August 15, 2020

AVMA member

AVMA honor roll member

Nonmember

Donald E. Bidlack

Dr. Bidlack (Ohio State ’57), 87, Davis, California, died March 9, 2020. Following graduation, he owned a mixed animal practice in Gaston, Indiana. Dr. Bidlack later embarked upon a career in the pharmaceutical industry, conducting research on veterinary drugs and on enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. He retired as an associate veterinary pathologist at Syntex Research in Palo Alto, California.

Dr. Bidlack authored the book “Anecdotes from a Happy Life.” He is survived by a son, two daughters, four grandchildren, and a sister and a brother. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123, or Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.

Boyd E. Burhoop

Dr. Burhoop (Kansas State ’62), 81, Aurora, Nebraska, died Dec. 30, 2019. Following graduation, he served two years in the Air Force with the rank of captain. Dr. Burhoop subsequently established a small animal practice in York, Nebraska. In 1984, he moved to Grand Island, Nebraska, where he founded Pet Hospital, retiring in 2010. 

Dr. Burhoop was a past district director of the Nebraska VMA and a 50-year member of the American Legion. His wife, Bev; two daughters, two sons, a stepdaughter, and a stepson; and 12 grandchildren and three stepgrandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to Hamilton County Foundation, 1108 L St., Aurora, NE 68818.

Wendell M. Peden

Dr. Peden (Minnesota ’53), 94, San Antonio, died June 23, 2020. Following graduation, he moved to Milbank, South Dakota, where he practiced large animal medicine for 20 years. Dr. Peden subsequently co-established Black Hills Animal Hospital, a small animal practice in Rapid City, South Dakota, working there until retirement. During his career, he also worked with Bear Country USA, a wildlife park in Rapid City and was a racetrack and rodeo veterinarian. In retirement, Dr. Peden served as a veterinary consultant. Owner of a genetically pure (without cattle DNA) bison herd, he had a special interest in bovine and bison genetics and reproductive physiology. Dr. Peden was a past president of the South Dakota VMA and served as South Dakota’s delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates from 1968-97. He was named South Dakota Veterinarian of the Year in 1978 and received the association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2012.

Dr. Peden was active with the Boy Scouts of America for 45 years and was a recipient of its Silver Beaver Award. He served as a second lieutenant in the Army during World War II. Dr. Peden is survived by a son, three daughters, 13 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and three sisters. His son, Dr. W. Michael Peden (Iowa State ’81), is a retired veterinary pathologist. Memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church Friends of Music, 510 Belknap Place, San Antonio, TX, 78212, or National Multiple Sclerosis Society, P.O. Box 91891, Washington DC 20090.

Wallace “Bruce” Wren

Dr. Wren (Kansas State ’58), 85, Lenexa, Kansas, died May 20, 2020. Following graduation, he joined the Army Veterinary Corps, serving two years as a post veterinarian with the rank of captain at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Dr. Wren then worked as an instructor of pathology at Kansas State University, earning his master’s in veterinary pathology from the university in 1962. He subsequently practiced large animal medicine for a year in Ottawa, Kansas, before joining Armour-Baldwin Laboratories in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1965, Dr. Wren returned to Kansas State University as a pathology instructor, earning his doctorate in veterinary pathology from the university in 1968. He then joined Dellen Laboratories in Omaha as chief of technical services.

In 1971, Dr. Wren established Wren Veterinary Pathology Service in Omaha, which he owned until 1977. From 1977-81, he served as a veterinary pathologist at the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Lincoln. Dr. Wren then embarked upon a career as a technical services veterinarian, working for several companies over the years, including Pioneer Hi-Bred International in Des Moines, Iowa; Sanofi Animal Health in Overland Park, Kansas; Rhone Merieux Animal Health and Merial in Athens, Georgia; and AgriLabs in St. Joseph, Missouri. In 1999, he established Wren Veterinary Consulting Service in Overland Park.

Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Wren was a past president of the American Association of Industrial Veterinarians, Nebraska VMA, and Kansas State Veterinary Medical Alumni Association; was a past district director for the Academy of Veterinary Consultants; and served on the board of directors of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. He also served on the board of directors of what was known as the Western Veterinary Conference and was its food animal program manager for several years. Dr. Wren was a member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, National Mastitis Council, and Iowa, Kansas, and Georgia VMAs.

In 2003, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Kansas State Veterinary Medical Alumni Association honored him with an Alumni Recognition Award. The WVC conferred upon Dr. Wren a Meritorious Service Award in 2008. In 2009, AgriLabs and the AABP established the Dr. Bruce Wren Continuing Education Awards. The WVC recognized him with a Distinguished Service Award in 2013, and the WVC Dr. W. Bruce Wren Food Animal Incentive Awards were also named in his honor a few years ago. In 2018, Dr. Wren received the AVC-AgriLabs Outstanding Service Award.

He is survived by four children, two grandchildren, and a brother. Memorials may be made to the AABP Foundation, 1130 E. Main St., Suite 302, Ashland, OH 44805.

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.