1930s
Mae (Schollmer) Florin ’36 (Winona) passed away on June 13 at the age of 97. She received her one-year and two-year teaching certificates as well as her bachelor’s degree in science at Winona State. Mae taught La Crescent, Eden Prairie, and Lakefield before completing a majority of her teaching career at Madison and Jefferson elementary schools in Winona. She retired in 1981. She enjoyed community volunteer work, and was an active member in her church and community organizations such as the Winona County Historical Society and the Winona Retired Teachers’ Association.
1940s
Ruth (Dixon) Brandt ’43 (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) passed away on April 16 at the age of 91. Ruth met her husband, who is also an alumnus, at Winona State.
1950s
Kathryn “Kak” Swanson Johnson ’51 (Rochester, Minn.) passed away on February 28. After graduating from Winona State, she taught at Columbia Heights High School before relocating to Rochester. Kak began teaching at Mayo High School in 1969 and enjoyed coaching three sports in the early years of girls competitive sports. She volunteered in many community events and organizations and was a longstanding member of her church. Kak also earned many distinguishing titles and honors, such as the Mayor’s Community Award in 2009 for her volunteer service in Rochester, and the first Outstanding Amateur Sports Achievement Award together with her husband. She was an emeritus trustee of the Ronald McDonald House. Each year Mayo High School gives an award in her name to their top female athlete.
Charles “Chuck” R. Erwin ’52 (Ballwin, Mo.) passed away on June 23. Before attending Winona State, he served in the U.S. Army as a military policeman in the Panama Canal Zone. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree, Chuck worked for Shell Oil for more than 30 years. He retired in 1990 in St. Louis. In his spare time, Chuck enjoyed hunting and fishing, golf, retiree luncheons, carpentry, and spending time with his grandchildren.
Arthur H. Olson ’52/’53 (Sun Lakes, Ariz.) passed away on January 5 at the age of 82.
Betty (Ebert) Shaffer ’52 (Sacramento, Calif.) passed away on May 29 at the age of 81. A native of Winona, Betty taught elementary school in Minnesota, Alaska, and Idaho, and worked as an instructional aid in the Sacramento school district for 34 years.
Alphonse Anthony Kulig ’54 (Whitehall, Wis.) passed away on June 15 at the age of 90. Al was drafted into the U.S. Navy during World War II and served in the Pacific Theater. He was honorably discharged as a radarman second class, and later enjoyed a successful baseball career as a pitcher. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Winona State, and was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame after being undefeated in his four years of conference baseball. After graduating, Al worked as a salesman and purchased a candy wholesale distributorship from his brother. He enjoyed hunting and was an avid sports fan, and worked in the community after retirement.
1960s
Larry C. Willis ’63 (Rochester, Minn.) passed away on June 16 at the age of 72 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. In high school, Larry had a successful wrestling, football and baseball career, including winning the Iowa high school wrestling championship in 1959. He then attended Winona State on a wrestling scholarship where he won many tournaments, served as captain of the team twice, and was named an All-American. Larry began his teaching career in 1963 at Bamber Valley School, and later pursued his master’s in Colorado and education specialist equivalency at Winona State. Larry’s main hobbies were all sports, including bowling, goft, softball, hunting, fishing and motorcycling. In addition to being active in the community, he compiled multiple wrestling histories, including one for WSU which is on display on campus along with his old warm-ups.
Dorothy Corrine (Sass) McLaughlin ’65/’68 (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) passed away on June 22 at age 93.
Dorothy (Waby) Chase ’66 (Chatfield, Minn.) passed away on May 11 at the age of 93. She completed Winona State’s two-year teacher’s program and taught in rural schools before settling at Chatfield Elementary. There she was a founder of the Chatfield teacher’s union, and was named Teacher of the Year in 1974. She returned to Winona State to receive her bachelor’s degree in education in 1966. Dorothy was an active member of 4-H in Olmsted County and her church for many years, and was a state office holder in the Alpha Delta Kappa education sorority.
John R. Styba ’68 (Winona) passed away on July 5 at the age of 68 from frontal lobe dementia. After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Winona State, John taught fifth grade math and science at Cochrane-Fountain City Schools and for 32 years, and also coached the girls basketball team. John enjoyed competing in running and rollerblading marathons, and won many medals with his athletic abilities.
Patrick J. Kauphusman ’69 (Winona) passed away on July 4 at the age of 65 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was an active member of his church and community organizations, served in the National Guard, and was a volunteer firefighter in St. Cloud, Minn. He enjoyed spending time with his family and many friends on Winnebago Island.
1970s
Patricia (Stoltz) Ellefson ’70 (Winona) passed away on peacefully on June 8 at the age of 64 after a two-and-a-half year battle with cancer. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Winona State, and worked as an elementary school teacher in the Cochrane-Fountain City school district before becoming a business owner and operator of two businesses, including the Midwestern Motel in Goodview which she built herself and operated for 22 years until her death. Her favorite pastimes were golf, bowling, card club her grandchildren, company, and good conversation.
James McCloskey ’71 (Scandia, Minn.) passed away on April 23 at the age of 75.
Marlys R. McCluskey ’71 (Rushford, Minn.) passed away on April 25 at the age of 86. She earned her four-year teaching degree from Winona State and enjoyed teaching in Rush City and Rushford for 43 years. Marlys was an active member in her church and in community organizations such as the Federated Women’s Club and Red Hats.
Nels Jacobson ’73 (Peterson, Minn.) passed away on April 8. He received his degree in industrial arts education and was employed by a sawmill and tire company, and many jobs as a handyman and carpenter.
Jan Varner ’79 (Mesa, Ariz.) passed away unexpectedly April 10. After graduating from Winona State, Jan taught students with learning disabilities and served as president of many Winona community organizations such as the Winona Ladies Shrine Auxiliary and the Winona Area Ballroom Dance Club.
1980s
Kevin James Mulyck ’95 (Winona) passed away unexpectedly on May 10 at the age of 44 following a brief illness. He was a lifelong resident of Winona.
1990s
Kris Benson ’95 (Two Harbors, Minn.) passed away on June 28 at the age of 47. After graduating from University of Minnesota, Kris received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Winona State. She then relocated to Two Harbors where she worked as an environmental consultant until 2010. She enjoyed writing, playing guitar, animals, sauna, fishing and the outdoors, and was an active volunteer with the Humane Society.
2000s
Shonta R. Peterson ’01 (Atwater, Minn.) passed away on April 12 at the age of 33. She earned her bachelor’s degree in paralegal from Winona State, and worked for a time as a paralegal in Minneapolis. Shonta enjoyed reading, swimming, snowmobiling, jogging and watching movies and sports
Faculty, Staff, Friends
John “Mick” Michalowski (Winona) passed away on July 3, 2013. He was the longtime manager of the Winona State University Print Shop.
James McDaniel (New York Mills, Minn.) passed away suddenly on July 13. He retired in 1998 as professor and program director for Health Care Administration in the College of Business at Winona State.
Jacque Reidelberger (Winona), professor emeritus of communication arts, passed away on August 3 in Winona. A longtime and beloved professor at Winona State in the Theatre Department, Jacque joined the faculty in 1956 after earning his bachelor’s at Beloit College and master’s from St. Louis University. He was a professor at Winona State for 40 years, nine of the last ten as chair of Department of Communication and Theatre Arts. He served in many leadership roles at WSU, including chair of the faculty, and was a familiar figure in the Performing Arts Center on campus. After his retirement, he co-founded Action Theatre, and improvisation group that was active in Winona and surrounding areas.
