Ad Astra - Jim Dykes '55

Jim Dykes '55

Jim Dykes '55

Clay, Please inform the fraternity that we have lost another Sigma Tau brother, James Alexander Dykes, class of '55.  Jim passed away July 16th in Scottsdale Arizona, following a serious auto accident.  He was born in Hilo, Hawaii on October 16, 1933 to John and Jenny Dykes of Scotland.  Raised in Hawaii, he graduated from Punahou in 1951.  At the UW, Jim earned his Big W's on the varsity swim team, graduating with a BA and a commission in the U.S. Air Force.  

During his military career, he flew jet fighters in Germany and with the Hawaii Air Guard.  Later, he piloted helicopters for the Army Guard.  He received an MBA from Auburn University and also graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School.  In 1999 he retired from the Gillette (Wyoming) First Interstate Bank, moving back to Vancouver WA to be near family and friends.  Jim is survived by his wife Louise; daughters Kimberly, Kathy and LeeAnn; sons Steven and Matthew; brother John; sister Janet and numerous grandkids, nephews and nieces.  

Wherever he lived, Jim was always an active community member with Rotary, Elks and lastly, as a Hospice caregiver with the Vancouver VA Hospital.  Recently, Fiji brothers gathered for a memorial in Mount Vernon, WA; a family celebration of life was held in Lake Oswego, OR and, per Jim's request, his ashes will be spread over the Wailuku River near Hilo.

Above submitted by Bud Moore '55

The below information was submitted by Bob Vieira '56

Ron Crockett '61 Honored by UW Athletic Department

The Ron Crockett Family - Northwest Plaza

Congratulations, Ron!

Friday, August 8, 2014; the University of Washington dedicated a Plaza area near stadium and the arena to be known as the “Ron Crockett Family Northwest Plaza.   During the dedication, the UW highlighted Ron’s lifetime of contributions to the University of Washington Athletics.  

An award well-deserved, and we extend to Ron our Fiji “congrats.  "Ron, you’ve done us proud many times over”.  Please accept our congratulations along with the congratulations of many others. 

August 2014 Luncheon - Husky Football Coach Petersen

Coach Petersen speaking to Fiji Luncheon at the Seattle Yacht Club

Coach Chris Petersen is the new Husky Football Coach, and he is a much sought-after speaker these days.  Our luncheon group was fortunate to be one of the few appearances that Coach Petersen is making these days.  Surely it is the caliber of our group, but much of the Coach's decision to speak to our group has to be attributed to our stalwart grad, Ron Crockett '61.  

Ron continues to be a leading UW alumni for the UW Athletic program, and Ron is generous to personally invite Coach Petersen to speak to our group.

Petersen is a soft-spoken, forthright, spokesperson for the "whole man" approach to coaching.  After a few minutes of comments, he turned the floor over to questions.  He then spent the next 40 minutes responding to a multitude of questions with very thoughtful answers.

He took all questions in stride.  They ranged from questions about specific players - "yes, Budda Baker is a high quality athlete who goes a 100% in practices", "yes, the Chris Peteresen program begins in the weight room", in response to a question on how he beat Oregon 2 times, "each season a team will play above its level in about 4 games, and he was fortunate that his team played above its level when it beat Oregon twice in the past few years".

In a very Don James-like explanation, Peteresen explained his philosophy to build men of character who play football.  His emphasis on building the man, would mean that they don't limit their self-image to being a football player.  He relayed his experience of reaching the end of his college career -- now what?  All he'd ever seen himself as -- thru high school and college -- was as a football player.  His goal is to equip them to be focused and prepared for their longer life after football ends.  And, in the meantime, work with guys who get to know themselves, prepare themselves for success, and focus intensely on achieving success in football.    It was all very interesting.

Thanks again to Coach Peteresen for such an interesting slice of his time.  And thanks to Ron Crockett '61 for putting our luncheon group on Peteresen's radar.

Go Huskies!

Part of the crowd for Coach Petersen

2nd Annual Sigma Tau Educational Foundation Golf Tournament

2014 sees 68% more to Scholarship Fund

Congratulations to the team that organized the 2^nd Annual Sigma Tau Educational Foundation Golf Tournament.  And congratulations to all who participated.  The final accounting for the 2014 Golf Tournament has been reported.  Compared to the 1^st Annual Tournament, this year’s Tournament increased the contribution to the Scholarship Fund by $ 8,420 --  a 68% increase!

Our thanks to the 2014 organizing committee:  Imants Holmquist ’02, Richard Maloney ‘11, Rich Menti ‘94, Cope Miller ‘79, Steve Franceschina ‘79, Nick King ‘11, and Kelly Kolstad ‘01.

Thanks to the Golf Tournament, the Sigma Tau Educational Foundation received $ 12,450  in 2013 and $ 20,870 in 2014.

You are encouraged to support our Scholarship Program.  You’ll find more information about contributing by looking under the Scholarships tab @ our website www.FijiSeattle.com .  

Ad Astra - Larry Schneider '59

DR. LAWRENCE K. SCHNEIDER 

Dr. Lawrence K. Schneider, 77, Bandon OR, died July 3, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. Eldest of two children, he was born Dec. 17, 1936 of parents Wesley John Schneider and Florence Jayne Kruse in Portland OR, and grew up in Seattle. He graduted from Roosevelt High School, Seattle, before enrolling at the University of Washington in 1955 where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, graduating in 1960.  He subsequently graduated in 1966 with a Ph.D in anatomy from UW.

He is survived by his wife Catherine of 12 years and three children from an earlier marriage to Karen Hull: A son, Brandt, an anatomy associate professor at Texas Tech med school and two daughters, Kristen Wilday, an attorney in Phoenix and Erica Landis of Scottsdale AZ, and two step children, Todd Hoddick, international vp of Barco in Sacramento, and Amy Hoddick- Farrell, an animal control officer in  Hemet, CA, eight grandchildren and four step grandchildren. A sister Sally Cruver lives in Fallbrook CA.

His distinguished career in education included teaching at the Universities of Washington, North Dakota, Arizona, and Nevada, ending when he retired from the University of Nevada, Reno. There, he was a member of the first group of faculty for the University of Nevada School of Medicine.  Dr. Schneider, who was anatomy department chair, was named Professor of Anatomy, Emeritus, July 1, 1994. He authored numerous research papers in his long career, many on RNA synthesis in chromosomes. His book, Anatomical Case Histories, a problem solving text in anatomy, was published in 1976.  A final research paper was co-authored and published in 1991 entitled: Prophylactic Knee Bracing in Athletics – Does It Work? In retirement he looked after ten dogs, four horses, two cats and two goats. His wife is an animal trainer and serves in SW Oregon search and rescue.

A memorial service was held Wednesday August 6 at the family home, 88786 Tokyo Lane, Bandon OR 97411.