Remembering Pacific friends and family.
Jack McLarty (Obituary)
Jack McLarty passed away June 10 at the age of 92. An artist from a young age, McLarty attended the Portland Museum Art School (now called the Pacific Northwest College of Art) and graduated in 1940. He went on to study art in New York before returning to the Portland area to teach at PNCA for 35 years. Along with his wife, Barbara, Jack donated many pieces of art to Pacific University that are now a part of the University’s Permanent Art Collection. The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
Joe Frazier (Obituary)
Joe Frazier passed away May 17. A history and geography professor, Frazier taught at Pacific from 1968 to 1992. Upon his retirement, Pacific awarded Frazier with faculty emeritus status. Frazier graduated from Reed College in 1950 and taught at Portland State University before coming to Pacific. In addition to his contributions as an educator, Frazier also gave monetary gifts and donated historical periodicals to the University’s library. To read more, click here. The Sunday Oregonian, Portland, Ore. and Pacific University Staff.
Pamela K. Hummels Ross 1969 (Obituary)
Pamela K. Hummels Ross ’69, an alumna and longtime employee of the University passed away May 31 after battling breast cancer. She worked as the student accounts coordinator and in Graduate Admissions for 15 years at Pacific University, in addition to advising the Alpha Kappa Delta sorority. Most recently, she lived in Bend with her husband, James Ross. Pam's son Eric Ross ’92 played football for the Boxers and suffered a paralyzing injury during the 1991 Homecoming game. The program was discontinued following the season, and Eric passed away two years later. Yet Pam wholeheartedly supported the program's reinstatement and attended the University's first home game in 18 years last fall. In 1997, Pam and her husband created the Eric Ross Memorial Scholarship, which aims to assist business administration students, especially those with a concentration in marketing. Her son, Aaron Ross ’96, also attended the University. The News-Times, Forest Grove, Ore. and University Staff
Tom Robb 1946 (Obituary)
Thomas “Tom” Howard Robb Sr. died Oct. 9, 2012. He was 88. Robb graduated from North Bend (Ore.) High School in 1942 and joined the Seabees. He served in the Pacific during WWII. After his military service, he attended Pacific University, where he was a member of the basketball team and Gamma Sigma and served as president of his freshman class. While at Pacific, he met and married Patricia Ann Vernon Robb ’45, with whom he spent 67 years. He later received a degree in education at Lewis & Clark and master’s degrees in history and public administration. He was active in Boy Scouts with his sons, in the Boise Education Association and in the State Retired Educators Association. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Carolyn. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; children, Thomas Robb Jr., Suzanne Robb ’70, Stan Robb and Kristine Powell and their families; two grandsons; four nieces and six nephews, including Heidi Tennyson Psy.D. ’10.
Geraldine "Gerry" Sherson 1947 (Obituary)
Geraldine “Gerry” A. (Bennet Pace) Sherson died April 16, 2012, at the age of 89. Sherson majored in music at Pacific University. She was married to Terry M. Pace for 35 years until he died in 1983. She was then married to fellow student Jerry Sherson ’44 for 25 years until his death in 2010. She is survived by brother Layton Bennet; children Bonnie Delight, Loren Pace and Layton Pace; and three grandchildren.
Katharine Drew 1949 (Obituary)
Katharine Merle Drew died May 12, 2012, in Shoreline, Wash. She was 85. She grew up in Great Falls, Mont., where she loved to hunt and fish with her father. She met her husband, Lelan Drew ’49, during their freshman year at Pacific University. They married in 1950. Her joys were her children, camping, crafting, singing, baking and playing cards. She is survived by her husband; children Steve and his wife, Alison, Mike and his wife Molly, David and his wife Geri and Penny and her husband Jeff; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
William "Allan" Pollock 1949 (Obituary)
William “Allan” Pollock ’49, O.D. '50 died June 24, 2012, at the age of 92. He joined the Army in 1942 and was honorably discharged as first lieutenant. He then attended Pacific University and graduated with a doctorate in optometry. He practiced as an optometrist for 38 years. His wife, Maxine, died in December 2012. They are survived by two children and four grandchildren.
Mou-ta Chen 1950 (Obituary)
Mou-ta Chen MAEd died Dec. 4, 2012. He was 90. Born in Sichuan, China, he also graduated from Chongquing, the University of Wyoming and New York University. He held various government positions in China before coming to the United States, where he was a professor of mathematics at the State University of New York at Brockport. He enjoyed Chinese poetry, classical music, history and current events. He was active in the Capital Senior Center at Maxcy Gregg Park.
George Whitfield Johnston Jr. 1950 (Obituary)
George Whitfield Johnston Jr. died July 22, 2012, at the age of 85. After graduating from Pacific, he served the Army for one and a half years until receiving honorable discharge in 1946. He then married Margaret E. “Marge” Thornburg and moved to Hillsboro in 1964. Johnston worked as the office manager for the Portland Office of Willamette Industries for the computer department for 33 years until retiring in 1987. Johnston is survived by his wife, two daughters, brothers and sisters.
Alan Johnson 1956 (Obituary)
Alan J. Johnson ’56, O.D. ’57 died Sept 20, 2012. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1945 and went on to obtain his doctor of optometry degree from Pacific University. Johnson practiced optometry in his hometown of Yakima, Wash., for 30 years. He is survived by his sister and two nieces.