In Memoriam

Alumni

  • Marion Curtis Thompson (B.S.Ed. ‘57) 
  • Murl Dean Ergenbright (B.S. ‘59) 
  • Robert Brent Johnson (B.A. ‘62) 
  • Susan Leona (Maurer) Dixon (B.S.Ed. ‘63) 
  • Aletia Darlene (Gregory) Beachler (B.S.Ed. ‘65) 
  • Deborah Jeane (McWhirter) Bruce (B.A. ‘67) 
  • Joseph W. Kelso III (B.A. ‘68) 
  • Velma Grossman Buck Rogers (B.A. ‘70) 
  • George Richard Lineberry (B.B.A. ‘71) 
  • Janelle Elizabeth Ramsey Freeman (B.A. ‘66, M.Ed. ‘72) 
  • Roddie “Rod” Melton McLaren Jr. (B.S. ‘74) 
  • Barbara Jo (Spencer) Kendall (M.Ed. ‘80) 
  • Marilyn (Christy) Smelser Orr (M.Ed. ‘80) 
  • Jo Anne (Cooley) Gulliver (B.A.Ed. ‘82) 
  • D LaPierre Ballard (B.S. ‘87) 
  • Carol Jane (DeFraties) Plumb (B.A.Ed. ‘91) 
  • Delilah Sanderson (M.Ed. ‘03, B.B.A. ‘06) 

Faculty and Staff

  • John Bowen 
  • Ralph M. Wise 
  • Kristy Farris 
  • JoAnn Nelms Adams 

John Maisch, J.D., associate professor of business law at UCO, died March 3. Maisch earned a business degree from Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1995. Following a year in private practice, he became an assistant attorney general for the State of Oklahoma. Maisch returned to private practice in 2001, where he focused on commercial real estate transactions. In 2008, he became the general counsel to the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission, where he also served as a prosecutor. In 2012, Maisch became an assistant professor of legal studies at Central. In 2013, Maisch produced and directed a documentary, “Sober Indian Dangerous Indian,” about Whiteclay, an unincorporated town of fewer than 12 people in northwest Nebraska. Up until the time of his death, he worked tirelessly to make Whiteclay a place of peace and healing. 

Pamela Turner Washington, Ph.D., died Dec. 28, 2021, after a long battle with cancer. During her 28-year career at UCO, she served as dean for the College of Liberal Arts from 2004-12 and was appointed to serve the College of Fine Arts and Design as interim dean and dean until her retirement. In 2017, she retired and was honored by the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) regents for her outstanding service to higher education in Oklahoma and granted the distinguished status of dean emerita of the College of Fine Arts and Design and professor emerita in the Department of English.