October 15, 2021

AVMA member

AVMA honor roll member

Nonmember

Henry E. Akers

Dr. Akers (Ohio State ’59), 86, Mansfield, Ohio, died April 28, 2021. Following graduation, he began working in Mansfield, where he eventually established a mixed animal practice. During his career of more than 60 years, Dr. Akers also volunteered as the veterinarian for the Richland County Fair for over two decades. A member of the Ohio VMA, he was a past chair of the OVMA Outreach Committee. He served on The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Admissions Committee. In 1982, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Alumni Society honored Dr. Akers with the Alumni Service Award. In 1986, he received an OVMA Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Akers led mission trips to Haiti, Kenya, and South Dakota. His wife, Mary Elizabeth; two daughters and a son; three grandchildren; and a brother survive him.

Alan G. Bosomworth

Dr. Bosomworth (Kansas State ’79), 76, White City, Kansas, died Aug. 2, 2021. Following graduation, he spent a brief period in private practice before joining the Nevada Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Industry. During his tenure with the NDA, Dr. Bosomworth served as a supervisor of the state’s animal disease laboratories and was state veterinarian from 1995-98. He retired in 2002. Dr. Bosomworth is survived by his wife, Debbie; a daughter, a son, and two stepchildren; and four grandchildren.

Harold D. Crocker

Dr. Crocker (Ohio State ’61), 83, Galena, Ohio, died April 14, 2021. He owned Northland Veterinary Clinic, a small animal practice in Columbus, Ohio, prior to retirement. Earlier in his career, Dr. Crocker taught and conducted cardiac research at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and established what was known as the Consolidated Biomedical Laboratory. He is survived by his wife, Joyce; a daughter; five grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the National Parkinson Foundation Ohio, 2800 Corporate Exchange Drive, #360, Columbus, OH 43231.

James C. Donham

Dr. Donham (Ohio State ’52), 95, Columbus, Ohio, died June 20, 2021. Following graduation, he was in private practice in Garrett, Indiana, for two years. Dr. Donham then joined the veterinary faculty at The Ohio State University, retiring as a professor emeritus in 1989. He was a member of the Ohio VMA. In 1999, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Alumni Society honored him with an Alumni Recognition Award. Dr. Donham served in the Navy from 1943-46. His wife, Jo; two daughters and two sons; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren survive him.

Lisa M. Fredericks

Dr. Fredericks (Michigan State ’98), 48, Broomfield, Colorado, died April 10, 2021. She practiced small animal medicine at Broomfield Veterinary Hospital. An avid runner, Dr. Fredericks participated in several marathons and other races. Her parents and two sisters survive her. Memorials may be made to the Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, P.O. Box 522, Mount Pleasant, MI 48804.

Ellis M. Hall

Dr. Hall (Tuskegee ’56), 91, Tuskegee, Alabama, died Aug. 4, 2021. A diplomate and a past president of the American College of Veterinary Radiology, he served on the veterinary faculty of Tuskegee University for more than 44 years, retiring as a professor emeritus. During his tenure, Dr. Hall taught radiology and surgery, served as director of the veterinary teaching hospital, and directed veterinary admissions. He also initiated Grand Rounds, a seminar course designed for students in their fourth year to present clinical cases to students in the first through fourth years of the veterinary curriculum.

Dr. Hall was known for his efforts to recruit students from the Lumbee tribe of Native Americans at the former Pembroke State University to attend Tuskegee University’s veterinary college and was honored as the Father of the Lumbee Veterinarians. An endowed scholarship was established at Tuskegee University to honor his vision of increasing diverse representation of veterinary clinicians. In 2003, Dr. Hall and his wife, Lillie, were recognized as Tuskegee University Parents of the Year.

Active in his community, he was a past chair of the Mason County Board of Education, was a member of the Tuskegee Chamber of Commerce, and was active with the Tukabatchee Area Council Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Silver Beaver and Whitney M. Young scouting awards. Dr. Hall served on the board of directors of the Atlanta Zoo, Alabama 4-H Foundation, and Macon County Community Development Corp.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters, three sons, 10 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. A son, Dr. Paul B. Hall (Tuskegee ’98), and his wife, Dr. Nancy Betancourt (Tuskegee ’98), are also veterinarians. Memorials may be made to the Dr. Ellis M. Hall Scholarship for Native Americans, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, Attn: Dr. Ruby Perry, 301 Patterson Hall, Tuskegee Institute, AL 36088.

