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Category: Obituaries

Douglas Yanggen

Wisconsin State Journal

After a brief stint working for the State of Kentucky in Frankfurt, he returned to Madison, Wis. and worked the rest of his career as a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He worked for the UW extension outreach service primarily advising state and local governments on legal aspects of natural resource management issues such as the conservation of wetlands, shorelines, and farmland.

Lowell H. Mays

Wisconsin State Journal

In 1970, he became a Professor at the University of Wisconsin, serving joint appointments in Medicine and Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. He was a clinical staff member of the University Health Service until 1987.

Ann Carol Palmenberg, Ph.D

Wisconsin State Journal

Ann was a professor of virology and biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Emeritus 2023-present of Biochemistry and Institute for Molecular Virology. Her journey started in Zurich, Switzerland for her post-doctoral work and she continued her work at the University of Wisconsin often traveling the world in support of her research. She has been recipient of multiple global and national awards in the field of virology. Ann was also very involved with both women’s and men’s sports teams at University of Wisconsin serving on the Athletic Board.

Gregory Robert Wood

Wisconsin State Journal

Greg moved to Madison, Wisconsin and worked at the University of Wisconsin for 34 years, first as a custodian and then as a custodial supervisor.

Stanley Inhorn Obituary (1928 – 2025)

Wisconsin State Journal

At UW, Stan was appointed Assistant Professor of Pathology and Assistant Director of the WSLH in 1960. He became Director of the WSLH in 1966, a position he held until 1979, when he was asked by the UW Medical School to create a Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Stanley Lee Inhorn

Wisconsin State Journal

At UW, Stan was appointed Assistant Professor of Pathology and Assistant Director of the WSLH in 1960. He became Director of the WSLH in 1966, a position he held until 1979, when he was asked by the UW Medical School to create a Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. During his long career at WSLH, Stan pursued many different lines of medical research and public health intervention.

Dr. E. K. (Ken) Greenwald

Wisconsin State Journal

Ken was cajoled out of retirement to join the University of Wisconsin engineering faculty. In that capacity, he lectured around the world.

Molly Rose (Morrison) Philosophos

Wisconsin State Journal

In 2016, Tim and Molly moved to Madison, Wis., where their three Badger children also lived, and she began her dream job as a fundraiser for the UW-Madison School of Business through the UW Foundation and Alumni Association. Her commitment to her craft and passion for the university translated into professional exceptionalism in her role as managing senior director of development.

Mary Ann Test

Wisconsin State Journal

In 1978 Dr. Test joined the social work faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Richard Bruce Bilder

Wisconsin State Journal

Richard’s career was dedicated to the challenges of international law and the betterment of international relations. He worked in the Office of Legal Advisor at the U.S. State Department, before coming to Madison, where was a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin for more than 50 years.

Sharon James

Wisconsin State Journal

She left her tenured position to return to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she entered higher education administration, serving as both Assistant and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for UW Systems.

John Olson

Wisconsin State Journal

In addition to his coaching career, John served as Assistant Principal at Madison Memorial and later as a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was employed for 44 years in public education as a teacher, coach, and administrator, teaching at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. He also prepared aspiring teachers and coaches for careers in education for seven years while teaching at the School of Education at UW-Madison.

Charlene Kate Kavanagh

Wisconsin State Journal

Dr. Kate went on to become an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine and School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Michael L Symons

Wisconsin State Journal

Mike retired from the UW-Madison Physical Plant in 2008 after more than 30 years of service.

Jean Milant, founder of Cirrus Gallery and Cirrus Editions, dies at 81

Los Angeles Times

Milant was born in Milwaukee in 1943, and earned a degree in fine art from the University of Wisconsin before beginning his career as a painter. He spent time in a master’s program at the University of New Mexico in 1967, before heading to Los Angeles to begin his printmaking work at Tamarind. He founded Cirrus with $1200 in a Hollywood space that Ruscha helped him find near his studio. The collector Terry Inch later bought shares of Cirrus, becoming a behind-the-scenes partner.

William Lawrence Church

Wisconsin State Journal

He retired as Volkman-Bascom Distinguished Teaching Professor of Law after teaching for 50 years at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He received numerous awards for excellence in teaching.

Mary Teresa Zellmer

Wisconsin State Journal

For several years, Mary worked with the Theater Department at UW-Madison, a highlight of which was traveling throughout the U.S. with performing theater students.

Margaret Mott

Wisconsin State Journal

While nurturing her family, she worked as a Staff Nurse at Methodist Hospital; UW-Madison Student Health Services as a Nurse Clinician (earning the first certification in Wis) and Health Information Materials Coordinator until her retirement in 2000.

Kristine Lea Winneke

Wisconsin State Journal

After three years, they returned to Madison, Wis., and Kristine obtained a position in the Secretary of State Office. Uncomfortable with elections changing office conditions, Kristine resigned and took a position at the University of Wisconsin Department of Engineering in the continuing education office.

Julie Schneider

Wisconsin State Journal

Her professional life was equally commendable, serving as the Director of the Medical Library at Mercy Hospital in Janesville followed by a career at the UW Madison School of Medicine.

John Bryant Wyman

Wisconsin State Journal

Bry left the Marshfield Clinic in 1992 and, after a brief stint as a farm hand in Illinois, he began a faculty position at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He treated patients and taught medical students until his 80th birthday. In his later practice, he focused on irritable bowel syndrome and other chronic functional disorders. Patients who had suffered debilitating symptoms for years remain grateful for the healing he gave them.

Edward J. Prendergast

Wisconsin State Journal

Ed worked as an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin, 1980-1982, and was a Partner at Dean Medical Center (now SSM Health) in the Department of Hematology/Oncology, 1982-2014.

