The University of Kansas

Stanton Ball
Stanton Mock Ball, 67, Fort Worth, Texas, died Aug. 1 at a Dallas hospital. He worked at the Kansas Geological Survey until he received his Ph.D. in geology from KU in 1964. He received the Haworth Award for outstanding work in geology from KU faculty. He married Artis Olson on Dec. 28, 1955, in Lawrence. She survives of the home. Other survivors include a daughter, Becky Ball, Indianapolis; a son, David, Evergreen, Colo.; and five grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to the Geology Associates Fund: Department of Geology, KU, Lawrence, 66045-2124.

Ruth Coombs
Ruth Stokes Coombs, 92, Salt Lake City, died July 2 in Salt Lake City. She worked at the Bureau of Visual Instruction at KU. She married L. Madison Coombs June 1, 1932, in Fulton, Mo. He died in 1990. Survivors include two sons, Fred S. Coombs, Urbana, Ill., and F. Alan Coombs, Salt Lake City; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Frank Cross
Frank Bernard Cross, 75, Lawrence, died July 19 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He was a professor of systematics and ecology at KU from 1951 until he retired in 1991. He also was a curator for the Natural History Museum. He married Marie Zepplin on Nov. 24, 1954, in Lawrence. She survives of the home. Survivors also include one son, Frank Bertram Cross of Austin, Texas; two daughters, Betty Sue Cross of Maryland Heights, Mo., and Julie Cross Hoko of Madison, Conn.; and one grandchild. The family suggests memorials to the Kansas Endowment Association for the Department of Ichthyology or to the charity of donor’s choice and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.

Ian Davis
Ian Davis, 84, died July 8 at the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif. He worked in the traffic and security department at KU for 23 years until his retirement in 1982. He married Madelyne Wilda Roberts on Sept. 6, 1938. She survives of the home. Other survivors include four children; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Memorials may be given to the Disabled American Veterans, 41-865 Boardwalk, Suite 103, Palm Desert, CA 92211.

Chez Haehl
Chez J. Haehl, 81, Lawrence, died July 17 at his home. He was an associate professor of theatre and University Theatre costumer at KU from 1963 until he retired in 1985. He married Gretchen Fosket on July 8, 1949, in Reno, Nev. She survives of the home. Other survivors include three sons, Earl L. Haehl, Lawrence, J. Stanley Haehl, Lawrence, and Greg D. Haehl, Lawrence; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Community Theatre, Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association or Hospice of Douglas County, sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.

William Hudson
William S. Hudson, 79, Lawrence, died July 11 at his home. He worked for the KU housing department. He married Eva L. Baysinger on June 6, 1943, in Lawrence. She survives of the home. Other survivors include three daughters, Judy Gibler and Sara Hudson, both of Lawrence, and Sue Gibbs, Jarbalo, Ks.; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association or the American Lung Association, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Eileen Murphy
Eileen Alanna “Bebe” Murphy, 74, died July 25 at Specialty Hospital of Mid-America in Overland Park. She received a master of fine arts in textile design from KU and taught in the design department from 1969 to 1992. Survivors include a sister, Nan Finucane, Leawood. The family suggests memorials to St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.

Saralinda Rhodes
Saralinda Alexander Rhodes, 50, died July 11, near Litchfield, Calif. She was a reference librarian at KU. Survivors include her parents, Robert and Ellen Alexander, Oakland, Calif.; and a sister, Elise Alexander-Stone, Sonoma, Calif. The family suggests memorials to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Olin Petefish
Olin K. Petefish, 89, Lawrence, died July 18 at Brandon Woods Retirement Community. He received numerous honors and awards from KU, including the Distinguished Service Award, Fred Ellsworth Award for Unique and Significant Service to KU, Olin K. Petefish Research Award in Basic Sciences, and KU’s Higher Education Leadership Award. He served KU in many capacities, including former trustee, KU Center for Research, Inc.; former chairman, KU Endowment Association board of trustees, where he also was past chairman of the finance committee; former member of the 100th KU Anniversary Council for Progress committee; life member of KU Alumni Association and Chancellor’s Club; past president, KU Memorial Union Corp., Board of Governors, KU Law Society; former member of the boards of KU Adams Alumni Center and Oread Laboratories, Inc. He married Mary Ruth Watermulder Feb. 5, 1942, in Lawrence. She survives of the home. Other survivors include two daughters, Mary Ann Pollard, Evanston, Ill., and Susan Elizabeth Gold, Colorado Springs, Colo.; and two grandsons. The family suggests memorials to KU Endowment Association or First Presbyterian Church, sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.

Charles Richard Werth
Charles Richard Werth, 53, a biology professor and authority on ferns, died July 27 at the home of a brother in Alexandria, Va. He lived in Lubbock, Texas.
He taught at KU before joining the faculty at Texas Technical University 14 years ago. Werth, an associate professor at Texas Technical University, was born in Seoul. He was a 1969 biology graduate of the University of Virginia, where he also received master’s degrees in biology and education. He received a doctorate in biology from Ohio University. Survivors include a brother, Robert, of Alexandria; and two sisters, Lennice Werth of Crewe, Va., and Marice Werth of Vienna, Va.

Thelma Whiteside
Thelma E. Whiteside, 82, Lawrence, died July 30 at Colonial Manor Nursing Home. She worked for the KU housing department for 30 years. She retired in 1989. She married Wilbert Whiteside on March 1, 1941, in Lawrence. He survives of the home. Other survivors include a daughter, Jeannie Verner, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and two grandchildren. A daughter, Ina Unseld, died Jan. 1, 1989. The family suggests memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Philip Joseph Wittek
Philip Joseph Wittek, 55, died Aug. 1. He worked as the environmental department director for Johnson County. Before joining Johnson County, Wittek, a Kansas City, Kan., native, worked as a chemist at Midwest Research Institute, in Kansas City, Mo.; the KU Medical Center; and Water Pollution Control of Kansas City, Kan.