Lloyd C. Helper

Dr. Helper (Illinois ’55), 92, Fort Collins, Colorado, died July 18, 2021. A charter diplomate and a past president of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, he was a professor emeritus and a past associate dean of academic and student affairs at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

Following graduation, Dr. Helper joined the veterinary faculty of the University of Illinois as an instructor. From 1956-58, he served in the Air Force Veterinary Corps, later attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Following his military service, Dr. Helper rejoined the faculty at the veterinary college, where he earned a master’s in clinical medicine and became a professor. In the mid 1960s, he developed an interest in veterinary ophthalmology, completing a postdoctoral fellowship in comparative ophthalmic pathology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Helper went on to establish the ophthalmology service at the Illinois veterinary college, serving as its chief until 1982, when he was named associate dean of academic and student affairs. He retired in 1993.

Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Helper served on the American Board of Veterinary Specialties from 1983-95. A past president of the Illinois State and Eastern Illinois VMAs, he also served as treasurer of the International Society of Veterinary Ophthalmology for 25 years and was named a founding honorary life member of the society. Known for his expertise in veterinary ophthalmology, Dr. Helper authored the fourth edition of the textbook “Magrane’s Canine Ophthalmology.”

In 2002, he established the Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd Helper Veterinary Student and Faculty Collegiality Awards at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2014, the veterinary college honored Dr. Helper with the Dr. Erwin Small Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Helper is survived by his wife, Jean; two sons and two daughters; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a brother and a sister. A son, Dr. David L. Helper (Illinois ’83), and a daughter, Dr. Patricia L. Helper (Illinois ’84), are also veterinarians. Memorials may be made to the Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd Helper Veterinary Student and Faculty Collegiality Award Fund, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Urbana, IL 61802.

Myron N. Jorgensen Jr.

Dr. Jorgensen (Kansas State ’64), 85, San Jose, California, died Feb. 3, 2021. Following graduation, he served two years in the Army Veterinary Corps, attaining the rank of captain. Dr. Jorgensen subsequently practiced small animal medicine for 45 years at Milpitas Animal Hospital in Milpitas, California. His wife, Helen; four children; nine grandchildren; and a sister survive him.

Randall D. Murray

Dr. Murray (Minnesota ’85), 62, Bemidji, Minnesota, died April 30, 2021. Following graduation, he worked in Blackduck, Minnesota, where he took ownership of the Blackduck Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Murray later established Friendly Veterinary Clinic in Bemidji, with a special interest in holistic medicine. His two children, two grandchildren, his mother, and three siblings survive him. Memorials may be made to Great River Rescue, 1612 Carr Lake Road SE, Bemidji, MN 56601.

Keith W. Powell

Dr. Powell (Auburn ’66), 78, Loudon, Tennessee, died Feb. 20, 2021. He owned Powell Animal Clinic, a small animal practice in Hollywood, Florida, for 34 years. Dr. Powell served as a captain in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. His wife, Justine; a daughter and a son; three grandchildren; and a sister survive him.

Steven M. Stiefel

Dr. Stiefel (Kansas State ’79), 74, Frederick, Maryland, died Feb. 25, 2021. Following graduation, he worked briefly with his father, Dr. Melvin Stiefel (Kansas State ’45), at Colorado Avenue Veterinary Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dr. Stiefel subsequently practiced small animal medicine in Wichita, Kansas, before joining the Army Veterinary Corps.

During his military career, he worked at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, also covering Frances E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah; attended the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., and was assigned to the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland; and served as a veterinary pathologist at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Dr. Stiefel culminated his service as chief of comparative pathology at AFRRI prior to retirement from the military.

In 1998, he joined Anmed Biosafe/Taconic Farms in Gaithersburg, Maryland, serving as a senior scientist of pathology until retirement in 2013. Dr. Stiefel is survived by his wife, Joyce; a son; his mother; and a sister and a brother.