In Memoriam
1940s
Winston Bradshaw JD ’47, September 1, 2006, age 90. A lifelong Oregonian, Bradshaw attended the University of Oregon. He served as a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot during World War II and was a glider pilot in France. Before he was appointed a judge for the Clackamas County Circuit Court in 1960, Bradshaw was the district attorney for Clackamas County. He also served as justice pro tem in the Oregon Supreme Court. Survivors include his wife, Kathryn Curry; sons Jay, Burke, and Risley; Mark and Linda Curry; 11 grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren.
Jeanne Holm BA ’49, February 15, age 88, of cardiovascular disease. Holm was the first female general in the U.S. Air Force and the first woman in any military branch to reach the rank of two-star general. From 1965 to 1975, she was the highest-ranking woman in the Air Force. According to the Washington Post, “Almost from the moment she was appointed director of a small corps called Women in the Air Force in 1965, Gen. Holm strategically advanced the role of women while fighting tactical battles with an entrenched male power structure.” The Post goes on to point out that when she retired in 1975, her decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit. She was also the author of two books about the history of women in the military. A feature in the summer 2009 Chronicle reported that last year she was still working to organize a great number of materials to be chronicled in military archives and libraries. Holm was born in Portland and raised by a single mother. Her academic career at Lewis & Clark was interrupted by service in the Army during World II and in the Army and Air Force after the war; she actually finished the credits for her bachelor’s degree in 1956. Survivors include a brother.
1950s
Laurence A. Cushing JD ’52, April 20, 2009, age 84, in Grants Pass. Born in The Dalles and raised in Dufur, Cushing earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1949. He married Deloris Simler that same year. After moving with his family to Cave Junction in 1952, Cushing established a private law practice and served the Illinois Valley and surrounding communities for 13 years, 11 of those as the local justice of the peace. In 1965, Cushing was appointed a district court judge for Josephine County. In 1980, he was appointed to the Josephine County Circuit Court bench in Grants Pass, where he served until retiring in 1989. His record of community service is extensive: he helped create the Josephine County Trail Blazers transition program for prisoners returning to the community and the Josephine County Halfway House, which serves recovering alcoholics. Cushing also published an autobiographical novel, Bittersweet Canyon, which recalls many of his life experiences. Survivors include his wife, 6 children, 19 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
James “Jim” King BS ’52, February 9, age 82. King died in Providence St. Vincent Hospital, Portland, after a long illness. He was a member of Lewis & Clark’s Heritage Society (for those who have included Lewis & Clark in their estate planning) and was a board member for the Albany Society (alumni who graduated 50 years ago or earlier) in 2008–09. King entered the family roofing business at age 15, ultimately becoming president and CEO of Snyder Roofing, a Northwest commercial industrial roofing contractor with facilities in Portland and the Seattle area. He held leadership positions over the years in professional associations for roofing contractors. Attending the college with the help of the G.I. Bill, King was a star football player, for which he was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He maintained a lifelong love of sports, sponsoring Babe Ruth and Little League baseball teams and coaching amateur hockey teams. Survivors include his wife, Sherrin; sons, Scott King and Kyle King BS ’88; daughter, Holly Sowden; sister; and four grandchildren. The family suggests remembrances to Lewis & Clark’s Department of Physical Education and Athletics or the Albany Society.
Martha Hope Redman BA ’54, May 13, 2009, age 87. Redman graduated from Knox College in 1943 and immediately joined the Navy Waves as a commissioned ensign. After World War II ended, she and her husband, Michael, settled in the Portland area. After earning her BA in elementary education from Lewis & Clark, Redman taught for 31 years in the Beaverton schools. Her many volunteer activities included tutoring for Literacy Oregon, Delta Kappa Gamma, and singing with the Mary Lee Singers and the Way Off Broadway Singers. She and her husband were charter members of First Church of Christ Scientist in Beaverton and very active in the church. Survivors include her son, Michael; daughters, Janet and Carol; two granddaughters; and two great-grandchildren.
Betty Hall McFarlane BS ’55, December 11, 2009, age 77. McFarlane died of Alzheimer’s disease at her home in Terwilliger Plaza, Portland. She and Robert McFarlane BA ’56 married in 1955, and she taught elementary school for the Parkrose and Riverdale school districts while he went to medical school. In 1967, with their four children, they went to Iran as medical missionaries for three years. Throughout her life McFarlane was very active in causes having to do with women’s studies, feminism, and peace and justice. After she learned to play the guitar—in her mid-40s—and took up songwriting, music and the friends she made through music were central for the rest of her life. In addition to her husband, survivors include her daughters, Ann and Sarah; sons, Paul and James; seven grandchildren; brother, Drew Hall BA ’55; and two sisters.
