Gordon D. Merry, ’54 DVM, Sun Prairie, Wisc., died September 4 at age 92. Merry practiced veterinary medicine in Sun Prairie for 40 years until 1994. He is the third of six generations of Merry Hereford cattle breeders. Gordon marketed cattle all over the United States and sold a few in Canada, as well as one in Argentina, under the prefix of MGM (Marian and Gordon Merry). He is preceded in death by his wife, Marian, and survived by 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. 

Wilbur A. Leibbrand, ’53 DVM, Hastings, Minn., died July 24 at age 94. Over the course of his career, he worked in private practice in Hastings and Little Falls, Minn., for the USDA, and as a professor at the U of M Waseca. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and 4 children. 

James R. Zosel, '52 BS, '54 DVM, died of pneumonia at age 87 on October 20, 2016. In addition to being a veterinarian (his first career), Zosel was an Episcopal priest, chemical dependency counselor, and professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He also enjoyed art, travel, gardening, music, biking, and baking.

Rodney Morton Revsbech, '56 DVM, died December 8, 2016, at age 89. Revsbech was a world traveler who enjoyed his rustic deer shack in Itasca County and his many trips to Eagle, Colorado, for elk hunting. He also loved fishing, gardening, hiking in the woods, bird-watching, and tapping trees for maple syrup.

Kenneth D. Quist, '55 DVM, of Atlanta, Georgia, died August 17, 2016. Quist began his career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service, serving as an epidemiologist in Texas, Nebraska, and Idaho. In the 1960s, he traveled to Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Japan to study the cholera epidemic as part of a World Health Organization project. He retired from the U.S. Public Health Service in 1985 as director of scientific services at the CDC’s Office of Infectious Diseases. After retiring, he practiced at Wieuca Animal Clinic in Atlanta for 10 years.

Laverne C. Larson, '55 DVM, died October 6, 2016. The valedictorian of his graduating class, Larson was a partner at the Cooperstown Veterinary Clinic in Cooperstown, North Dakota, from 1955 to 1982. He then went on to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service in Nebraska and Minnesota for  seven years before retiring in Cooperstown.

Stan Diesch, '56 DVM, MPH, professor emeritus, alumnus, and CVM pioneer in One Health, died on May 10, 2017, just short of his 92nd birthday. After graduating from the CVM in 1956, Diesch joined a private practice in Freeport, Illinois, before purchasing a food animal practice in Winthrop, Iowa. After about six years, he returned to the University, earning his master’s of public health and joining the University of Iowa as an assistant professor in 1963. In 1966, Diesch was hired as a faculty member at the College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Public Health, where he worked for more than 30 years. He was also the CVM’s director of international programs for 10 years. In 2015, he was honored with the Siehl Prize by the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences.

Darold L Strandberg, ’57 DVM, Alma Center, Wis., died April 12, 2018 at age 90. Strandberg served in the Korean war and received the Purple Heart after being seriously wounded in action on March 8, 1951. After Korea, he attended the University of Minnesota in Duluth before attending the CVM. He began his practice in Alma Center shortly after graduating. He served on the Wisconsin Veterinary Examination Board and belonged to the American Jersey Cattle Association, serving on the board of directors and as vice president. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sylvia, and is survived by 5 children; 10 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Roland “Rollie” C. Olson, ’57 DVM, St. Paul, Minn., died June 8, 2018 at age 85. From 1987 to 2002, he served as executive director of the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine. Olson served as a member and President of the CVM’s Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and worked with his classmates to establish the Minnesota Veterinary Historical Museum at the University of Minnesota. Olson was a consultant to the USAF Surgeon General for Military Public Health. He was also the recipient of the Legion of Merit Award for exceptional meritorious conduct in outstanding services to the United States as Command Veterinarian, and Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Outstanding Service Award. He is survived by his wife, Muriel J. Bebeau; 2 children; 2 step- children; and 7 grandchildren.