In Memory – August 15, 2024

William R. Bentley

Dr. Bentley (Auburn ’56), 91, Toney, Alabama, died March 7, 2024. Following graduation, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Tennessee. Dr. Bentley subsequently served as a captain in the Air Force Veterinary Corps. In 1960, he moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he established Bentley Animal Hospital, a mixed animal practice. Dr. Bentley served the area for nearly 50 years. Active in his community, he was a trustee for schools in Hazel Green, Alabama, and helped establish the Hazel Green Volunteer Fire Department. Dr. Bentley is survived by three daughters, nine grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. Memorials toward Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine may be made to the Auburn University Foundation, 317 S. College St.,  Auburn, AL 36849.

John E. Cozad

Dr. Cozad (Texas A&M ’57), 90, College Station, Texas, died May 9, 2024. He was the former owner of Port Isabel Animal Clinic in Port Isabel, Texas. Earlier in his career, Dr. Cozad worked at Westbury Animal Hospital in Houston and owned Northern Oaks Bird & Animal Hospital in San Antonio. He was a past president of the Harris County VMA. Dr. Cozad was also a past president of the San Antonio chapter of the Delta Society, where he helped establish a pet grief hotline. His three daughters, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to the Texas A&M 12th Man Foundation, 756 Houston St., College Station, TX 77843, or Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, 660 Raymond Stotzer Parkway, College Station, TX 77843.

Michael L. Deason

Dr. Deason (Texas A&M ’68), 84, George West, Texas, died April 10, 2024. Following graduation, he joined Vidor Animal Clinic in Vidor, Texas, subsequently taking ownership of the practice. In 1977, Dr. Deason moved to George West, where he worked until 2000. He then practiced briefly in Austin  and Boyd, Texas. Dr. Deason ended his career at Baldwin & Crosstown Animal Clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas. His wife, Margaret; two sons and a daughter; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandchild survive him. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or Sunny Glen Children’s Home, P.O. Box 1373, San Benito, TX 78586.

Giselle Doucet

Dr. Doucet (Louisiana State ’24), 25, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died May 15, 2024. She was a recent veterinary graduate of Louisiana State University College of Veterinary Medicine. While in veterinary school, Dr. Doucet received an American Veterinary Medical Foundation/Merck Animal Health Scholarship and the Peri Tumay, DVM Memorial Fellowship. She was also honored with a 2024 American College of Veterinary Radiology’s Radiology Senior Veterinary Student Award. As an undergraduate student majoring in French language and biology at Louisiana State, Dr. Doucet was honored with a French language award and represented the university as the French language interpreter during the anniversary of the Normandy Invasion during World War II. She is survived by her family.

Albrecht Konrad Eugster

Dr. Eugster, 85, College Station, Texas, died July 21, 2024. A 1963 graduate of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria, he began his career practicing in Austria and Switzerland. Following his move in 1964 to the United States, Dr. Eugster served as a research scientist at what is now known as the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. He later earned a doctorate in veterinary microbiology from Colorado State University and joined the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) as head of veterinary microbiology. Dr. Eugster went on to serve as executive director of TVMDL and as associate vice chancellor for agriculture.

During his tenure as a microbiologist at TVMDL, he was instrumental in isolating and developing a vaccine against canine parvovirus type 2. Under his subsequent leadership, new programs were established at the TVMDL in aquaculture and molecular diagnostics and endocrinology along with drug testing for the horse and Greyhound racing industries. Dr. Eugster also directed Texas A&M University’s Feed and Fertilizer Control Service and raised funds for new facilities, including a poultry diagnostic laboratory in Center, Texas. After his retirement from the TVMDL, he served as a senior animal health adviser and consultant in Ethiopia, Southeast Asia, and Central America via Texas A&M’s Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. Dr. Eugster also served as an adviser to the university’s Institute for Countermeasures Against Agricultural Bioterrorism.

A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, he was a past president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and World Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. A member of the Texas VMA (TVMA), Dr. Eugster was the recipient of the TVMA Distinguished Career Achievement Award in 1984. He received the AAVLD E.L. Pope Award in 1994. In 2003, Dr. Eugster was honored with the AVMA-sponsored 65th XIIth International Veterinary Congress Prize and what is now known as the American Veterinary One Health Society’s Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Headed Cane Award. He also received honors and accolades from several other organizations, including the Texas Animal Health Commission, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Poultry Federation, and American Brahman Breeders Association.

Dr. Eugster is survived by his wife, Kathe; a son and a daughter; five grandchildren; and two brothers and a sister. Memorials, to establish the A. Konrad Eugster Memorial Awards Fund for TVMDL, and notated as such on the memo line of the check, may be made to the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840.

