1970s
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BS – Bachelor of Science
CLS – Clinical Laboratory Science
CP – Clinical Perfusion
Cyto – Cytology
D – Dentistry
DH – Dental Hygiene
GC – Genetic Counseling
GS – Graduate Studies
HPTT – Health Professions Teaching and Technology
M – Medicine
MHA – Master of Health Administration
MITS – Medical Imaging & Therapeutic Sciences
MLS – Medical Laboratory Science
MN – Medical Nutrition
MS – Master of Science
MT – Medical Technology
N – Nursing
OT – Occupational Therapy
P – Pharmacy
PA – Physician Assistant
PH – Public Health
PT – Physical Therapy
R – Radiography
RST – Radiation Science Technology
RT – Radiologic Technology
James Bauer M’70
Peoria, Ill., is now fully retired.
Janet Gilsdorf M’70
Ann Arbor, Mich., published her novel, Fever in 2022 and her next novel, Seasons of Light and Dark, will be published in 2026. All her books are medically related.
Ronald Jensen P’70
Elkhorn, Neb., retired from retail pharmacy practice in 2018 after 50 years with Walgreens.
Desiray Bailey MT ‘71, M’75
Redmond, Wash., received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UNMC College of Medicine in fall 2025. Now retired, she remains a vocal advocate for fairness in healthcare and lends her leadership experience to organizations dedicated to justice, broad representation, and the well-being of all communities. She lives with her spouse, spending time in both Redmond and Indian Wells, CA. She enjoys time with her two adult sons, daughter-in-law and grandson.
David Bingham P’71, M’75
Lincoln, Neb., is retired and he and his wife Brenda Sonksen, live in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, eight months a year and in Lincoln the rest of the time.
David Musich MS’71, Orthodontics ‘95
Inverness, Ill., is in his 54th year teaching in the graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, where he is a clinical professor of orthodontics and the coordinator of the orthognathic workshop for second-year residents. He is an advisor on the board of Oral Health, a start-up to prevent gum disease in canines and humans. He contributed to editions two through seven of the textbook Orthodontics, Current Principles and Techniques.
Ernest Bussinger M’72
Scottsbluff, Neb., retired in 2017.
Robert Eby P'72
Woodbine, Iowa, is retired.
Dade City, Fla., is the author of a new book, Hear Better, Live Longer: How Well Performing Hearing Aids and Medicare Reform Can Prevent Alzheimer's and Save Lives.
Tecumseh, Neb., retired in 2019 after 46 years of nursing.
Miami, Fla., serves as chair and professor emeritus dermatology and professor emeritus pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine. In July 2025, he was awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics Alvin H. Jacobs Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric dermatology.
Linda Christensen N’73
Adel, Iowa, moved from Denison, Iowa, to Adel, to be closer to her daughter and family after her husband passed away. She is enjoying retirement after a nursing career that included surgery, post-anesthesia care, emergency, and specialty clinics.
Gerald Luckey M’73
Omaha, Neb., was surprised and honored to receive the Distinguished Service to Medicine Award from the Nebraska Medical Association in fall 2025.
Saint Joseph, Mo., practiced general dentistry in St. Joe for 12 years before selling his practice in 1985 and returning to his first love: teaching. A former educator before dental school, he has now taught for an incredible 57 years. At age 83, he still teaches part-time and says he’s grateful to be “filling minds instead of cavities.” He and his wife have three children and 10 grandchildren. His time at dental school remains one of the highlights of his life, where he felt fortunate to learn alongside “some of the smartest, cleverest people he ever had the privilege of meeting”. In addition to his classroom work, he taught night classes for nurses for 33 years. Due to a recent diagnosis, 2025 will likely mark his final year in the classroom.
William Schlichtemeier M’73
Omaha, Neb., is a retired ophthalmologist and Lasik specialist. In July 2025, he won the Governors’ Cup at the prestigious Governors’ Ten Shooting Match as part of the Cornhusker State Games. This is the first time in eight years that he has won the event. He made the final tryouts for the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004.
Jeffery Snow M’73
Spokane, Wash., is enjoying year 13 of retirement and spends summers at a beach home on Lake Coeur d'Alene, with friends and family visiting.