Edward Otter BA ’57, September 1, 2009, age 73. Born in Lewiston, Idaho, Otter worked for U.S. Bank and in real estate. Survivors include his son, Michael, and daughter, Diane Bell.
Burton H. Bennett JD ’58, March 6, 2009, age 79. Bennett was born in Colorado and later moved with his family to Washington state. He served in the U.S. Air Force in 1948 and 1949 and earned his undergraduate degree from Linfield College. After receiving his law degree, Bennett joined the firm of Anderson, Franklin, Jones, and Olson, becoming a partner in 1962. The firm was later known as Franklin, Bennett, Olfelt, and Jolles. He retired in 2008. Bennett was known as a gifted vocalist and storyteller who truly enjoyed people. He also had a talent for wood and stone carving. Survivors include his wife, Marillyn Fehr Bennett; three children; and five grandchildren.
1960s
Sharon Leach BS ’61, August 24, 2009, age 70, in Portland. Born in Grants Pass, Leach was a homemaker. Survivors include her husband, Wayne Leach, and son, D. Scott Harris.
James Kerr Belknap JD ’65, March 2, 2009, age 75, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. Belknap was born in Portland. After graduating from Portland State University, he planned to become an insurance adjuster and began attending night classes at the law school as part of his training. His interest was piqued, and he went on to earn a JD Belknap worked for several Portland firms before opening his own office in the Sylvan business district, where he practiced until his retirement in 1998. Belknap was interested in social issues including environmental preservation and women’s reproductive rights. His leisure activities included fly-fishing, hunting, jogging, and picking huckleberries. Survivors include his wife, E. Susan Dixon; three sons, Wade, Wendell, and James; 2 step-children; and 10 grandchildren.
1970s
David John Berentson JD ’73, April 16, 2009, age 65, after suffering a massive stroke. A Lake Oswego native, Berentson earned his undergraduate degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He served in Vietnam with the Fourth Battalion of U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 through 1969, earning many medals including the Purple Heart. Berentson practiced in Lake Oswego and Portland until 1981, when he joined Don Hufman, Walt Barnes, and Pat Sweeney in Oak Grove, where he enjoyed practicing his profession until his death. A member of Lake Oswego Rotary for 35 years, Berentson was also active in the Historical Automobile Club of Oregon, Oswego Heritage Council, the Southwest Business Association, and the American Heritage Association. He served on the budget committee for the city of Lake Oswego and was a council member for Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Pamela, and his sister and brother-in-law.
Jesse Boyce III BA ’74, November 6, 2009, age 57. Boyce grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado, and lived in Aspen at the time he died. A scientist, Boyce lived an adventurous life: he put himself through graduate school working oil rigs in Africa and received his doctorate in biology in 1984 from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland. He also lived in Europe for many years. Boyce had been a teacher at a private school and worked with the Aspen Global Change Institute before starting Internet Outfitting, an Internet company in Colorado. Survivors include his wife, Phyllis Bronson; daughter, Elizabeth; stepson, Gordon Bronson; and a brother and two sisters.
Anna Piera Ferrua BA ’79, BS ’91, December 8, 2009, age 51. Ferrua, also known as Anna Wolf, was born in Geneva and died in Portland. She was a teacher in a private school. Survivors include her father, Pietro Ferrua, professor emeritus of French; mother, Diana Jane Lobo Filho Ferrua; brother, Franco Ferrua BA ’80, JD ’91; and fiancé, Kevin Kozusyn.
1980s
Charles Coulter JD ’88, April 27, 2009, age 56, at his home in Portland. He was born in Illinois, grew up in Illinois and Ohio, and received his BS from the University of Montana at Missoula. Coulter loved the outdoors. He hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and other trails in the Columbia Gorge, on Mount Hood, and in the Oregon Coast Range. As a child he played the clarinet, and as an adult he became an aficionado of jazz and blues. He also had a deep interest in film and photography, and enjoyed studying geology, maps, history, and poetry. In his professional life, Coulter was a dedicated attorney who often discounted his rates to help the underserved. He donated his time and expertise regularly at the St. Andrew Legal Clinic in Portland. Survivors include his sisters, Beverly Lueckhoff and Nancy Hannigan, and brother, David Coulter.
2000s
Eric Van Naerssen JD ’04, March 24, 2009, of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Van Naerssen was an international transactions consultant to the Portland law firm Swider Medeiros Haver.
