August 15, 2021

AVMA member

AVMA honor roll member

Nonmember

Louis W. Boyer

Dr. Boyer (Michigan State ’54), 93, Kalamazoo, Michigan, died May 25, 2021. Following graduation, he established several practices in the Midwest prior to founding Southland Animal Hospital in Portage, Michigan, in 1962. Dr. Boyer was a past president of the Southwest Michigan VMA. An avid supporter of oncology research, he was a benefactor of the MSU Foundation, which established an endowed fund in his name toward that purpose.

Dr. Boyer was active with the Red Cross and the Rotary Club of Portage and served on the Portage and Hartford, Michigan, public schools’ boards of education. He was an Army veteran of World War II. Dr. Boyer’s wife, Lucille; three sons and a daughter; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to the West Michigan Cancer Center, 200 N. Park St., Kalamazoo, MI 49007.

Phillip H. Cochran

Dr. Cochran (Texas A&M ’54), 94, Louisville, Kentucky, died Feb. 12, 2021. An equine veterinarian, he co-founded and served as a partner at Lyndon Animal Clinic in Louisville prior to retirement in 1995. Dr. Cochran also served as the veterinarian for Warner Jones’s Hermitage Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, for several years. During his career, he focused on Thoroughbreds and Saddlebreds.

Dr. Cochran was an Army veteran of World War II. He is survived by his wife, Marie; three daughters, two stepsons, and a stepdaughter; and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the American Saddlebred Legacy Foundation, P.O. Box 12, Eminence, KY 40019.

Fritz P. Gluckstein

Dr. Gluckstein (Minnesota ’55), 94, Kensington, Maryland, died Feb. 14, 2021. Following graduation, he worked in veterinary meat inspection for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in South St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1956-58, Dr. Gluckstein served in the Army, attaining the rank of captain. He then rejoined the USDA, working a year as an assistant veterinary pathologist in Ames, Iowa, and later as a veterinary analyst in Washington, D.C.

From 1963-66, Dr. Gluckstein served as chief of the microbiology branch of the former Science Information Exchange of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 1966, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and was assigned to the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Gluckstein received his master’s in library science in 1984 from the University of Maryland. He established the veterinary section at the library, serving as its coordinator until retirement in 1993.

Dr. Gluckstein was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health in London. He was a member of the American Public Health Association, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Historical Society, Animal Welfare Institute, Medical Library Association, and Beta Phi Mu International Honor Society.

In 1962, Dr. Gluckstein received a Certificate of Merit from the USDA. In 1969, he was awarded an exceptional capabilities promotion from the USPHS. Dr. Gluckstein is survived by his wife, Maran; a daughter and two stepchildren; and five grandchildren.

David H. Love

Dr. Love (Ohio State ’70), 76, Westlake, Ohio, died March 1, 2021. A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, he was the founder of Westlake Animal Hospital. Dr. Love volunteered his services to Westlake Animal Control and took care of the dogs belonging to the Westlake Police Department. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of West Lake, participated in career days at Westlake City Schools, and provided an annual scholarship to graduates of Westlake High School wanting to pursue a career in medicine.

Dr. Love is survived by his wife, Cherry; two daughters and a son; three grandchildren; and a sister and a brother. His sister-in-law, Dr. Janet McKim (Ohio State ’80), is also a veterinarian. Memorials may be made to the Kiwanis-Westlake Youth Foundation, 25935 Detroit Road, Box 179, Westlake, OH 44145, or to the Firelands Schools Community Scholarship Fund, Community Foundation of Lorain County, 9080 Leavitt Road, Elyria, OH 44035.

Jeffrey D. Palgut

Dr. Palgut (Florida ’84), 73, Panama City, Florida, died Dec. 28, 2020. He owned Callaway Animal Hospital in Panama City for 36 years. Dr. Palgut played trumpet in the Bay Wind Community Band. An avid bird watcher, he was a member of the Audubon Society. Dr. Palgut was a veteran of the Navy. His wife, Nikki; two daughters and a son; four grandchildren; and a sister survive him.

Gerow Smiley

Dr. Smiley (Colorado State ’51), 98, Redlands, California, died Jan. 24, 2021. Following graduation, he worked several years at Mohonk Mountain House, the business owned by his family in New Paltz, New York, where he focused on the farms and land associated with the business. During that time, Dr. Smiley took a leave of absence to manage a dairy operation in central Florida.

In the 1960s, he began his veterinary career, practicing mixed animal medicine in Wyoming. Dr. Smiley subsequently worked 15 years in California at Petaluma and Cotati, focusing on equine medicine. He then returned to Mohonk Mountain House, where he later established a composting operation on the property and co-founded and co-developed the Brook Farm Project, a Community Supported Agriculture project.

Dr. Smiley was a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. In retirement, he volunteered at the Redlands Community Hospital and with the adult literacy program at the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands. Dr. Smiley was a veteran of the Navy. He is survived by his wife, Wendy; three sons; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A son, Dr. Paul Smiley (Cornell ’69), is a veterinarian in Columbia Falls, Montana.

Memorials may be made to the Mohonk Preserve, P.O. Box 715, New Paltz, NY 12561; A.K. Smiley Public Library, 125 W. Vine St., Redlands, CA 92373; or American Farmland Trust, 1150 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.

Charlotte A. Spires

Dr. Spires (Tuskegee ’82), 62, Fort Washington, Maryland, died May 24, 2021. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, she was chief veterinarian for the National Veterinary Response Team within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Disaster Medical System prior to retirement in 2018. Earlier, Dr. Spires served as a senior veterinary epidemiologist for the Food and Drug Administration and was executive director of the National Biodefense Science Board. During her career, she also served as an adjunct faculty member of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, was a relief veterinarian in Virginia and Maryland, and earned a master’s of public health in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University.

As a commissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1995, Dr. Spires was part of a team of veterinarians who assisted in animal rescue operations in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike, and Harvey. She developed federal guidance for the management of companion animals during hurricanes, earning a USPHS Commendation Medal for her efforts. Dr. Spires attained the rank of captain with the USPHS. She was a past president of the District of Columbia Commissioned Officers Association and was a past director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS.

In 2009, Dr. Spires was named USPHS Veterinary Responder of the Year. In 2017, she received the James H. Steele One Health Outstanding Public Health Service Veterinary Career Award. She was also honored with the USPHS Crisis Response Service Award twice for her work during hurricanes, a Presidential Unit Citation for her role in Ebola response, and an Army Achievement Medal. Dr. Spires is survived by her husband, Darrell; a son and a daughter; and a brother. Memorials toward The CAPT (ret.) Charlotte Dortch Spires, DVM, MPH, DACVPM Endowed Scholarship may be made to Tuskegee University, 1200 W. Montgomery Road, Tuskegee, AL 36088.

Roy B. Young

Dr. Young (Texas A&M ’69), 74, Hillsboro, Texas, died Jan. 29, 2021. Following graduation, he worked for the former T.B. Bond Pharmacy in Hillsboro. Dr. Young subsequently established Young’s Animal Hospital in Hillsboro, where he practiced for 52 years. During that time, he also taught at Navarro College and Hill College.

Active in his community, Dr. Young served 12 years on the Hillsboro Independent School District board of trustees and was active with the Hill County Fair, 4-H Club, and National FFA Organization. In 2001, the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas honored him with the Community Builder Award. In 2016, the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce named Young’s Animal Hospital as Business of the Year.

His wife, Shelly Kettler; two daughters and two sons; 12 grandchildren; and a sister survive him. Memorials may be made to Hill County A&M Club, P.O. Box 76, Hillsboro, TX 76645.

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.