The UNMC Physician Assistant Class of 1975
The inaugural PA class for the state, gathered in August 2025 during the Nebraska Academy of PAs 50th Anniversary Gala in Omaha. Four graduates from the inaugural class were in attendance, celebrating their 50th class reunion; Les Hake, Kurt Koch, Dan Danaher, and David Arthur.
Jack Fincham P’75
Oracle, Ariz., received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UNMC College of Pharmacy Alumni Council in spring 2025.
Robert Shires M’75
Des Moines, Iowa, and his wife, Jean Shires N’75, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on April 5, 2025.
Linda Spriegel N’75
Saint Joseph, Mich., and her husband are semi-retired and living in Michigan, after living and working in Africa for 28 years.
Cody, Wyo., retired from clinical practice in 2017 after four decades of general internal medicine. He continued his full-time academic medicine appointment supporting clinical research with the PCORNET research network that he and Jim McClay implemented at UNMC. In 2024, he dropped his academic commitment to part time so that he could continue to support the ongoing work of his research grants. He and his wife, Mary K, now reside near Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming.
Fremont, Neb., is now retired, after 49 years of practicing dentistry, 46 of those in private practice in Fremont.
Lincoln, Neb., is enjoying retirement and being a full-time grandma and great grandma.
Mark Lingenfelter M’77
Pompano Beach, Fla., completed his residency and fellowship at the University of Wisconsin (UW), and then joined the faculty working with acute lung injury and serving as attending physician at UW Hospital and co-director of the medical ICU at the Middleton VA Hospital. Subsequently, he was in private practice in Bangor, Maine for 23 years. While in Maine, he participated in the Northern New England Cystic Fibrosis Study Group and served as medical director of the ICU at Eastern Maine Medical Center. He took two years off from medical practice and returned to practice in Texas for two years before rejoining his former section at UW in 2010. He retired in 2018 only to be asked to return 18 months later with the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. He retired for good in 2021 with emeritus status at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Margaret Nusser Gerlach N’77, ‘85
Omaha, Neb., retired at the end of 2019, after 22 years as a nurse practitioner in nephrology at UNMC, and 22 years in kidney transplant at Clarkson and dialysis nursing at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha. She and her husband have two children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
James O’Dell M’77
Omaha, Neb., and his brother David O’Dell M’84, Internal Medicine ‘89, were recognized by the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine in June 2025, for their impactful careers. James, with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Research, and David, with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. The Lifetime Achievement Research Award, which highlights the recipient’s extensive scientific contributions at UNMC and nationally, has been given only four times, and the Lifetime Achievement Education Award has been given only once before. In January 2025, James stepped aside from his leadership post as chief of the UNMC Division of Rheumatology after 35 years. He is still serving as a professor of internal medicine, seeing patients, and doing research.
Boise, Idaho, works part time in his retirement, doing forensic cases, rural mental health clinic hours, and a few hours of telepsych per month. He travels to Kenya, India, Mexico, and previously Myanmar to train workers in orphan care and maintaining strong families (orphan prevention). He is working with his son to start a new home in central India, named in memory of his mother, Ellen House.
Merlin Butler M’78
Shawnee, Kan., was featured in VoyageKC magazine in May 2025, sharing his journey from the Sandhills of Nebraska to a distinguished 45-year career in medical genetics. After earning his MD from UNMC (1978), MS in Genetics from UNL (1980), and PhD from Indiana University (1984), he trained at the University of Indiana Medical Center and became a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics. He served at five major medical centers including Indiana, Vanderbilt, UMKC, and KUMC, evaluating ~40,000 patients, authoring 600 publications, and contributing to 70+ books. Now semi-retired, he is professor emeritus at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Glenda Housel M’78
Lake Frederick, Va., retired in January 2020, after 35 years of community mental health (the last 25 in Maryland). She now lives in a 55+ community in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and continues to be active in organizations supporting equality.
Lynne Buchanan N’79, 83, ‘99
Elkhorn, Neb., was inducted into the UNMC Interprofessional Academy of Educators in September 2025. She also received the honor of being named the 2025 Nebraska Nurses Association Outstanding Nurse Educator. She is an associate professor and co-director of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in the College of Nursing.
Mark Kampfe D’79, P’71
Denver, Colo., is retired and enjoying spending time with his grandchildren.
Kim Mowrey P’79
Tampa, Fla., retired after working 43 years for the Veterans Administration, most recently serving as the chief of pharmacy at the Tampa VA.