In Memory – May 22, 2025

Thomas Joseph Bucci

Dr. Bucci (Pennsylvania ’59), 90, Mountain Home, Arizona, died April 22, 2025. He served in the Army Veterinary Corps, attaining the rank of colonel. Dr. Bucci was a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. His wife, Trudy; two sons and two daughters; four grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a great great-grandchild survive him. Memorials, with checks made payable to Gold Star, may be made to America’s Gold Star Families, P.O. Box 9696, Peoria, IL 61612, or Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675.

Donald G. Cheatham

Dr. Cheatham (Auburn ’61), 94, London, Kentucky, died April 27, 2025. From 1976 until retirement in 2001, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Tennessee and Alabama. During that time, Dr. Cheatham served as a field veterinarian, diagnostician, and epidemiologist in the national hog cholera and brucellosis eradication programs. In retirement, as a member of the National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps, he assisted with the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom and the exotic Newcastle disease outbreak in California and Texas. Early in his career, Dr. Cheatham owned a mixed animal practice in Morristown, Tennessee, and worked 13 years for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. In 1971, the Secretary of Agriculture honored him with a USDA Distinguished Service Award for his work as part of the state-federal Emergency Hog Cholera Control and Eradication Team.

Dr. Cheatham was a member of the Alabama VMA, National Association of Federal Veterinarians, and Alabama Cattlemen’s Association. He volunteered with the disaster relief services branch of the American Red Cross. Dr. Cheatham served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He is survived by his son, five grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his great great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37839, Boone, IA 50037.

Signe K. Hotchkiss

Dr. Hotchkiss (Cornell ’79), 71, Arkport, New York, died October 7, 2024. Following graduation, she began her career in Almond, New York. In 1981, Dr. Hotchkiss bought Almond Veterinary Hospital, where she practiced until 1994. She then began to work as a relief veterinarian in the area. Dr. Hotchkiss also served as president of L.H. Briggs Inc., a dairy farm in Arkport, since 2022. She is survived by her daughter and five grandchildren.  Memorials may be made to Barn Cat Outreach, P.O. Box 11, Springwater, NY 14560.

James Wayne Kyle

Dr. Kyle (Texas A&M ’56), 92, Carthage, Texas, died January 6, 2025. He began his career in Kilgore, Texas. Dr. Kyle subsequently founded Kyle Animal Clinic in Carthage and Shelby Veterinary Associates in Center, Texas, also providing his services to dairies in Louisiana. He was a past president of the East Texas VMA and Panola County Cattlemen’s Association and was a member of the Texas VMA (TVMA) and Louisiana VMA. In 2008, Dr. Kyle received the TVMA Distinguished Career Achievement Award. In 2013, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences honored him as a Distinguished Alumnus.

Active in his community, Dr. Kyle was a member of the Carthage Noon Lions Club, served on the Carthage Independent School District (ISD) School Board for more than 35 years, and was a founding member of the Carthage ISD Education Foundation. In 2005, the foundation named him a Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Kyle is survived by two daughters, a son, two grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. Memorials may be made to the Carthage ISD Education Foundation, #1 Bulldog Drive, Carthage, TX 75633, or First Methodist Church, 201 S. Shelby, Carthage, TX 75633.

Gary L. Norwood

Dr. Norwood (Texas A&M ’65), 83, McKinney, Texas, died March 31, 2025. He served as a racetrack veterinarian for more than 40 years prior to retirement in 2007. During that time, Dr. Norwood worked at racetracks in Miami and New England and served as a partner at Back-Stretch Surgery and Medicine with offices at the former Arlington Downs Racetrack in Chicago; Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas; and Louisiana Downs Racetrack in Shreveport, Louisiana. Early in his career, he served in the Army Veterinary Corps during the Vietnam War.

Dr. Norwood was a past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and served on several of its committees. He was also a past president of the World Equine Veterinary Association and Texas Equine Veterinary Association and was a past chair of the former Louisiana VMA (LVMA) Equine Committee. In 1981, Dr. Norwood was named LVMA Veterinarian of the Year. In 2007, the AAEP honored him with its Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Norwood is survived by his wife, Nancy, a son, and a daughter.

Karen Sue Platt-McClure

Dr. Platt-McClure (Colorado State ’92), 57, Hugoton, Kansas, died April 20, 2025. She practiced in Kansas’ Steven County. Dr. McClure is survived by her husband, Joel; a daughter and two sons; and a sister and a brother. Her daughter, Dr. Emma S. McClure (Kansas State ’25) is also a veterinarian. Memorials, toward Bethel Friends Church, may be made c/o Robson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 236, Hugoton, KS 67951.

James G. Savoini

Dr. Savoini (Colorado State ’59), 91, Prescott, Arizona, died April 29, 2025. A large animal veterinarian for more than 40 years, he was a former owner of Prescott Animal Hospital. Dr. Savoini served two terms on the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. In retirement, he ranched for several years. An avid roper, Dr. Savoini was active with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association for many years. He is survived by his son, daughter, and five grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Maggie’s Hospice, 801 Miller Valley Road, Prescott, AZ 86301, or Yavapai County Mounted Sheriff Posse Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 95, Prescott, AZ 86302.

Fred W. Scott

Dr. Scott (Cornell ’62), 89, Brooktondale, New York, died April 24, 2025. Following graduation, he practiced mixed animal medicine in rural Vermont. Dr. Scott subsequently earned his doctorate in virology from Cornell University and joined the veterinary faculty as an assistant professor of virology. He later became a professor, also serving as founding director of the Cornell Feline Health Center for 22 years prior to retirement in 1996. During his tenure, Dr. Scott conducted research on feline viral diseases and vaccine development and taught courses in infectious diseases.

A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, he was a past president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (now called the FelineVMA), a past chair of the AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, and served on the Food and Drug Administration’s former Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee. In 1997, the annual feline symposium conducted by the Cornell Feline Health Center was renamed the Fred Scott Feline Symposium. In 2013, the annual meeting of the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases was dedicated to Dr. Scott for spending much of his career advancing feline health.

He is survived by his wife, Lois; three sons; 11 grandchildren; and 30 great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Bethel Grove Bible Church, 1763 Slaterville Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, or Hospicare of Ithaca, 172 E. King Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.

A version of this story appears in the July 2025 print issue of JAVMA

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