He built a successful career in health and safety management at the University of Wisconsin, where his dedication and professionalism left a lasting impact.
Category: Obituaries
Madison architect Kenton Peters dead at 93. Here are some of his best-known projects
A UW-Madison alumnus and former Badgers football player, Peters began his career in Madison in the early 1960s and was a prominent figure in the city’s development scene into the 2000s. He designed and built two of the high-rise condominiums now overlooking Lake Monona, including the metallic Marina building, among numerous other distinctive projects Downtown, on the UW-Madison campus and throughout the region. Many are still standing — and standing out — today.
Vigil honors former Rufus King, UW Madison running back Nate White
A balloon release vigil was held at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee to honor Nate White, a former Rufus King and Badger running back who died last week.
After playing at Rufus King High School and then UW Madison, White then transferred to South Dakota State and played there for six months. Throughout his time out of state, family and friends said White kept in close contact with the community in Wisconsin.
Walter E. Dewey
He graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1979 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1989.
In the final weeks of Walter’s life, he and his family established a focused strategy to advance pancreatic immunology research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to support this initiative.
Wisconsin native, Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas dies at 89
Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wisconsin as the second of three children, he was raised on a small farm near Antigo and grew up with an interest in horses.
He earned a master’s degree in education at UW-Madison, then taught at La Crosse Logan High School, where he was head basketball coach.
D. Wayne Lukas, horse trainer who saddled winners from coast to coast, dies at 89
Darrell Wayne Lukas was born on Sept. 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wis., where his parents had a farm. He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a high school teacher and basketball coach in La Crosse, Wis.
Former Wisconsin football player dies at 20 in South Dakota
Former University of Wisconsin football player Nate White has died.
Details of White’s death have not yet been released. White’s death was confirmed to BadgerExtra by an official at South Dakota State, the program White transferred to in January. White was in Brookings, South Dakota, at the time of his death, the official confirmed.
Former Wisconsin Badgers player, Milwaukee Rufus King standout Nate White has died
Nate White, former Wisconsin Badgers football player and Milwaukee Rufus King graduate, has died. He was 20 years old.
The UW athletic department announced the news in social media posts. Details of the circumstances of White’s death weren’t immediately available. His current program, South Dakota State University, told media outlets that he died in Brookings, South Dakota. No other information was immediately available.
Cliff Behnke, former ‘old-school’ Wisconsin State Journal managing editor, dies
After graduating, he enrolled at UW-Madison to study journalism where he wrote, beginning in 1962, for The Daily Cardinal student newspaper. He rose to become editor-in-chief, spending so much time there and at his first reporting job for the State Journal, that he flunked an art history class and delayed his college graduation.
After college, he was drafted into the Army, where he helped produce a military newspaper at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., from 1967 to 1969. He then returned to the State Journal and covered City Hall, the Capitol, UW-Madison, the bombing of Sterling Hall in 1970 and waves of anti-Vietnam War protests. He was 29 when, in 1973, he was named city editor. He was promoted to managing editor in 1989 and senior managing editor in 2003.
Richard Kosmacher, co-owned Joy of Ireland and helped launch car-sharing operation, dies
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1981 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning ‘Simpsons’ composer, dies at 84
Clausen was born March 28, 1941, in Minneapolis, but grew up in Jamestown, N.D. He earned degrees from North Dakota State University, the University of Wisconsin and Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He later studied film scoring with Earle Hagen and was a two-year member of Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshop.
Michael Ledeen, Reagan adviser in early Iran-contra outreach, dies at 83
He received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1962 from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He earned a doctorate in history and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin in 1969 while he was an assistant professor of history at Washington University in St. Louis.
Reagan admin official who helped America defeat communism dead at age 83
Ledeen was born in Los Angeles in 1941 and authored numerous books on national security, including “Perilous Statecraft: An Insider’s Account of the Iran-Contra Affair.” He earned a Ph.D. in history and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His academic advisor at Wisconsin was the prominent historian George Mosse, who fled Nazi Germany because of antisemitism.
