Class Notes

Ron Morrison-Smith, 66, a retired special education teacher, on Jan. 17, 2021, in Kennewick.

Daniel E. Cleator, 50, an avid adventure traveler who spent many years working in management, on July 21, 2020. 

Loretta Backstrom, 62, who taught skiing, wind surfing and accounting, on Feb. 23, 2021. 

Tom Evans, 53, who worked for the state Department of Enterprise Services, on Feb. 9, 2021, in Olympia. 

Jerry Tegarden, 72, a musician and songwriter in Bellingham, on Feb. 1, 2021.

Dale B. Drewry, 54, a land surveyor, on Sept. 19, 2020.

Jamie Frances Beck, 54, a former flight attendant in graduate school for a master’s degree in high school counseling, on Dec. 26, 2020, in Issaquah. 

Karen Wayerski, 78, a retired elementary school teacher in Bellingham, on Nov. 15, 2020. 

Richard Grendon, 73, a retired millwright and supervisor, lecturer and x-ray technologist, on June 13, 2020, in Bellingham.

Christine Harem, 36, a comptroller and outdoor adventure enthusiast, on Dec. 11, 2020.

Oliver Wilgress, 82, who earned a master’s degree in geography in 1969 at Western and retired from Western’s Facilities Planning department in 2000, on Nov. 21, 2020, in Bellingham.

Walter Everett Springer, 76, a longtime security officer at Western and a member of the class of 1965, on June 22, 2020.

Thaddeaus H. Spratlen, a prolific business marketing and development scholar who was the first Black faculty member at the University of Washington Foster School of Business and the first Black male faculty member at WWU, on May 18, 2021. Dr. Spratlen established the Spratlen Diversity and Inclusion Grant at Western to honor his late wife Lois and to thank the community that welcomed his young family in the 1960s.

Edwin Curmie Price, 81, a former member of the English faculty, who helped establish the College of Ethnic Studies at Western in 1969, on April 23, 2021. After leaving Western in 1971, Dr. Price taught at several colleges in the Cleveland area and was awarded a Fulbright to teach in Zambia. He later worked in county government, served on the board of the East Cleveland Library and wrote two volumes of poetry. 

Cloid “Chuck” Page, 85, a retired officer with University Police, on Nov. 29, 2020, in Bellingham.

Edward Neuzil, 90, professor emeritus of chemistry, on Dec. 5, 2020.

Leonard Helfgott, 83, professor emeritus of history, primarily Middle Eastern history, Jewish history, the immigrant experience and American radicalism, on April 8, 2021, in Bellingham. 

George Drake, 90, professor emeritus of sociology and former director of the Center for East Asian Studies, special assistant to the president for international programs, and director of the Office of International Programs, on Aug. 31, 2020, in Bellingham. Dr. Drake also served on the Bellingham City Council and helped create Big Rock Garden Park.

Geraldine DeMarco, 86, who worked as a bookbinder for Western Libraries, on March 27, 2021. 

Joshua McCormick, 25, on Nov. 11, 2020, in a small plane crash on Whidbey Island.