February 15, 2020
Obituaries
AVMA member
AVMA honor roll member
Nonmember
Raymond M. Everett
Dr. Everett (Auburn ’67), 81, Columbia, South Carolina, died Nov. 6, 2019. A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology and American College of Veterinary Pathologists, he served as a senior distinguished scientist with what is now known as Sanofi prior to retirement.
Following graduation and after earning his doctorate in pathology from the University of Georgia, Dr. Everett served as an assistant professor of clinical pathology at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. While there, he received what is now known as the Zoetis Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award. Dr. Everett later worked for DuPont. During his career, he also served as an adjunct professor of pathology and laboratory animal medicine at the former Hahnemann University School of Medicine.
Dr. Everett was a veteran of the Marine Corps. His wife, Marsha, and a son survive him.
Thomas C. Needham
Dr. Needham (Auburn ’52), 90, Wilmington, North Carolina, died Oct. 10, 2019. Following graduation, he served two years in the Air Force Veterinary Corps. Dr. Needham then established Needham Animal Clinic, a small animal practice in Wilmington, subsequently also establishing Atlantic Animal Hospital in Wilmington and Animal Medical Clinic of Carolina Beach in Carolina Beach, North Carolina. He retired in 2005.
Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Needham helped found the North Carolina Academy of Small Animal Medicine and was a past president of the academy. He was also a past president of the North Carolina VMA and named Distinguished Veterinarian by the NCVMA in 1971. Dr. Needham is survived by his wife, Peggy; three sons and two daughters; and five grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Transitions Foundation–North Carolina, an organization that helps students with autism spectrum disorder, and sent to 201 N. Front St., Suite 1002, Wilmington, NC 28401.
Larry Rogers
Dr. Rogers (Texas A&M ’46), 94, Dallas, died June 26, 2019. He practiced at Park Cities Animal Hospital in Dallas prior to retirement. Earlier, Dr. Rogers served in the Army Veterinary Corps. His wife, Joan, survives him. Memorials may be made to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas, 2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, TX 75212, or Dallas Life Foundation, 1100 Cadiz, Dallas, TX 75215.
James R. Swearengen
Dr. Swearengen (Missouri ’82), 62, Frederick, Maryland, died July 16, 2019. He was director of special projects for the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International in Frederick, Maryland, since 2018.
Following graduation, Dr. Swearengen practiced mixed animal medicine in Missouri and Wisconsin. In 1984, he began his more than 20-year career with the Army Veterinary Corps. During that time, Dr. Swearengen worked in several capacities, including service as chief of veterinary services at the Carswell Air Force Base in Texas and in Stuttgart, Germany; chief of the Department of Animal Medicine at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and chief of the Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases; and director of the Center for Laboratory Animal Medicine at the Uniformed Services University F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and director of the veterinary medicine division at the USAMRIID. From 2003-05, he was deputy commander of the USAMRIID, where he helped execute a basic and applied research program to develop medical solutions to protect military personnel from biological hazards. Dr. Swearengen served on a United Nations team monitoring and verifying biological weapons in Baghdad. He received several military honors, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal, and United Nations Special Service Medal.
Dr. Swearengen served as senior director at AAALAC International from 2005-09. From 2009-16, he directed comparative medicine at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Frederick, Maryland, overseeing animal care and use at the center. Dr. Swearengen then returned to AAALAC International, serving as global director until 2018. Known for his expertise in biohazards and biosafety, he edited a book on biodefense research methodologies and animal models and was a contributing author to the publication “Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories.”
Dr. Swearengen was a diplomate and a past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He was also a past president of AAALAC International’s Council on Accreditation. Dr. Swearengen is survived by his wife, Michele; two sons; two grandchildren; his mother; and two brothers. Memorials, toward cancer research, with the memo line of the check notated “In honor of Jim Swearengen, designated to Dr. Holdhoff’s research,” may be made to John Hopkins University and sent to Kimmel Development Office, 750 E. Pratt St., Suite 1700, Baltimore, MD 21202; or memorials may be made to Hospice of Frederick County, P.O. Box 1799, Frederick, MD 21702.
Gerald F. VerMeulen
Dr. VerMeulen (Michigan State ’55), 88, Lake Forest, Illinois, died Nov. 5, 2019. He owned a small animal practice in Lake Forest, Illinois, for 37 years. Dr. VerMeulen is survived by a son, daughter, five grandchildren, and a sister. Memorials may be made to DeYoung Family Zoo, N5406 County Road 577, Wallace, MI 49893.
Vance K. Weidle Jr.
Dr. Weidle (Colorado State ’60), 83, Marianna, Florida, died Oct. 17, 2019. Following graduation, he worked briefly in Great Bend, Kansas. In 1961, Dr. Weidle moved to Bismarck, North Dakota, where he joined a large animal practice. He subsequently worked five years in Beach, North Dakota.
After earning his doctorate in toxicology in the early 1970s from the University of Florida, Dr. Weidle established Panhandle Veterinary Services in Chipley, Florida. He retired in 1990. Dr. Weidle’s wife, Ruth; two daughters; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a sister and a brother survive him. Memorials may be made to Heifer International, P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR 72203.