Archive for the ‘wisconsin’ Category

Gerald Messick (FS ’60)

Gerald (Jerry) Messick, 82, passed away in Burlington Wisconsin on May 7 2013. Jerry was born in Wood River, Illinois to Anna (nee Gudac) and John Messick.
At 6’8″ he was a basketball star at the East Alton-Wood River High School, accepting a scholarship with the University of Houston for two years before transferring to the University of Iowa to play with the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was named MVP by the NCAA in a 1964 tournament at Northwestern University. Jerry was a journeyman glass maker at Foster Forbes, now Ardaugh Group, where he was known as ‘Stretch’ by his coworkers. He enjoyed using his hands to build or create and volunteered with several others every Saturday morning for over a year to rebuild the Pioneer Cabin in Wehmhoff Square. He had many wonderful friends and was loved by all. He was well-known for his wit and fun-loving nature. Jerry loved singing, making up nonsense songs on the spot to the delight of his four granddaughters. He took joy in life even through his long, fierce battle with cancer. He died at his home with all his girls around him to give him comfort. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Anna (nee Gudac) and brother John Messick. He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara, beloved daughters Erica Messick and Lindsay Webster, son-in-law, Ryan Webster, granddaughters Natalie, Eleanor, and Rhiannon Webster and Kami Koch, all of Burlington Wisconsin, and his beloved brother, Robert Messick of Wood River, Illinois.
In lieu of a funeral a celebration of life will be held at Low Daily Brewery and Taproom, 700 N Pine St., Burlington Wi June 7. Condolences to the Messick Family may be sent to 7741 Big Pine Lane, Burlington WI 53105

Charles Lee Bland (O.D. ’72)

Dr. Charles Lee Bland was born on July 4th, 1945 in Independence, Missouri to Lowell and Lillian Bland. He went to be with the Lord on March 16th, 2019. Charlie loved the Lord, enjoyed the outdoors, had a wonderful sense of humor and cherished his family above all else. He was patient, loving, selfless and so much more. He lived a life that was noble and charitable, kind and generous to everyone he met. Charlie grew up on a farm with a loving and hard working Christian family. He went on to college to become an Optometrist. While picking up his Norton motorcycle from England in 1971, he met his future wife Debbie. When he got back to the states, he made the trek from Missouri to Wisconsin to win her heart. They married on August 4th, 1972. He lived in Missouri with his wife, had 4 beautiful daughters and established successful eye clinics. In 1992 they moved to Menomonie, Wisconsin. Charlie loved to be in the woods, in his woodworking shop, putzing around in his shed, worshiping and serving God and caring for his family. He is survived by his loving wife Debbie, his daughters Krysta MacCourt, Amber Sutherland (Brandon), April Bland, Lauren Rust (Justin), his granddaughters Adryan MacCourt, Chyara MacCourt, Gianna MacCourt, Elliana Rust, his uncle Bob Bland, his siblings Larry Bland, Jannis Bland Keeling, Darrell Bland (Joyce), his nieces, nephews and other family members.

The family will be hosting a visitation at 10am followed by the service at 11am on March 30th at Alliance Church in Menomonie. Lunch will be served by the ladies of Otter Creek Christian Fellowship.

Bryan Thomas Dunn (MBA ’83)

Bryan Thomas Dunn, age 70, of Madison, Wisconsin and Sugar Land, Texas, passed away on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at his home in Madison after a courageous four-and-a-half-year battle with colon cancer.  He was born in 1950 and grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the son of Vincent and Doris Dunn.  Bryan married Kathy Berg on March 29, 1975 in Appleton, Wisconsin.

A proud Badger, Bryan earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and his MBA at the University of Houston.  He worked as an engineer for Fluor Corporation in Sugar Land for more than 35 years.  His work took him and Kathy on several foreign assignments including Calgary, Newfoundland, and Poland – he especially loved the mountains of Canada.  In addition to being very devoted to his career and his family, he was also an avid golfer and thoroughly enjoyed teeing off with a few buddies (and a few beers) at dawn.

Bryan is survived by his wife Kathy Dunn and their daughters Jessica Dunn and Danielle Dunn, as well as brother Mike (Sharon) Dunn and sister Maureen (Dan) Melander, four sisters-in-law; Ginny Isaacson (Arnie), Marlene Mulroy (Charlie), Barb Adkins (Ron) and Joanne Berg (Sue) and 13 nieces and nephews. Bryan was preceded in death by his parents and two of his brothers and sister-in-law, Jim (Denise) Dunn and Terry Dunn.

Due to the pandemic, a small funeral service for immediate family only will be held on Friday, October 16th at the Cress Funeral Home on Speedway Road in Madison.  A larger ceremony will be planned in 2021 in Wisconsin.

The family would like to thank Agrace Hospice Care for their kind support during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the cancer centers in Sugar Land and Madison that provided such excellent care to Bryan:

Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital (https://givingforms.houstonmethodist.org/GeneralGivingForm)
UW Carbone Cancer Center (https://secure.supportuw.org/give/?custom=med04&group=carbone)

Michael Burke (’73, M.A.’75)

Michael Burke was named president of Milwaukee Area Technical College. He was previously president of San Jose City College.

Jaime Ernesto Uzeta (’95)

Jaime Ernesto Uzeta, a 1995 graduate of the University of Houston, was named the new CEO of Public Allies, a national leadership and nonprofit organization founded in 1992.

This is the link to the press release on his announcement on PR Newswire:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jaime-ernesto-uzeta-is-named-ceo-of-public-allies-300695562.html