, died Dec. 31, 2018. Following graduation and after completing an internal medicine residency at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he practiced small animal medicine in St. Louis for a few years. Dr. McDevitt later did relief work in West Virginia. His father and sister survive him. Memorials may be made to the Lynn Murray Memorial Library, 601 Railroad Ave., Chester, WV 26034.

Kathleen D. Moody

Dr. Moody (Pennsylvania '82), 62, Newtown, Connecticut, died Jan. 11, 2019. Following graduation and after completing her residency in laboratory animal medicine at Pennsylvania State University's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, she did an internship at Detwiler Veterinary Clinic in Reading, Pennsylvania. From 1986-2001, Dr. Moody was a clinical professor in the Department of Comparative Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine. During that time and subsequently, she served as a consultant and interim clinician for several biomedical organizations, including Bayer Corp. and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.

A diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Dr. Moody served as ad hoc consultant to the Association of Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care from 1991-2000, also serving on several committees instrumental in the establishment of the southern New England branch of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science. In 2005, she made a career change, studying for the chaplaincy through Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduating with her master's in transformative leadership and spirituality in 2018.

Dr. Moody is survived by her husband, Dr. J. Walter Streett (Cornell '65), a laboratory animal veterinarian who serves as an adviser to a research foundation in Hamden, Connecticut, and two daughters. Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741, or Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111.

Michael S. Smith

Dr. Smith (Cornell '71), 72, Potsdam, New York, died Sept. 23, 2018. He owned Trout Brook Veterinary Clinic, a small animal practice in Potsdam, from 1980 until retirement. Earlier, Dr. Smith worked with his father, the late Dr. Edwin B. Smith (Cornell '43), in Canton, New York. During his career, he also raised and showed Belgian draft horses. Dr. Smith is survived by his wife, Claudine; two sons, a stepson and two stepdaughters; three grandchildren and eight stepgrandchildren; and two sisters and a brother. Memorials, toward the North Carolina State Christian Veterinary Fellowship, may be sent c/o Christian Veterinary Mission, 19303 Fremont Ave N., Seattle, WA 98133.

Please report the death of a veterinarian promptly to the JAVMA News staff via a toll-free phone call at 800-248-2862, ext. 6754; email at newsavma [dot] org (news[at]avma[dot]org); or fax at 847-925-9329. For an obituary to be published, JAVMA must be notified within six months of the date of death.