Steven Terry Slavsky, 63, on Dec. 30, 2019.
Class Notes
Class Notes include professional accomplishments, awards, retirements, weddings, obituaries and other news about Western Washington University alumni; they’re gathered from published reports and communication from alumni themselves.
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Obituaries
Steven Terry Slavsky - 1980
Kevin Marc Montgomery - 1979
Kevin Marc Montgomery, 62, a retired auditor for the state of Washington, on Oct. 7, 2019.
Joel Mark Fearn - 1979
Joel Mark Fearn, 63, on Nov. 11, 2019, in Friendship, Maine, where he had served as town clerk for 20 years.
Georgie “Jean” Matthews - 1978
Georgie “Jean” Matthews, 77, retired director of the Human Services Department at Skagit Valley College, where she received a Teacher of the Year award and served as faculty union president, on Jan. 13, 2020, in Bellingham.
Richard Edwin VanCooten - 1977
Richard Edwin VanCooten, 78, a U.S. Army veteran and retired shop teacher who once restored a 1929 Ford coup and drove it over the Rocky Mountains, on April 10, 2020.
Patricia Ann Sigler - 1976
Patricia Ann Sigler, 75, a retired elementary school teacher in Edmonds and Lake Stevens, on April 26, 2020, in Camano Island.
Lance Lee McIntyre - 1976
Lance Lee McIntyre, 75, a retired school psychologist, on Jan. 30, 2020, in Cañon City, Colorado.
Charles Arthur “Bud” Davis - 1976
Charles Arthur “Bud” Davis, 66, a longtime math, science and driver’s ed teacher and coach, on Feb. 11, 2020.
John Michael “Mike” Elmer - 1973
John Michael “Mike” Elmer, 71, a retired school psychologist in the East Providence School District in Rhode Island, on Feb. 23, 2020.
Frank DeFreytas - 1973
Frank DeFreytas, 76, who ran a bed and breakfast in Bellingham, on Jan. 11, 2020.
Judy Smith - 1972
Judy Smith, 68, who taught special needs children and piano, and later worked in management at Horizon Airlines, Zellerbach, the city of Bellevue and World Vision. on Dec. 30, 2019.
Shaw Gynan - FAC
Shaw Gynan, 66, professor emeritus of Spanish and linguistics, on Oct. 28, 2020. He was a sociolinguist well-known for his work on bilingualism and language policy; he also became the preeminent scholar of Guaraní, a language of Paraguay.
Lyle “Gene” Abbott - ST
Lyle “Gene” Abbott, 82, a U.S. Army veteran who worked as a painter at Western for 25 years, on Dec. 2, 2019.
Iris Eileen Jones - 2006
Iris Eileen Jones, 88, an award-winning travel writer and former contributing editor for the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, on July 8, 2020, in Bellingham.
Casey Gunderson - 2004
Casey Gunderson, 36, who worked as a flight attendant and ran several businesses, on Feb. 14, 2020.
John Underwood - FAC
John Underwood, 75, professor emeritus of Spanish and Linguistics at Western, on Jan. 12, 2020.
Mary Rowland Robinson - ST
Mary Rowland Robinson, 92, who spent two decades at Western in leadership roles in Student Affairs, Continuing Education, Academic Administration and as associate vice president for Human Resources, on March 30, 2020 in North Carolina.
Art Phinney - FAC
Art Phinney, a former softball coach at Western, who led the team to the first national team championship in school history, on July 15, 2019, in Vancouver, Washington.
Trula Morehead Nicholas - FAC
Trula Morehead Nicholas, 65, an associate professor in Woodring’s Human Services Program, on Nov. 8, 2020, in Bellingham. Nicholas, ’85, B.A., ’87, M.S., psychology, was the co-recipient of Western’s Diversity Achievement Award.
Bernice “Bonnie” Gertrude Marshall Ledray - ST
Bernice “Bonnie” Gertrude Marshall Ledray, 93, a 1971 graduate of Western who also worked as executive secretary to the president and as a records officer in Archives, on Feb. 4, 2020.