Robert E. “Bud” Hertzog

Dr. Hertzog (Missouri ’56), 92, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, died July 15, 2024. From 2005-06, he served as chair of what is now the AVMA Board of Directors. Dr. Hertzog began his career as an associate veterinarian at Lee’s Summit Animal Hospital. He later took ownership of the hospital, practicing there for 68 years. Dr. Hertzog also served as veterinarian for the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium for 20 years and the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City for 51 years.

He represented District VII on the AVMA Board from 2000-06 and served on several AVMA councils and committees, including the Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, Council on Research, Animal Agriculture Liaison Committee, Committee on Environmental Issues, Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee, and Legislative Advisory Committee. Dr. Hertzog was a past chair of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board and American Veterinary Medical Foundation and a past president of the Missouri and Kansas City VMAs. He was a charter member and served on the board of directors of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians.

During his career, Dr. Hertzog was bestowed with several honors, including being named Missouri VMA (MVMA) Veterinarian of the Year in 1973, the Mizzou Alumni Association’s Alumni Award in 1983, and the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Alumni Association’s Alumnus of the Year Award in 2011. The MVMA’s Robert E. Hertzog Veterinary Leadership Award was established in his honor.

Active in his community, Dr. Hertzog was a charter member of the Lee’s Summit Rotary Club and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a member of the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation, and Jackson County Farm Bureau. Dr. Hertzog served two terms on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District board of education. In 1997, he was inducted into the Lee’s Summit High School Hall of Fame and, in 2006, the Bud Hertzog Leadership Award was established in honor of his long-term support of the R-7 School District and community. In 2011, the Lee’s Summit High School football stadium was named after him.

Dr. Hertzog is survived by four sons, a daughter, 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, a brother, and a sister. One son, Dr. David C. Hertzog (Missouri ’92), is also a veterinarian. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church Missions Fund, 2 NE Douglas St., Lee's Summit, MO 64063; Lee’s Summit Historical Society, 220 SW Main St., Lee's Summit, MO 64063; or Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation, 301 NE Tudor Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64086.

Carolyn G. Self

Dr. Self (Tuskegee ’71), 80, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, died July 8, 2024. Following graduation, she joined Collingswood Veterinary Hospital in Haddon Township, New Jersey, where she practiced small animal medicine. Dr. Self also participated in rabies vaccine clinics and pet-assisted therapy visits to nursing homes and hospitals. She served on the New Jersey State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and was a member of the New Jersey VMA. Dr. Self also served on the executive council of the Tuskegee Veterinary Medical Alumni Association for several years. She retired in 2020. Her husband, Howrhu; two children; two grandchildren; and three siblings survive her. Memorials may be made to the New Jersey VMA, 750 Route 202 Suite 200, Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Veterinarians may also donate textbooks and other veterinary-related materials to individuals and organizations soliciting such items.

Michael B. Sigman

Dr. Sigman (Georgia ’76), 77, Mansfield, Georgia, died May 14, 2024. He owned a mixed animal practice in Covington, Georgia. Dr. Sigman served as a veterinary delegate with the Fédération Equestre Internationale for three-day eventing. He volunteered with the National FFA Organization and 4-H Club. Dr. Sigman is survived by his wife, Catharine; a son and a daughter; five grandchildren; and a sister. Memorials may be made to Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes, 5671 Boys Ranch Road, Hahira, GA 31632, or Georgia Equine Rescue League, 61 McElhannon Road SE, Bethlehem, GA 30620.

George N. Thomas

Dr. Thomas (Texas A&M ’50), 102, Whittier, California, died May 26, 2024. During his career, he owned Macy & Thomas Veterinary Hospital in Whittier and County Line Animal Hospital in La Habra, California. Dr. Thomas was active with Kiwanis International and the Masonic Lodge. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Dr. Thomas is survived by a daughter, a son, five grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201.

James P. Wright

Dr. Wright (Kansas State ’70), 79, Lake George, Colorado, died January 6, 2024. He practiced mixed animal medicine in Lake George. Dr. Wright also trained and showed horses and served as a horse judge. He was active with the Missouri Trail Rider Association and was a member of the Pikes Peak Range Riders. Dr. Wright is survived by his family. Memorials may be made to the Pikes Peak Range Riders Foundation, P.O. Box 758, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.

A version of this story appears in the October 2024 print issue of JAVMA

Please report the death of a veterinarian promptly to the AVMA 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, AVMA News must be notified within six months of the date of death.