ntspring2017

NORTHERN TODAY 18 SPRING 2017 I N MEMO R I AM ALUMNI NEWS 1936 Larry C. Jones, Aberdeen, on Dec. 9, 2016. 1938 Joyce (Hegna) Hansen, Aberdeen, on Oct. 16, 2016. Margaret (Reiss) Lenling, Mobridge, on Oct. 23, 2016. Evelyn (Petrich) Coyne, Bristol, on Dec. 16, 2016. 1939 Ruth B. Anderson, Redfield, on July 6, 2016. Sister Mary Geppert, Aberdeen, on Sept. 20, 2016. Mildred (Hinrichs) Herther, Fountain Hills, Ariz., on Nov. 18, 2016. 1940 Mary Burns, Rapid City, March 2016. 1941 Betty (Cain) Beck, Claremont, on July 12, 2016. 1943 Lucille (Sime) Palmer, Aberdeen, on July 7, 2016. 1944 Olive Weller, Eureka, on Sept. 14, 2016. Catherine (Fey) Smith, Greeley, Colo., on March 20, 2017. 1945 Wilma (Opp) Knapp, Eureka, on Nov. 11, 2016. 1948 William Allen, Houghton, N.Y., on Dec. 29, 2016. Jerome Rossow, Herreid, on Jan. 29, 2017. Donna (Nicholas) Bicknese, Redfield, on Feb. 19, 2017. 1949 John McCallum, Minnesota Lake, Minn., on May 8, 2016. Donald Wittmeier, Surprise, Ariz., on Nov. 20, 2016. 1950 Phyllis (Hinkley) Balvin, Aberdeen, on Aug. 6, 2016. Herbert Severson, Aberdeen, on Sept. 19, 2016. 1950/1958 Miriam Anderson, Sioux Falls, on Jan. 10, 2017. 1950, Amaryllis (Ehlers) Rabenberg, Britton, on Feb. 14, 2017. 1950, Richard Greeno, Sioux Falls, on March 27, 2017. 1951 Irene (Diebert) Ziegler, Mobridge, on Aug. 25, 2016. Irene (Allbee) Linderman, Bowdle, on Nov. 21, 2016. Charles Thielen, Rapid City, on March 26, 2017. 1954 Ruth Franzen, Fargo, N.D., on March 3, 2017. Nancy (Dewhirst) Thielen, Rapid City, on March 22, 2017. 1956 John Hohman, Ponte Vedra, Fla., on May 9, 2016. Charles Jungwirth, Providence, R.I., on Jan. 2, 2017. Gladys (Toennies) Gjernes, Chelsea, on Jan. 29, 2017. Edward ‘Bill’ Dosch, Aberdeen, on March 8, 2017. 1957 Willis Fischer, Longmont, Colo., on Aug. 4, 2016. Richard Selle, Loveland, Colo., on Aug. 25, 2016. Eugene ‘Gene’ Newnam, Geneseo, Ill., on Oct. 7, 2016. Beverly (Smith) Holsing, Sioux Falls, on Oct. 28, 2016. Northern alumnus Dr. Bernard Charles Gerber, a longtime supporter of the university and well- known physician across the region, passed away in December at age 90. An Aberdeen native, Bernard enrolled in Northern State Teachers College in September 1943 during his senior year at Central High School. He was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1945 and was set to become a replacement infantryman for the invasion of Japan, but the peace treaty was signed while he was en route. Instead, Bernard was assigned to the 117th Station Hospital in Palo, Leyte, later designated the 90th Field Hospital. There, he was trained as a surgical technician and also worked as an anesthetist. It was this work that inspired him to make medicine his lifelong career. After his military service, Bernard returned to Northern, graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in chemistry and biology and a minor in history. He graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine with a B.S. in Medical Science in 1951. In 1953, he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. Bernard practiced medicine in Aberdeen from 1960 until his retirement in 1992. He served on various medical and civic boards and received numerous honors, including: Physician Award for Meritorious Service, South Dakota Hospice Organization, 1992; Outstanding School Board Member, Associated School Boards of South Dakota, 1995; and Distinguished Service, Aberdeen Central High School Foundation Hall of Fame, 2015. Bernard was named Distinguished Alumnus of Northern State College in 1978. He served on the Northern State University Foundation Board and has gifted many items to the university, including the Gerber Family Collection and many of the items found at Northern’s Confucius Institute. The Gerber family has five endowments through the NSU Foundation. NSU’s Gerber Building is named for Bernard’s father, Northern Professor Henry Philip Gerber. Bernard is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marcella A. (Aslesen); two daughters: Karen A. (Richard) Smith of Hayti and Jean L. Gerber of Aberdeen; four sons: Charles B. Gerber of Boulder, Colorado, Martin T. (LeAnne Gallipo) Gerber of Maple Grove, Minnesota, Lawrence E. Gerber of Fargo, North Dakota, and Christopher J. Gerber of St. Paul, Minnesota; five granddaughters; four great-grandsons; and one great-granddaughter. Natalie (Mallay) Lenihan, Hopkins, Minn., on Nov. 23, 2016. 1958 Ronald Olofson, Smithwick, on Jan. 12, 2016. 1958 Lloyd Rueb, Montello, Wis., on March 24, 2016. Sybil (Purdy Pugh) Schafer, Florence, on May 11, 2016. Gene Holsing, Aberdeen, on July 2, 2016. Mel Schlaht, Aberdeen, on Nov. 28, 2016. James Hukki, Park Rapids, Minn., on Jan.16, 2017. 1958/1962 Richard D. Hanson, Sioux Falls, on March 9, 2017. 1959 Monte Goodrich, Aberdeen, on Oct. 2, 2016. OB I T UARY BERNARD CHARLES GERBER