Robert “Dober” Dobson

Wisconsin State Journal

He retired from his glazing career while working for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dober formed more amazing friendships while working for the UW. Those who rode the rideshare van looked forward to hearing Dobers stories and they would all laugh on their ride into work.

James A. Lindblade, MD

Wisconsin State Journal

He delivered more than 3,000 babies throughout his career, primarily at Madison General Hospital (now Meriter). He was a partner for 20 years at the Quisling Clinic. He then worked at the University Health Services and the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

Gloria M. Green

Wisconsin State Journal

Finally, she worked for the University of Wisconsin division of Extension, managing education programs around the state.

Georgia Wagner

Wisconsin State Journal

She worked for the State of Wisconsin in the coastal management program and at the Wisconsin state capitol before beginning a long-term career as an administrator at the University of Wisconsin. She worked in the school of nursing but spent most of her career as a graduate advisor, first in the department of Economics and later in the department of Limnology and Water Chemistry. At both departments, she provided support and advice to generations of graduate students.

Barry L. Sievers

Wisconsin State Journal

Barry joined the UW-Madison Office of Clinical Trials as the Finance Manager, where he oversaw all federal and non-federal research budgets on top of the department’s operations budget. Most recently, Barry held the title of Senior Financial Manager for the Institute of Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he served since 2011.

Joyce Agnes Tikalsky

Wisconsin State Journal

After working for a number of technical firms as a technical writer and editor in the Madison area, she taught herself web design and became the webmaster for the UW-Madison College of Engineering.

Amy S. Hall

Wisconsin State Journal

Amy had a fulfilling and impactful career, most recently with the UW School of Medicine and Public Health as the Division Administrator for Geriatrics and Gerontology. She loved her coworkers and role, often referring to it as her dream job.

James M. “Jim” Huffer, M.D.

Wisconsin State Journal

Jim joined the Orthopedics Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and eventually became a partner at Bone and Joint Surgery and Associates. In addition to patient care, he was a highly regarded teacher, earning the student-given UW Medical School teaching award twice. Jim also cared for and mentored student athletes on the UW football, basketball and hockey teams. The UW Hockey team won the NCAA National Championship in 1973, while Jim was the team physician.

William M. Reynolds

Wisconsin State Journal

Bill served as director of the graduate program in school psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and held appointments as principal investigator at the Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development and as discipline chief of Psychology of the University Affiliated Program at the Waisman Center.

Carla Thompson Leskinen

Wisconsin State Journal

Carla dedicated a significant part of her career to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working in both the School of Agriculture and the Art Department.

Jack Cipperly

Wisconsin State Journal

He served as an Assistant Dean in the College of Letters and Science, working with students and staff for thirty­ two years, which seemed a job made in heaven for him.

Catherine Armstrong Reznikoff

Wisconsin State Journal

Dr. Reznikoff was the first woman to earn a PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and went on to become a Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned international recognition for using novel techniques to define genetic changes in transitional cell carcinoma. Dr. Reznikoff served as Chair of the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, underscoring her reputation and her integrity.

Blair Mathews

Wisconsin State Journal

He returned to his beloved University of Wisconsin until his retirement in 1994. During those decades Blair served as an Associate Dean in the College of Letters and Science, Assistant Dean in the Dean of Students Office and assistant to the Vice Provost. He counseled and advised countless students throughout his career whose lives he significantly influenced. Blair supervised doctoral and masters degree students as they served as clinical interns in the University Counseling Services.

Pamela Kay Winne

Wisconsin State Journal

Pam taught elementary education in the Cottage Grove and Monona School Districts for seven years, until she joined Dr. Dempsey’s Neurosurgery team at the University of Wisconsin as a research coordinator. She finished her career as a research coordinator for the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP) study at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute.

Peter R. “Pete” Weiler Jr.

Wisconsin State Journal

In the same year, Pete received a fellowship in physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where he earned a master’s degree in physics and a doctorate in physics. The University became home to him. He worked in Environmental Sciences and throughout his career, received many honors.

Charles S Lueck

Wisconsin State Journal

He was admitted to the state bar in 1969 and was an Attorney at Law for the University of Wisconsin (1969-2002) where he practiced Higher Education Law. He traveled extensively during his career giving speeches and presentations on the new and developing higher education field of law.

Waltraud Emilie Dorothee Gartzke

Wisconsin State Journal

In the early years of their marriage, Emy was the main breadwinner for the family, using her training in chemistry to find employment in the laboratories at what was then Rayovac, then later with Dr. Beinert at the Enzyme Institute and ending up with Dr. Ganther at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the U.W.

John Straughn

Wisconsin State Journal

After receiving a masters in chemistry at UW-Madison, he obtained a position with the University of Wisconsin Safety Department as a chemist for 26 years.

David Sulman

Wisconsin State Journal

In 1966, they moved to Madison, where David served as a physician for 35 years at the University of Wisconsin Student Health Service and the VA Hospital, where he compassionately provided care for generations of students and veterans. He was Associate Professor at UW Medical School.

Dr. Gary Philip Williams

Wisconsin State Journal

He moved to Madison, Wisconsin and did a two-year pediatric residency at the University of Wisconsin. Gary then began working at the General Pediatric and Adolescent Clinic of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was Associate Professor of Pediatrics with expertise in pediatric dermatology.

Sandra Deanna Paske

Wisconsin State Journal

Then in 1986, she was hired by UW-Madison, General Library System where Sandra remained until she retired with emeritus in 2011 as Head of Microimaging Services. During Sandra’s tenure with the UW-Madison library system, she played a key role in the establishment and development of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.

Duane Anderson

Wisconsin State Journal

He managed National Food stores in Madison for many years and then was employed by University Housing until his retirement in 1990.