Forestry Alum Updates - Summer 2023
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EmailHear from your fellow alums about what they are doing, and where they are now.
Jerry Gildemeister | BS ‘55
After moving from La Grande to Dallas, Oregon last summer, my photographic, design, and book publishing business suddenly dried up. But, I stayed busy with some home updating. I did receive a request for a summary report of the 235-page Watershed History of the Grande Ronde River of Northeast Oregon that I authored in 1998 for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. With no files for guidance, I set about recreating an updated 30-page summary report with hopes that it will be a valuable asset for anyone involved with watershed management and restoration in the years to come. I’m now working on selecting 600+ photo images from my photo archives for transfer to the Wallowa County Historical Center in Eastern Oregon for their use.
Jack Gould | BS ‘55
My report is not a favorable one, health-wise.
In December of 2022, I got Covid-19 followed with a case of Sepsis, and then Pneumonia. Things didn’t look good, but good medical care saved me. I am currently in a care facility called Waterstone on Augusta in Greenville, SC. Contact me at 1004 Augusta St. Apt 1204 Greenville, SC 29605. I would love to hear from old friends.
Jerry Gelock | BS ‘62
My wife and I still live in Bakersfield, CA after retiring from the Sequoia National Forest in 1991. Age and health are preventing me from doing many of the things I like to do. But, I have been blessed in more ways than I can count. I enjoy getting the newsletter and seeing the exciting things going on at MSU – the best school I could have possibly attended.
Timothy Gavin | BS ‘78
I am a 1978 graduate of MSU Forestry, however, I ended up on a different career path. Along with my BS in Forest Land Management, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. I ended up retiring after 23 years of service and became a high school teacher, a career that I recently retired from after 20 years in the classroom.
Pete Schaefer | BS ‘78, MS ‘80, PhD ‘83
I have been retired since 2016 from South Dakota State University, where I spent 33 years as a professor of forestry, including 12 as department head. My happy place is family lake property near Newberry, MI, and an additional 240 acres of upland hardwood and swamp conifer forest I own with my brothers. A shout out to alumni of Jon Wright and Jim Hanover. We should have a reunion.
Steve Babcock | BS ‘82, MBA ‘86
I worked for Universal Forest Products 1982-1985. I left the lumber industry and worked at Danaher Corp. in various industrial supply chain roles. I’m currently CPO and VP of Supply Chain at Columbus McKinnon Corporation, Charlotte, NC. Despite not being in a forestry-related industry, I know all of the tree species at my home, and most of them in the neighborhood – often I know the Latin names – thanks Dr. Wright!
Patricia Hesch | BS ‘85
After a 39+ year career with the USDA Forest Service, I retired on April 30, 2022. I began my career as a cooperative education student on the Huron-Manistee National Forest, Mio Ranger District. My career took me to the Gallatin NF in West Yellowstone, Montana, the Arapaho-Roosevelt NF in Granby CO, and the Medicine Bow-Routt NF in Laramie, WY. I concluded my career as the Regional Land Ownership Adjustment Program Manager for the Rocky Mountain Region in Lakewood, CO. At my awesome retirement party, I was awarded the Randall Karstaedt Lands Achievement Award for my work in land exchanges, purchases, conveyances and donations, including my mentorship of many aspiring realty specialists in the agency. After 10 years “on the road” to facilitate my career, I am living full-time at home in Grand Lake, CO with my husband Dan Fairbanks, and 9-month old puppy Luca.
Tim Chick | MS ‘91
At the Spring, 2023 MI SAF meeting I was recognized for being an SAF member for 60 years.
