Stephen Bondeson
Steve Bondeson, '74, Stevens Point, a professor of chemistry and associate vice chancellor of teaching, learning and academic programs, died April 20 at age 56.
He joined the faculty in 1980 and served various departmental, college and university committees. He received the University Scholar Award in 1983 and Excellence in Teaching Award in 1997. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and co-authored several grants and research papers.
Previously he taught at the University of South Carolina and was a faculty researcher at Argonne National Laboratory and Princeton University. He lived in China for several years during the 1980s. He taught Bible study at his church, was active in the local school district and helped local students design and build robots.
He is survived by his wife, Ginny, and three sons.
Sherin Bowen
Sherin Bowen, '91, Stevens Point, former executive director of the Wisconsin Nicaragua Partners based at UWSP, died March 20 at age 71 after sustaining a head injury while visiting Managua, Nicaragua.
She served the WNP from 1992 until her semiretirement in 2005, working to develop over 100 Nicaraguan learning centers. In 2001 she received the UWSP Distinguished Alumni Award for her significant international achievements. In retirement she enjoyed knitting and living at the family retreat on Lake Esadore near Medford.
She is survived by her husband, UWSP Health, Exercise Science and Athletics Professor Emeritus and former International Programs Director Bob Bowen and their four children. A Web site was created in her memory at www.sherinbowen.com.
Frank (Mark) Cates
Mark Cates, Stevens Point, a political science professor emeritus, died July 14 at age 78.
He came to UWSP in 1963 as one of the first political science faculty members and served as the department chair from 1970 to 1976. He won the Excellence in Teaching Award three times before retiring in 1996. His legacy continued in a political science scholarship he created. In retirement he continued lecturing at UWSP through the Learning is Forever program.
His first job was for the Army Judge Advocate Office, then he earned degrees from Indiana University and taught high school in Battle Creek, Mich., and at Indiana University and Butler University.
Fay Finch Clifford
Fay Finch Clifford, '65, Stevens Point, a former home economics faculty member, died June 19 at age 87.
She earned a master's degree at UW-Madison and taught at UWSP from 1960 to 1978. She and her husband, Patrick, traveled extensively and hosted three foreign exchange students. She was a volunteer with Elderly Services, Meals on Wheels and St. Michael’s Hospital Auxiliary. An avid curler until she was 81, she was a member of the Stevens Point Curling Club.
Her husband and infant daughter preceded her in death. She is survived by three children, all who attended UWSP: Patrick Clifford, '70, Chandler, Ariz., John Clifford, '69, Stevens Point, and Michelle (Clifford) Barnett, '77, Dyer, Ind.
Irving Korth
Irv Korth, '50, Stevens Point, soil and water ecology professor emeritus, died April 18 at age 88.
He was known statewide for using slides of outhouses to demonstrate soil processes in his classes. He retired in 1986 and enjoyed outdoor sports and restoring antique automobiles.
He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and three children.
Claudine Long
Claudine Long, Stevens Point, a senior lecturer in biology, died May 6 at age 70.
In 1979 she became the first female biology teacher at UWSP and was one of the first women to teach chemistry. She also supervised and coordinated student teachers and led two natural resources semester abroad trips - to the South Pacific and to Asia. She was listed among Who’s Who in American Men and Women in Science in 1988. She retired in 1993.
She earned degrees at the University of Missouri, Pittsburg State University and the University of Illinois. Before coming to UWSP she taught junior high science in Lawrence, Kan., and was a research assistant at UI. She received many research grants and awards for her study of birds, wrote for many publications and co-authored a manuscript on local birds with her husband, UWSP Biology Professor Emeritus Charles Long.
Her husband and two sons survive.
John Oster
John "Jack" Oster, Mosinee, professor emeritus of political science, died April 19 at age 80.
He taught at UWSP from 1962 to 1992 and was the first professor hired for the new program when it emerged from the History Department. His specialty was international politics and the Soviet Union, and he led six spring seminar groups behind the Iron Curtain as well as study abroad groups to England and China.
He earned degrees from DePauw University and Indiana University. His wife, Mary, survives.
Barbara Paul
Barbara Paul, '62, Stevens Point, a retired associate professor of library science, died July 18 at age 68 after a three-and-one-half year battle with multiple myeloma.
She began working at UWSP in 1968 and published several bibliographies. She co-authored The Badger State: A Documentary History of Wisconsin and edited a 2007 history of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ. She collaborated with her husband, College of Letters and Science Dean Emeritus Justus Paul, on several publications. She was also active in her church. She earned graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and UW-Madison.
She is survived by her husband and three children.
Phyllis Ravey
Phyllis Ravey, '36, '52, the first director of the Gesell Institute for Early Childhood Education at UWSP, died July 5, at age 91.
She was an instructor in the UWSP Lab School from 1952 to 1971 and taught kindergarten methods in addition to her work at Gesell.
She first earned her two-year rural education degree at UWSP then later a bachelor's degree. She taught in local schools including a one-room school in the Iola area.
Her husband, Marlin Ravey, preceded her in death. A stepson survives.