In Memory – January 30, 2025
Member status key:
AVMA member | AVMA honor roll member | Nonmember
Gary H. Brotze
Dr. Brotze (Texas A&M ’67), 80, New Braunfels, Texas, died August 24, 2024. He practiced at Creek View Veterinary Clinic in New Braunfels. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brotze served two years in the Army and worked at a clinic in Universal City, Texas. His wife, Terri; four children; five grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and a brother survive him. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284.
Errick A. Clayborn
Dr. Clayborn (Kansas State ’98), 51, Wichita, Kansas, died June 3, 2024. He practiced at Clayborn Veterinary Services in Wichita and Caring Hands Humane Society in Newton, Kansas. Dr. Clayborn is survived by his wife, Carissa; two children; a grandchild; and his mother.
Prem Nath Dua
Dr. Dua, 88, McLean, Virginia, died August 14, 2024. A 1956 veterinary graduate of CCS Haryana Agricultural University in India, he served as a veterinary pathologist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for more than 30 years. Dr. Dua retired in 2010 as the senior regulatory toxicologic veterinary pathologist in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). He is survived by two sons and his grandchildren.
Glenn Marvin Frank
Dr. Frank (Michigan State ’65), 83, Colorado Springs, Colorado, died September 21, 2024. He was the founder of Yorkshire Veterinary Hospital in Colorado Springs, where he practiced small animal medicine for almost 50 years. Dr. Frank also served on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region (HSPPR) for 17 years. In 1999, he was honored with the HSPPR Volunteer of the Year Award. Dr. Frank was a veteran of the Air Force. His wife, Karen; two daughters; and two grandchildren survive him. Memorials, toward the planting of a flowering plum tree, may be made to First Lutheran Church, 1515 N. Cascade, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 (for online donations, please choose Memorial Fund Gifts in the drop down menu).
William Dwight Hooton
Dr. Hooton (Colorado State ’87), 75, Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, died June 22, 2024. He owned a mobile mixed animal practice, focusing on equine medicine. Dr. Hooton also served as a relief veterinarian at Arroyo Seco Animal Hospital in Espanola, New Mexico. Following graduation, he practiced equine medicine in Santa Fe, New Mexico; in Kentucky at Simpsonville and Harrodsburg; and at Loving Touch Animal Hospital in Conyers, Georgia. In 1998, Dr. Hooton moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he worked at Dubai Equine Hospital and cared for Arabian horses competing in endurance events worldwide.
Upon his return to the United States, he practiced in El Paso, Texas. Dr. Hooton then owned Elk Park Animal Hospital, a mixed animal practice in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, until 2012. Certified by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, he was a past president of the society and was a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Dr. Hooton’s two daughters, two grandchildren, and a sister survive him. Memorials may be made to The Foundation for the Horse, 4033 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511.
Charles F. Kirkland
Dr. Kirkland (Oklahoma State ’67), 81, Winterville, North Carolina, died September 10, 2024. He is survived by his family.
Robert F. McConnell
Dr. McConnell (Purdue ’64), 85, Penn Valley, California, died July 17, 2024. He was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Dr. McConnell is survived by his family.
Donald A. Miele
Dr. Miele (Pennsylvania ’70), 85, Virginia Beach, Virginia, died December 1, 2024. In 1973, he established Little Creek Veterinary Clinic, a small animal practice in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Miele previously worked in Newport News, Virginia. He was a founding member and a past president of an emergency veterinary hospital in Virginia Beach and was a member of the Virginia VMA. Dr. Miele was a veteran of the Army. He is survived by his wife, Mary; seven children; 13 grandchildren; and a brother.
Stuart Lindbergh Nelson Jr.
Dr. Nelson (Missouri ’76), 71, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, died September 20, 2024. He practiced small animal medicine in Sandpoint, Idaho, and Ketchikan, Alaska. Since 1996, Dr. Nelson served as chief veterinarian for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, conducted research, and implemented protocols to improve the wellbeing and care of sled dogs. During his career, he also worked with Standardbred racehorses and served as a relief veterinarian.
Dr. Nelson was a founding member and served on the board of directors of the International Sled Dog VMA. In 2015, he received the AVMA Meritorious Service Award for his work with sled dogs. Dr. Nelson is survived by his sister. His father, Dr. Stuart L. Nelson Sr. (Ohio State ’52), was also a veterinarian. Memorials may be made to The Gideons International, P.O. Box 97251, Washington, DC 20090.
Patricia L. Prather-Stephens
Dr. Prather-Stephens (Auburn ’88), 67, Nancy, Kentucky, died September 7, 2024. She was a small animal veterinarian. Dr. Prather-Stephens volunteered with the Pulaski County Animal Shelter and was a past president of the Pulaski County chapter of Love on a Leash, a nonprofit organization that provides pet therapy. She is survived by her husband, Doug; four children; and eight grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the Pulaski County Animal Shelter, 235 Adopt Me Lane, Somerset, KY 42501.
Please report the death of a veterinarian 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.