In Memory – March 28, 2024

James D. Adams

Dr. Adams (Illinois ’01), 55, Chicago, died November 17, 2023. He practiced small animal medicine in Chicago and Gurnee, Illinois. Earlier, Dr. Adams served as a paratrooper in the Army. He was a member of the Illinois State VMA. Dr. Adams is survived by his parents and a sister. Memorials may be made to the Lurie Children’s Cancer Research, 225 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.

Angela K. Baysinger

Dr. Baysinger (Missouri ’92), 57, Bruning, Nebraska, died March 8, 2024. Following graduation, she moved to Sutton, Nebraska, where she practiced at Sutton Veterinary Clinic. Dr. Baysinger subsequently earned a master’s in epidemiology from the University of Nebraska and worked as a swine technical services veterinarian for Alpharma and Boehringer Ingelheim, was a swine consultant, served as a health assurance veterinarian for Pig Improvement Company, and was vice president of on-farm food safety and animal welfare with Farmland Foods. She then joined Merck Animal Health as a technical service veterinarian, becoming the company’s animal welfare lead for North America.

Active in organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Baysinger was the newly appointed president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), having also served on several of its committees, including the AASV Pig Welfare, Pharmaceutical Issues, and Membership and Public Relations committees. She was a past chair of the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) and represented the AASV on the AVMA Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee and AVMA Council on Biologics and Therapeutic Agents. Dr. Baysinger also served as a co-chair of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture Sustainability Council, was a past member of the welfare committees of the National Pork Board and North American Meat Institute, and was active with the International Poultry Welfare Alliance and Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

In 2021, she received the Feather in Her Cap Association’s Feather in her Cap Award, a special recognition of women leaders in the animal health industry. That same year, the AASV honored Dr. Baysinger with the Meritorious Service Award. In 2022, she was awarded the PAACO Service Award. Dr. Baysinger is survived by her husband, Jerry; two sons; her parents; and a sister and a brother.

Charles R. Hilbers

Dr. Hilbers (Colorado State ’54), 92, Camp Verde, Arizona, died October 22, 2023. He owned a practice in Camp Verde. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hilbers served two years with the U.S. Coast Guard, practiced in California, and worked at several locations in Arizona prior to establishing his practice in Camp Verde. His wife, Donna; three daughters and a son; seven grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren survive him.

Kersten B. Johnson

Dr. Johnson (Auburn ’03), 49, North Palm Beach, Florida, died December 23, 2023. She practiced veterinary neurology in North Palm Beach. Dr. Johnson is survived by her husband, Eric, and a son.

Elizabeth (Betsy) R. Kalkwarf

Dr. Kalkwarf (Washington State ’49), 99, Kennewick, Washington, died February 7, 2024. She practiced small animal medicine in Oregon at Salem, Springfield, and Beaverton, focusing on avian medicine during the latter part of her career. Dr. Kalkwarf retired in 1986. She was a member of the Oregon VMA. Memorials may be made to Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741.

Karen K. King

Dr. King (Colorado State ’86), 71, Dunkeld, Australia, died October 25, 2023. Following graduation, she moved to Australia, where she practiced bovine and small ruminant medicine, focusing on reproduction. In 2002, Dr. King took ownership of the practice she worked at in Hamilton, Australia, retiring in 2015. In retirement, she raised Shorthorn cattle. Dr. King is survived by a son, a daughter, and three grandchildren.

C. Patrick Ryan

Dr. Ryan (Michigan State ’68), 80, Traverse City, Michigan, died August 21, 2023. During his career, he worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Dr. Ryan is survived by his family.

Paul H. Snyder

Dr. Snyder (Michigan State ’57), 90, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, died February 1, 2024. He owned Animal Hospital in Mount Pleasant prior to retirement in 2004. Earlier in his career, Dr. Snyder practiced in Michigan at Big Rapids and Marshall and owned Fremont Animal Clinic, a mixed animal practice in Fremont.

He was a member of the Michigan VMA; served on Central Michigan University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; and was a consulting board member for the St. Louis Zoo. Dr. Snyder’s wife, Patricia Block; four children; and six grandchildren survive him.

William F. Walquist

Dr. Walquist (Michigan State ’51), 99, Roseville, Michigan, died February 21, 2024. He owned Ina Walquist Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Roseville for more than 30 years prior to retirement in 1984. Before then, Dr. Walquist worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and practiced in Marshall, Michigan.

Active in his community, he was a past president of the local Rotary Club and served as vice president of the Roseville Chamber of Commerce and Roseville Community Schools Board of Education. Dr. Walquist was an Army veteran of World War II. His wife, Lucille; five sons and a daughter; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and three brothers survive him. One son and daughter-in-law, Drs. Glenn Walquist and Laura Waldo, both 1988 veterinary graduates of Michigan State University, are also veterinarians.

A version of this story appears in the May 2024 print issue of JAVMA

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