Richard A. Steeves
After specialty training in radiation oncology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Richard and family moved to Madison in 1980. Richard joined the faculty of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin and remained as emeritus professor.
Mary Schroeder
While working full-time and raising four children as a young widow she returned to school, earned an undergraduate degree in Art Education, and started a career as a network administrator in 1984 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Marvin Joseph Fruth
Marvin became a professor of Educational Administration and eventually served as Department Chair until his retirement. He leaves a legacy as Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin.
Robert W. McChesney, who warned of corporate media control, dies at 72
Intellectually restless, he then enrolled in graduate school at the University of Washington, earning a Ph.D. in communications in 1989. For a decade, he taught in the journalism and mass communication department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Robert McChesney led the fight for journalism and democracy
Bob was a distinguished University of Wisconsin professor who was gaining an international reputation for his groundbreaking analysis of the threat to democracy posed by corporate control of media.
Douglas Yanggen
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
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
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
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.
Brady Williamson, Madison legal giant defending free speech, dies
In 1991, Williamson served as one of the lead attorneys in a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin system’s Board of Regents, which had banned students from using racist or discriminatory language. The court found the hate speech code unconstitutional.
Stanley Inhorn Obituary (1928 – 2025)
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.
William Dove Obituary (1936 – 2025)
He was Professor Emeritus of Oncology and Medical Genetics, and Streisinger Professor of Experimental Biology at UW-Madison.
Stanley Lee Inhorn
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.
Andrew “Andy” Taylor
He also worked in finance for the University for his entire career, serving most recently as a budget design team lead.
Brady Williamson, Madison legal giant defending free speech, dies
Williamson also taught periodically at UW-Madison’s Law School and worked on constitutional and election law projects internationally, including in Iraq, Sudan and Ukraine. In addition, he was a trustee for the William T. Evjue Charitable Trust.
Dr. E. K. (Ken) Greenwald
Ken was cajoled out of retirement to join the University of Wisconsin engineering faculty. In that capacity, he lectured around the world.
Stephen L. Barclay
Steve was a professor in the Bacteriology Department at the University of Wisconsin.
Molly Rose (Morrison) Philosophos
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
In 1978 Dr. Test joined the social work faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
James Edward Kirchstein
He earned a BSEE from UWMadison and later worked as an electrical engineer for UW and the State of Wisconsin.
Richard Bruce Bilder
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Michael J. “Mike” Collins
He was an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin.
Mary Teresa Zellmer
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.
Longtime columnist John Oncken was champion for Wisconsin agriculture and its people
After finishing his education, John and his new bride, Jennette headed north to Clark County where he secured a job as an Extension agent.
Margaret Mott
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
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
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.
Marshall Brickman, UW alum who co-wrote ‘Annie Hall’ with Woody Allen, dies at 85
The Oscar-winning screenwriter Marshall Brickman, whose wide-ranging career spanned some of Woody Allen’s best films, the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” and a number of Johnny Carson’s most beloved sketches, has died
‘He was the guy’: How Rudy Martzke invented the sports media beat
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Martzke graduated from the University of Wisconsin and worked for a few newspapers and ABA teams. (He liked to tell people he helped hire Bob Costas at the Spirits of St. Louis.) Eventually, he ended up at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, before moving to the D.C. area to help launch USA Today.
‘Airplane!’ filmmaker Jim Abrahams, a Shorewood High School alum, has died
While students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Abrahams and his friends Jerry and David Zucker and Dick Chudnow started the comedy group Kentucky Fried Theater, which combined video satires of TV commercials and a stage show.
John Bryant Wyman
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
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
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
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
Finally, she worked for the University of Wisconsin division of Extension, managing education programs around the state.
Georgia Wagner
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
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
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
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.
Flora (Flo) Victoria Smith
While living in Madison, Flo worked for the University of Wisconsin, Madison as an Account Specialist until her retirement.
Patricia Ann Kalscheur
She worked for many years for the State of Wisconsin and the UW Medical School until her retirement in 2013.