Remembering Tom Holce '59, '93; Don Iverson '59; Dr. Roy Clunes and other Pacific graduates.
Donald Iverson 1959 (Obituary)
Don “Ivy” Iverson passed away Feb. 14 after battling a brain tumor. He was 74. Iverson was a teacher, basketball coach and later a vice principal for Vancouver, Wa. schools. After starring in basketball and football at Vancouver High, he was offered scholarships from three colleges, but chose Pacific in 1954. He played football for the then-Badgers, earning all conference honors, and was scouted by the Baltimore Colts. He loved golf, his fully-restored blue 1967 Ford Mustang and sailing. He was also quite the storyteller. A favorite was how football teammate Tommy Thompson rushed in so fast on one play that he intercepted the other team’s hiked football and ran it in for a touchdown. Another story involved an eerie happening at Knight Hall where his fraternity was housed. Late one night he was awakened by the opening of a squeaky door and footsteps proceeding up the stairs. The footsteps continued up into the room, but with no visible owner. Don had just encountered Vera the ghost!
Dr. Roy Clunes (Obituary)
Dr. Roy Clunes, One of the key contributors to the founding of the College of Optometry, Dr. Clunes died May 27 at age 93.
Born June 5, 1916 in Scotland, Clunes immigrated to the United States in 1937 and graduated from North Pacific College of Optometry in 1939. Clunes and two other optometrists purchased the college in 1941.In 1945, the college merged with Pacific University.
Clunes joined the U.S. Navy and became a U.S. citizen during World War II. In 1941 he married Helen, who passed away three months prior to his death. He served on Pacific’s Board of Trustees from 1956 to 1974, then was an honorary trustee. He also served ten years as a clinical contact lens instructor. Clunes practiced optometry for almost 50 years, first in Albany, Ore., then in Corvallis, Ore. He traveled many times for eye care projects with the Christian Medical Society and was a contributor and member of many professional optometric associations.
Thomas Holce (Obituary)
1959, Honorary Degree 1993
Thomas Jefferson Holce
Tom Holce, one of Oregon’s leading technology entrepreneurs, died July 14 at his Jantzen Beach home after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.
Holce, who grew up in a logging family in Mist, Ore., was a key figure in the growth of Pacific. He served on the Board of Trustees from 1983 to 1992 and was the group’s chairperson from 1991 to 1992. He served on all the Board’s subcommittees and led the University’s first comprehensive capital campaign, which ended in 1993 after raising $24 million.
Over the years, he gave well over $1.5 million to the University. Holce came to Pacific after a stint in the Air Force at the recommendation of his first wife Joyce, who preceded him in death in 1992. Although a self-described poor student in high school, at Pacific he quickly blossomed into a top student in math and physics. While still at Pacific, he began work on an electron microscope in his Forest Grove garage that was the genesis of his first company, Pacific Instruments. He later sold the instrument to Doug Strain and Electro Scientific Industries, and went on to found several more technology firms and record over 20 patents.
Holce is survived by his spouse, Gretchen Holce; sister, Irene Jones; half-brother, Robert Mathews; son, Kent Holce; daughter, Tonya Holce-Owens; stepsons, Mark and Ryan Griffin; stepdaughter, Heidi Griffin; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Joyce; and brother, Wilfred.
James Baber 1958 (Obituary)
Rev. James Baber died Aug. 6, 2012, following a battle with ALS. Baber attended Pacific University before following his father’s footsteps into the Congregationalist ministry. He later returned to Oregon, where he began working for the Department of Human Services. His 23-plus-year career included working with children and families at Children’s Services offices in Marion, Polk and Linn counties. He met his first wife, Janet Zimmerman ‘58 at Pacific, and later was married to Carla Durfee, then to Sally Pagen Preston. He is survived by his widow, Sally; his sister, Myrt Latta; his children, Marc Baber and Karen Lenore; stepchildren, Joe Preston, Michael Preston, Marcy Janes, Julie Morgan and Dennis Durfee; and eight grandchildren.
Eric Hoilien 1960 (Obituary)
Eric Hoilien died on July 5, 2012. He married Bertie L. Evens in 1957, and celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in November 2011. He is survived by his wife, their four children, seven grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
JoAnn Holliday Rock 1960 (Obituary)
JoAnn C. Holliday Rock died Jan. 6, 2012, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. A native of Forest Grove, Rock attended Pacific University, where she met her husband, Carl Rock ‘63. After graduating, she worked at the Beaverton School District before the couple moved to San Mateo. She received a master’s degree from San Francisco State University and spent 35 years as a professor at the College of San Mateo. Her last position was as head of the Cooperative Education Department. She was preceded in death by her son, Robert, and husband, Carl. She is survived by her daughter Kristin and grandsons Zachary Carl and Jasper James.
James Lee Stevens 1961 (Obituary)
James Lee Stevens O.D. died on May 29, 2012. After graduation, Lee joined his father’s practice in Grand Junction, Colo. Later he practiced for 12 years in Utah before returning to Colorado. While attending Pacific, Lee met and married Mimi Gonigam ’61. Lee and Mimi had two children, Mark and Karen. They were later divorced. Lee married Kay Dalrymple in 1973, in Ogden, Utah. They moved to Boulder, Colo., where she assisted in his practice. He retired in 1998 following quintuple bypass surgery.
Robert Troy Lindley 1964 (Obituary)
Robert Troy Lindley O.D. died Aug. 26, 2012, at the age of 73. He practiced optometry until his retirement in 2003.Lindley and his family enjoyed traveling and spending summers at their lake house. He was preceded in death by his brother, Dean Lindley, and nephew, Alan Lindley. He is survived by wife Lorena, sons, daughters, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Pat Koenig 1965 (Obituary)
Pat Koenig '65 died Sept. 6, 2012, after struggling with illness for quite some time. She graduated from Pacific University with a bachelor of arts in speech/speech pathology and went on to start her own speech therapy business in Seattle. She and her husband, Jerry, were married for 45 years. They did some traveling before starting a family. After having their daughter, Koenig went into real estate and had a successful career in that field for 30 years. She is survived by husband Jerry; daughter Tiffany; and two grandsons.
John C. Romig 1965 (Obituary)
John C. Romig died on Oct. 14, 2012. While attending Pacific, he was president of the Gamma Sigma Fraternity. Romig received a master’s in business administration from the University of Oregon in 1967 and worked as marketing manager for Caterpillar Tractor and First National Bank of Oregon.