In Memory – June 9, 2022

AVMA member

AVMA honor roll member

Nonmember

Joan M. Arnoldi

Dr. Arnoldi (Illinois ’63), 87, Cincinnati, died May 10, 2022. Following graduation, she worked in a mixed animal practice in Wausau, Wisconsin, focusing on companion animals. Dr. Arnoldi subsequently joined the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, serving as director of the Wisconsin Animal Health Laboratories and as state veterinarian. In 1988, she began a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service as lead of the Regulatory Enforcement and Animal Care program. Dr. Arnoldi later led the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, for three years. She eventually served as APHIS deputy administrator of veterinary services and as chief veterinary officer and retired as an associate administrator in 1999.

Dr. Arnoldi went on to serve as state veterinarian of Michigan and as director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Animal Industry Division. In 2009, she joined the AVMA as an assistant director of the Animal Welfare Division, retiring in 2011. Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Arnoldi was a past president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and represented the association in the AVMA House of Delegates from 1988-94. She was also a past member of the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board and held several leadership roles with the United States Animal Health Association, including serving as chair of its International Standards Committee.

In 2004, Dr. Arnoldi was honored with the APHIS Animal Health Award. She is survived by her family. Memorials may be made to the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians Foundation, P.O. Box 6396, Visalia, CA 93290.

Morgan N. Bosch-Dombrowski

Dr. Bosch-Dombrowski (Ohio State ’16), 31, Brooksville, Florida, died Nov. 15, 2021. An equine veterinarian, she practiced at Advanced Equine Dentistry in Dade City, Florida. Dr. Bosch-Dombrowski is survived by her husband, Jacob Dombrowski.

Gary A. Carrier

Dr. Carrier (Missouri ’72), 73, Panama City, Florida, died April 22, 2022. Following graduation, he served in the Air Force Veterinary Corps for two years at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia. Dr. Carrier subsequently worked at Pasadena Veterinary Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. He later established Baywood Veterinary Hospital in Cape Coral, Florida, where he practiced small animal medicine until retirement in 2013. Dr. Carrier is survived by his wife, Rebecca; a daughter and a son; five grandchildren; and a brother. Memorials may be made to Southeastern Guide Dogs, 4210 77th St. E., Palmetto, FL 34221.

Jennifer B. Davis

Dr. Davis (Auburn ’09), 44, Jacksonville, Florida, died April 16, 2022. She practiced small animal medicine at San Jose-Beauclerc Animal Hospital in Jacksonville. Dr. Davis previously worked at Deerwood Animal Clinic and Briarcliff Animal Hospital in Jacksonville. She was president of the Jacksonville Veterinary Medical Society and was a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the Florida VMA. Dr. Davis was active with the Golden Retriever Emergency Assistance Team Rescue of NE Florida. Her mother and brother survive her. Memorials may be made to GREAT Rescue of NE Florida Inc., P.O. Box 600878, Jacksonville, FL 32259.

Steven J. Helmink

Dr. Helmink (Illinois ’95), 51, Breese, Illinois, died April 1, 2022. Following graduation, he worked in Illinois’ Washington County before joining a practice in Breese. In 1999, Dr. Helmink established Clinton County Veterinary Services in Breese. He began farming full time in 2021. Dr. Helmink was a member of the Illinois State VMA, Clinton County Farm Bureau, and Farm Credit Illinois. He is survived by his wife, Lisa; a daughter and two sons; his mother; and three brothers and two sisters. Memorials toward the American Heart Association or St. Dominic Catholic Church may be made c/o Moss Funeral Home, 535 N. 5th St., Breese, IL 62230.

Robert M. Jackson

Dr. Jackson (Georgia ’84), 68, Lakeland, Florida, died Dec. 5, 2021. He owned Animal Medical Clinic, a small animal practice in Lakeland. Dr. Jackson was a member of the National Turkey Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, and the Coastal Conservation Association. A past president of the Lakeland Rotary Club, he was a Paul Harris Fellow. Dr. Jackson is survived by his life partner, Nanette Jameson-Lee; his mother; and a sister and a brother.

Austin R. Johnson Sr.

Dr. Johnson (Georgia ’59), 87, Kinston, North Carolina, died May 17, 2022. He founded Countryview Animal Hospital in Kinston. Active in his community, Dr. Johnson served as president of parent-teacher associations and was a member of the board of directors of the local health department. He was also active with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Kinston Toastmasters Club. Dr. Johnson’s wife, Ellen; a daughter; three grandchildren; and a brother survive him. Memorials may be made to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation, 4062 Peachtree Road, Suite A209, Atlanta, GA 30319.

William C. MacArthur

Dr. MacArthur (Michigan State ’94), 59, Bella Vista, Arkansas, died April 25, 2022. Following graduation, he served as president and director of research and development at Geneworks Inc., an avian genetic research company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. MacArthur subsequently founded and was chief veterinarian at Affordable Veterinary Services in Ann Arbor. He later served as chief medical officer and director of research and development at Zomedica in Ann Arbor. In recent years, Dr. MacArthur worked at Hancock Veterinary Services in Bella Vista, Arkansas, and at St. Francis Animal Hospital in Springdale, Arkansas. He is survived by two sons, his mother, a sister, and two brothers.

William E. Norris

Dr. Norris (Ohio State ’42), 101, Altoona, Wisconsin, died Dec. 2, 2021. He practiced in Valders, Wisconsin, prior to retirement in 1986. Earlier in his career, Dr. Norris worked as an artificial insemination technician in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and owned a practice in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He was a past president of the Northeastern Wisconsin VMA and served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin VMA. Active in his community, Dr. Norris was also a past president of the Valders Lions Club and served as treasurer of the Valders School Board. He is survived by his life partner, Agnes Smieja-Larson; two sons; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Thomas W. Swerczek

Dr. Swerczek (Kansas State ’64), 82, Lexington, Kentucky, died Jan. 9, 2022. Following graduation and after earning his doctorate in animal pathology from the University of Connecticut, he joined the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment’s Department of Veterinary Science. During his tenure, Dr. Swerczek served as a professor and conducted research that focused on the potential impacts of electrolyte changes, particularly in potassium and nitrate in winter pasture, and excesses or imbalances of those electrolytes in commercial grain. He retired in 2018.

Known for his expertise in equine medicine, Dr. Swerczek performed a necroscopy on famed racehorse Secretariat in 1989 and discovered his abnormally large heart, credited by many for the horse’s dominance on the racetrack. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science and was a reviewer for the American Journal of Veterinary Research.

Dr. Swerczek’s wife, Mary Ann; a daughter and a son; eight grandchildren; and two sisters and two brothers survive him. Memorials may be made to the Catholic Action Center, 1055 Industry Road, Lexington, KY 40505; Bluegrass Hospice Care, 1733 Harrodsburg Road, Lexington, KY 40504; or Cathedral of Christ the King, 299 Colony Blvd., Lexington, KY 40502.