Class Notes

Phil Heron (Jour) celebrated 35 years of marriage and 36 years at The Daily Times in Tennessee, where he writes a column reminiscing about his experiences as a reporter and the busy schedule that comes with the job.

Melvin Mencher (Jour), author of the seminal journalism textbook News Reporting and Writing, taught at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism from 1962 to 1990. Now retired, he lives in New York near Columbia University. He recently signed a copy of his textbook with the inscription, “To CU Boulder, where it all began.”

Zack Horrell (Jour) lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and celebrated his 90th birthday in April. After graduating from CU Boulder, he started working at the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette. He then spent over 40 years with Lesher Communications newspapers in California before retiring in 1995.

Joan Barthelme Bugbee (Jour) a proud Phi Beta Kappa, retired from a 45-year communications career in 1996 as vice president of corporate communications for Pennzoil Co. Bugbee, who now lives in Roanoke, Virginia, says, “I’m a widow, have two sons, have traveled extensively in retirement and still send op-eds to the paper when the spirit moves me.”

Bill Cramer (Jour) lives in Bowie, Maryland, and turned 92 in November. After graduation from CU Boulder, he had a career as a Russian, German, French and Spanish military translator for the National Security Agency and Naval Intelligence during the Cold War. He and his wife, Virginia, whom he met at a square dance on the patio of the then-new University Memorial Center, have six children and four grandchildren.

Sharon O’Brien (Jour) and Thomas J. O’Brien (Bus’57) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on March 29. They met at CU Boulder, married in California and have five sons. “How ‘bout them apples?” says Thomas. The couple live on Lake Geneva in Fontana, Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee.

Jack Holley (Jour) started his journalism career as a copy editor at the Omaha World-Herald and retired decades later as the managing editor at the Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California. Along the way, he taught at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, received a Ford Foundation grant to study urban problems, and earned a Knight Foundation fellowship to teach in Hungary and the Czech Republic. He lives in Riverside.

John Herzog (Advert) retired from his third state board, the Colorado Dental Board, in January. He was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper. John previously served on the Colorado Securities Board and the Colorado Utility Consumer’s Board. At CU, he served on the Alumni Association’s board twice and is a member of the CU Advocates program. He and his wife, Leslie (Engl’62), live in Colorado Springs. His daughter, Dana Jussaume (Hist’94), and son-in-law, Dave Eck (PolSci’84), attended CU, and his granddaughter, Emily Eck (Mus’20), attends the university now. 

Douglas Looney (Jour) worked as a journalism instructor for the U.S. Department of Defense Information School while serving in the military after graduation. Looney’s award-winning career spans many newspapers and radio stations, most notably Sports Illustrated, where he worked for 21 years as a senior reporter and received recognition for the best magazine sports story. Looney was named one of CU’s Notable Alumni and spent 18 years as chairman of the advisory board for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Ken Frazier (Jour) and his wife, Ruth (Eng’65), made the trip to Boulder from their home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last fall to attend CMCI’s Homecoming reception and the CU football game. Ken is the editor of Skeptical Inquirer: The Magazine for Science and Reason, which publishes critical scientific evaluations of controversial and extraordinary claims, including pseudoscientific and fringe-science matters. He won CU Boulder’s Norlin Award in 1985.

Carol Robinson Andrews (Jour) is happily retired and enjoying life with her husband, John. They have two sons and four grandchildren. They traveled through the entire United States and many Canadian provinces in an RV between 1988 and 2021. She continues to write—blogging on their travels since 2006 and writing her life story.

Tim Findley (Jour) joined the Marine Corps after graduating, then embarked on a career as an investigative reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. Findley was known for fiercely covering controversial issues, even at great personal risk. At the Chronicle, he covered the Native American occupation of Alcatraz Island and spent time as a prisoner for a series on Soledad State Prison in California. He discovered the identities of members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, a revolutionary group that kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. Later he worked as a freelance television producer and a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. Findley wrote until the end, beginning a new article for Range magazine just days before his death in 2010.

Following graduation, Stan Nicholas (Jour) worked at CU, where he was on a team that edited and proofread all written materials, including course curriculum guides, brochures, authored books and more. Eventually, he moved on to serve as the general manager of Paddock Publishing, in Boulder. Later in his career, he started his own video production company, Positive Productions, winning Communicator Awards. He has written two books and self-published Never Summer: A Thousand Rainbows through A Buff and Beyond Ink, which mentions his time at CU.

Mildred Taylor (MJour) is the author of nine books. Her first, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, won the Newbery Medal in 1977 and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of a special edition. At CU, Mildred helped create a Black studies program and taught in it for two years. She lives in Boulder.

Mildred Taylor (MJour) is the author of nine books. Her first, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which won the Newbery Medal in 1977, recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of a special edition. At CU, Mildred helped create a black studies program and taught in it for two years. She lives in Boulder.

Rick Taylor (Jour) and his wife, Patti Jordan Taylor (Engl), live in Olympia, Washington. After graduating from CU Boulder, he served 27 years in the U.S. Army as both a signal and public affairs officer. Later, he produced and wrote films, videos, and radio and TV stories before retiring to teach high school students. He then freelanced for regional and international boating magazines and wrote a column for the local paper. His first novel came out last fall.

Steve Hatchell (Advert) will be inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame in November alongside nine other honorees. He is president and chief executive officer of the National Football Foundation (Irving, Texas) and the College Football Hall of Fame (Atlanta, Georgia).

Larry Duthie (Jour) retired in 2009 as publisher of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin after 40 years in community journalism. He and his wife, Rosalind (Edu), met at CU. Together, they co-published a series of newspapers, beginning with the purchase of the Silverton Standard & the Miner in Silverton in 1972. Duthie recently released Return to Saigon, a memoir dealing with his long association with Vietnam, beginning with high school in Saigon and his return as a naval aviator where he flew 137 combat missions.1973John Poimiroo (MJour) was named Writer of the Year by the Outdoor Writers Association of California. He was recognized for his many achievements, including four first-place awards: Best Outdoor Feature Photograph, Best Outdoor Photographic Series, Best Outdoor Video and Best Outdoor Internet Site. Marc Wilson (Jour), chairman emeritus of TownNews, the digital services company he co-founded in 1989, was elected president of the Inland Press Foundation in 2020. During his career, he worked as a journalist for three daily newspapers, five bureaus of The Associated Press, and was editor/publisher of the Bigfork Eagle in Kalispell, Montana, for 14 years. He is author of two published books, and he and his wife, Virginia (Jour’69), live in Loveland.1976Peter Lasser (Comm) is a producer and director at Lasser Productions in Atlanta. He has produced for 11 Olympic Games throughout his career in broadcast,

Larry Duthie (Jour'71) retired in 2009 as publisher of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin after 40 years in community journalism. He and his wife, Rosalind (Edu'71), met at CU. Together they co-published a series of newspapers, beginning with purchase of the Silverton Standard & the Miner in Silverton in 1972. Duthie recently released Return to Saigon, a memoir dealing with his long association with Vietnam, beginning with high school in Saigon and his return as a naval aviator where he flew 137 combat missions.

In November 2018, Sheila Hollis (Jour) received the Petroleum Economist Legacy Award in London for achievements in energy law and policy worldwide. She is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Duane Morris and lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, John.