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.
George Andrew Herr (Obituary)
George Andrew Herr, parent of current Pacific student Tiara D. Herr '14, died on Aug. 10, 2012 due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He served in the army and founded a software company where he worked until a few weeks before his death. Herr is survived by his wife Donna, 4 siblings, 11 children, and 14 grandchildren. The Hillsboro Argus, Hillsboro, Ore.
Carl Vincent Rossetti (Obituary)
Carl Vincent Rossetti, the father of Pacific graduate Christine Rosssetti-Sagar '10, died on Sept. 23, 2012. Rossetti attended the University of Portland and received a Civil Engineering Degree. He opened his own business, where he designed and managed building projects until his retirement in 2010. Rossetti is preceded in death by his son Thomas Kevin Rossetti and survived by his wife Dorothy, their 9 children, 29 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.
Corinne Scott (Obituary)
Corinne Evelyn Scott died Oct. 7, 2012, at the age of 86. She earned her bachelor of arts in mathematics in Iowa in 1948. She and her husband, John A. Scott, lived in Iowa, Ohio and New Jersey before moving to Gales Creek, Ore. The couple later divorced. She was a case worker for the Department of Aging Services in Oregon and retired in 1991. She was a member of the Forest Grove United Methodist Church, the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters. She enjoyed following baseball and attending meetings of the Red Hat Society. She was preceded in death by her son, J.D. Scott. She is survived by her children, Thomas Paul Scott, Mark Scott and his wife Sandi, Mary Bess and her husband James, and Amy Scott; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Edna E. Van Dyke (Obituary)
Edna E. Van Dyke, wife of Pacific graduate Raymond W. Van Dyke '38, died on Sept. 15, 2012. She attended Behnke-Walker Business College and became a secretary. She is survived by her daughter, 2 sons, 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. The Hillsboro Argus, Hillsboro, Ore.
Rhoda Mills 1939 (Obituary)
Rhoda Irene Mills died July 25, 2012, at the age of 94. She taught at Corbett High School until she joined the Navy in 1942 and retired in 1977 as lieutenant commander. She also attended UCLA and graduated with a master’s in education, enabling her to teach at Parkrose High School for 23 years.
Ellen Bump 1940 (Obituary)
Ellen Peirce Bump died Jan. 21, 2013., at Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro. She was 98. Born in Oakland, Calif., she was raised in Tacoma until 1919, when her family settled in Forest Grove. She attended Pacific University and earned a degree in social work in 1940. She worked in the law offices of D.D. Bump in Forest Grove, and he encouraged her to study law at Northwestern School of Law, now Lewis & Clark Law School. She passed the bar in 1937 and worked as the only juvenile court worker in Washington County for two years. During World War II, she worked for attorneys in California, and in 1942, she married Kenneth Allen Bump '41 in San Luis Obispo and they returned to Forest Grove. There, she became a parter in the law firm of Bump, Young and Walker and served as a lawyer for 43 years. She was active in civic and community groups, including the Library Committee, Community Health Organization, League of Women Voters, Washington County Public Welfare Commission and Forest Grove Library Commission. She also was a member of the Forest Grove United Methodist Church. She was known for her quiet service to the community and to others. She also was a long-time friend and supporter of Pacific University. She is survived by her husband; their son, Daniel and his wife, Kathryn; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren, and a large extended family. Her family suggested remembrances in her honor be made to Pacific University.
Leonard Gilman 1941 (Obituary)
Leonard W. Gilman ’41 died June 27, 2012, at the age of 94. Gilman was a part of the Pacific University football team and was an exceptional football player, receiving various recognitions. When he joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, he was able to prevent the first hijacking of a commercial jet and was proclaimed a national hero. After retiring from the military, he was involved in cattle grazing and organized hunting safaris to Africa. Gilman is survived by wife Mary Gayle, brother Dean Gilman, sons Lance and Bret, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.