In Memoriam
Ronald J. Crowley, emeritus professor of physics, died Nov. 7 following complications that resulted from a bicycle accident. He was 72. Crowley joined the campus community as an assistant professor of physics for the 1965-66 academic year and served for 25 years, retiring in 1990. He was noted for his work in science education, “including hosting science fairs at shopping malls and elementary schools. Your colleagues have attributed this effort as being instrumental in attracting more young people to careers in science,” said then-President Jewel Plummer Cobb in the letter awarding Crowley emeritus status. Although his research specialty was in astrophysics, Crowley became known for his expertise in the pseudosciences, specifically for his critical analysis of the field. For many years he taught “Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science” a course for nonscience majors that focused on how sound logic and scientific methods often are disregarded. Crowley earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in physics from University of Southern California. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; son, Sean; and daughter, Colleen.
John Connor, supervising electrician in physical plant, died Oct. 18 of a heart attack. He was 61 years old. The Vietnam veteran joined the campus in February 1980 as an electrician I and moved up the the ranks to acting and then permanent supervising electrician in 1995. He also served as a representative of the State Employees Trade Council - United serving as Unit 6 business manager at the time of his death. In 2005, Connor and fellow electrician Gordon McCray were recognized by Information Technology for their effort in adding extra wiring and electrical circuits to assist IT in adding new servers to the data center. Connor is survived by his sons Kevin and Michael.
Robert Rayfield, emeritus professor of communications, died Sept. 10 at the age of 80. Rayfield served the campus community for nearly a decade, bringing his 14 years of experience working in the public affairs division of the Air Force to the classroom. He served as faculty adviser for Phi Beta Delta and the Public Relations Student Society of American and oversaw the Communications Week Task Force for four years. He is survived by his wife, Ann, his seven children and five grandchildren.
Doris Killian, a former employee in the financial aid office, died Sept. 3, 2009. She was 74. Killian, who earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1991 from Cal State Fullerton, joined the university in 1982 after careers as a grade school teacher and a bookkeeper. She served the campus for 20 years. Killian is survived by her four children and their spouses, Patrick and Cathie Killian, Christopher and Julie Killian, Maureen and Javier Larios, Michael and Belinda Killian, and 12 grandchildren.
Frances Stoller, wife of the late David Stoller, emeritus professor of management science, died Aug. 26 at the age of 87. Frances, a Cal State Fullerton alumna with a 1973 bachelor's degree in sociology and a 1981 M.P.A., had served as a registrar in University Extended Education and was involved with the Fullerton Arboretum and Art Alliance.
John B. Sweeney, emeritus registrar, died Aug. 15 at the age of 90. A 26-year, decorated veteran of the Marine Corps — he retired as a colonel — Sweeney joined Cal State Fullerton in 1970 after serving as registrar at Cal State Los Angeles and director of community relations at Ohio Dominican College. He served on campus for 13 years, overseeing registration as well as keeping track of students’ scholastic status, preparation of academic records, grade reports and veterans’ certifications. He was a member of the American and Pacific associations of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers as well as a city councilman and planning commission chair for the city of San Juan Capistrano. Sweeney earned a bachelor's degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati and a master's degree in psychology from Ohio State University. He is survived by three daughters and a son.
Shirley F. de Graaf, wife of CSUF founding faculty member Lawrence B. de Graaf, died Aug. 12, 2009 of cancer. Shirley was active in the early faculty wives' organization, as a transcriber for the Oral History Program and involved in the Heritage House in the Fullerton Arboretum. She is survived by her husband of 50 years; daughter and son-in-law, Laurel de Graaf-Garcia and Win Garcia; and grandaughter, Lily Kathryn Garcia. A memorial will be held from 2-5 p.m. Aug. 26 in the Fullerton Arboretum.
Alice C. Kinoshita, former secretary in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department, died July 2. She was 86. Kinoshita joined the university in 1967, first in Admissions and Records, then in HPER, where faculty members remember her baking cookies and brownies for department trainings and workshops. She retired in 1977, returning in 1981 to serve a year in the Office of the Dean of College of Health and Human Development. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, James; daughters Carolyn Dale of Garden Grove and Donna of Colorado; son, Paul of Fullerton; and sister Chiz Imoto.
Elaine Hutchinson, emerita administrative assistant in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, died July 8 at the age of 86. She served on campus for 30 years, retiring in 1991. She is survived by her daughter, Cathe Murphy; her son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Debbie Hutchinson; brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Dorothy Thorsen; and grandchildren, Jamie (Jeremy) Butcher and Stephen Hutchinson. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 28, at Christ Lutheran Church, 820 Imperial Highway, Brea.
Cheryl Aranda, 45, assistant to the dean in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) since 2005, died at home June 27 after a seven-year battle with breast cancer.
She is survived by her four children, Michael, Sara, Rene and Nathan; her brother, David; and her parents, Al and Dorene.
Aranda graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1987 with a bachelor’s in communications. In 2003 she returned as a temporary employee in the Science Education Program, then was made assistant to the dean in 2004. In 2007, she was presented with the Titan Excellence Award for her superior contributions as a staff member.
“Cheryl quickly proved to be a steady and reliable fixture in the dean’s office,” said NSM Dean Steven Murray, “where she always exhibited a pleasant, quiet demeanor and highly professional attitude. Although she took great pride in her CSUF work, besides her family, Cheryl’s real love was music. She was a singer-songwriter who developed a following in her music arena and was a much sought after and highly popular lead singer. Despite her lengthy illness, Cheryl always came to the office with a smile on her face.”
A funeral-memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 2, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1345 Turnbull Canyon Road, Hacienda Heights.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Cheryl Aranda to the Virginia K. Crosson Cancer Center, St. Jude Heritage Medical Group, 2151 N. Harbor Blvd., Suite 2200, Fullerton, CA 92835. Notes and cards can be sent to Cheryl’s home at 21241 Cottonwood Lane, Diamond Bar, CA 91789.
Bessie M. Rutemiller, emeritus librarian, died April 24 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Rutemiller served the university from 1966 to 1982 and worked as coordinator of pre-cataloguing services. Former co-workers remember her as a passionate Francophile who traveled often to France and learned to speak the language. Although a private person, Rutemiller had lots of interests and belonged to a walking group. Prior to joing Cal State Fullerton, she has been a librarian at the Cleveland Public Library and held a master's degree in library science from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor's degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio. She is survived by her husband, Herbert C. Rutemiller, emeritus professor of management science.
Marie Hoffman, 93, former director of personnel for Cal State Fullerton, died March 26. She served the campus from 1963-1973 and was author of three children's books.
Hans Leder, emeritus professor of anthropology, died Feb. 28. He was 82 years old. Leder joined the campus in 1965 as the second faculty member in the department and served in various capacities, including department chair, during his 27-year tenure. Leder and his wife, Judith Remy Leder, Business Writing, were both awarded emeritus status in 1992 but remained active, traveling to Lithuania to teach at Kaunas University of Technology in 1996. Leder earned his doctorate in cultural anthropology at Stanford University. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter and son-in law, Erika Leder and Bill Harris, and son and daughter-in-law, Nevin and Cathy Leder.
Richard H. Lindley, emeritus professor of psychology, died Feb. 28 at the age of 82. Lindley joined the campus in 1965 and served the university for 25 years. Prior to joining Cal State Fullerton, Lindley taught at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Trinity University and Eastern Michigan University, where he was head of the psychology department for one year. He earned his doctorate at UC Berkeley. After retirement, he and his wife, Shirley, moved to Fort Collin, Co. He also is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Grant and Tricia Lindley of Santa Barbara; daughter and son-in-law, Megan and Dean Helzer of Fort Collins; and four grandchildren.
Albert W. Porter, emeritus professor of art, died Nov. 18. Porter joined the campus in 1971 and served 16 years. He is survived by his wife, Shirley.
Alex Omalev, who coached college basketball in the city of Fullerton for 23 seasons, died Nov. 10 at the age of 88. Omalev was the first coach of an intercollegiate sport at Cal State Fullerton, launching the program for the 1960-61 season and coaching through the 1971-72 season before retiring. He coached the previous 11 seasons at Fullerton College and brought much of his last Hornet team with him to CSUF, which in those early seasons played its home games in Hornet Gymnasium. Omalev compiled a 139-176 record with the Titans and no successor has won more games. Among his players were Neale Stoner, who would come back to CSF as director of athletics, and Bobby Dye, who would coach the Titans to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a seven-year (1973-74 thru 1979-80) tenure as head coach. Omalev was a second-team All-American basketball player at USC and graduated in 1948. He played AAU ball and had a tryout with the Chicago team of the fledgling National Basketball Association before becoming a drama instructor at Fullerton College. There he was recruited to try his hand at coaching. Omalev was inducted into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Omalev is survived by his wife of 61 years, Betty; sons Tom and Stephen; and five grandchildren. (Sports Information)
Chuck Schroeder, a former lecturer in finance, died Feb. 23, from pneumonia complicated by emphysema. A Ford Motor Co. executive who retired in 1992, Schroeder began teaching on campus in the mid-1990s and taught until three years ago. He continued his affiliation with the university, assisting with the Center for Insurance Studies Board of Directors and as one of three business faculty who worked with the first delegation to visit from Tianjin (China) University of Finance and Economics. Schroeder is survived by his former wife, two children, three grandsons, two brothers and their families.
Russell V. Benson, emeritus professor of mathematics, died Feb. 22 of a rare form of leukemia. He was 80. Benson joined the campus in 1965 as an associate professor and served for 18 years. A specialist in geometry, he authored “Euclidean Geometry and Convexity,” published in 1966 by McGraw Hill Book Co., and was a member of the Mathematics Association of America, American Mathematical Society and Orange County Math Association. In 1970, Benson served as a visiting lecturer to Orange County high schools under the sponsorship of the MAA-Southern California Section, and instituted a National Science Foundation-sponsored, 12-week summer institute in mathematics for educators from Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern and Butte counties, as well as Oregon and New Mexico. Benson earned his doctorate at USC and had taught at Long Beach State, as well as Long Beach and Los Angeles City colleges. Benson also earned a master of divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and became an ordained Presbyterian minister. He is survived by Betty, his wife of 54 years.
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Produced by the Office of Public Affairs at California State University, Fullerton.