Community

Bios

Below are current and former citizens of Owosso who have made national and international impacts on society.

Thomas E. Dewey, lawyer, author, mob-busting District Attorney of New York City, three term Governor of New York (1942, 1946, 1950), and the Republican presidential nominee in 1944 and 1948.

John Judson Bagley, Governor of Michigan from 1873 to 1877, and organizer of the Michigan National Guard. Bagley also played a role in the founding of the Republican Party.

Alvin M. Bentley, philanthropist, foreign service officer and U. S. Congresssman. Bentley was one of the five congressmen injured, on March 1, 1954, when Puerto Rican nationalist terrorists opened fire on the floor of the House of Representatives in the U. S. Capital.

Charles A. Towne, U. S. Congressman and Senator. Towne is the only person to have been elected to Congress from two different states: Minnesota and, later, New York.

Bill Ross and Bob Smith, Owosso businessmen who founded the first Ronald Reagan for President campaign and opened its headquarters in Owosso on October 28, 1964.

Jerry Hultin, former Under Secretary of the Navy, and Chief Administrator for the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management of the Stevens Institute of Technology, and President of New York’s Polytechnic University.

John Perkins, scholar, artist, author, Under Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Controller of the State of Michigan, Professor Emeritus at the University of California Berkley and system-wide, President of the University of Delaware, and former Chairman of the Board of Dunn and Bradstreet.

Frederick Carl Frieseke, early American impressionist artist whose work in France won many awards in Europe and North America. Frieseke was very influential to other artists and, for several years, he and Claude Monet were next door neighbors. Frieseke’s paintings adorn the walls of many of the world’s great art museums.

Alice Rogers Fisher (Alice R. Fisher), American artist whose work in the U. S. and Europe brought many honors. In 1924, The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., held a special nearly four-month-long exhibition of forty-one of her paintings.

Elmer Harland Daniels, American artist whose work is on permanent exhibit in the Indiana State Capitol building, at Indiana State University, and in California.

Felix Oscar Schlag, artist and winner of a dozen European art awards by 1929, designer of the Jefferson Nickel in 1938, and award-winning designer of many other medals and sculptures in the United States.

Albert Spear Hitchcock, artist, author, botanical explorer, systematic agrostologist, and co-developer of the Smithsonian Institution’s Hitchcock-Chase Collection.

Alfred D. Hershey, bacteriologist, director of genetics research at Carnegie Institution of Washington, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and co-winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in medicine/physiology. Hershey, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1958, was also the 1958 winner of the Albert Lasker Award of the American Public Health Association, and the 1965 winner of the Kimber Genetics Award of the National Academy of Sciences.

Smith Hopkins, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, whose contributions to rare earth chemistry led to tremendous advances in the field. Dr. Hopkins was the co-discoverer of the long sought element 61, named illinium (technetium). He was a star holder in American Men of Science, and the author of twelve books including Essentials of General Chemistry and Chemistry of the Rarer Elements.

Lloyd R. Welch, Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California. Dr. Welch is the developer of the Welch Bound standard and the co-developer of the Baum-Welch algorithm. Dr. Welch was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1979, and he is the recipient of the 2003 Claude E. Shannon Award – the highest honor granted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Information Theory Society.

Donald A. Tomalia, Professor, and Scientific Director of the National Dendrimer & Nanotechnology Center, at Central Michigan University, and DNT Principal Investigator at the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among his over one hundred discoveries and inventions, Dr. Tomalia is the discoverer of dendritic polymers – the fourth major class of macromolecular architecture, and he coined the term dendrimers. Dr. Tomalia is the recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Award (France), and the Society of Polymer Science Japan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Polymer Science. He also is co-author of Dendrimers and Other Dendritic Polymers.

Marion L. Shepard, Professor of Engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, and the author of Introduction to Energy Technology.

Warren Thornthwaite, Professor of Climatology at Johns Hopkins University, adjunct professor at Drexel University, President of the Commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological Organization, co-author of the book Water Balance, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Association of American Geographers, and the Cullum Medal – the highest award of the American Geographical Society. The doctor’s published research on climatology is considered to be some of the most influential of the twentieth century. His life is the subject of the book, The Genius of C. Warren Thornthwaite, Climatologist-Geographer. Dr. Thornthwaite also served as a teacher at Owosso High School from 1922 to 1924.

Yasujuro Nikaido, Chief Chemist at the Owosso Sugar Company, and author of Beet-Sugar Making and Its Chemical Control; a book which has remained a classic in its field since 1909.

Harry Loren Arnold, Sr., medical doctor, head of the Territorial (Hawaii) Medical Association, President of the Hawaiian Academy of Science, Chief of the Emergency Medical and Ambulance Service of the Office of Civilian Defense in Hawaii from 1941 to 1946 (during the attack on Pearl Harbor), and author of Poisonous Plants of Hawaii; a book which has remained a classic in the field.

Harry Loren Arnold, Jr., medical doctor, Clinical Professor in Dermatology at the University of Hawaii, and a specialist in leprosy. Dr. Arnold, Jr., served as the editor of the Hawaii Medical Journal for forty-one years, corresponding editor for the Pacific Area of the International Journal of Leprosy, and he authored four books, thirteen monographs and 200 published articles. Dr. Arnold, Jr., also served as President of the American Academy of Dermatology and Syphilolgy, Chairman of the Section on Dermatology of the American Medical Association, President of the Hawaii Academy of Science, etc.

Merle Lawrence, Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology, Physiology and Psychology at the University of Michigan, first Director of the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, and the author and co-author of several books. Dr. Lawrence was the recipient of the Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the Gold Medal Award from the American Otological Society, the Distinguished Service Award form the Princeton Class of 1938, the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Audiology, etc. Dr. Lawrence was also a highly decorated W.W.II naval aviator.

Albert John Cook, Professor of Zoology and Entomology at Michigan Agricultural College/Michigan State University from 1875 to 1893, Professor of Biology at Pomona College from 1893 to 1911, Commissioner of Horticulture for the State of California, and author of Birds of Michigan, as well books on entomology including, Injurious Insects of Michigan, Bee-keepers’ Guide, etc. Dr. Cook was a pioneer in the use of insecticides to protect crops, taught the first college course in beekeeping in the U. S., and served for many years as President of the National Beekeeper’s Association.

Eric Louis Kohler, professor at Northwestern University, visiting professor at several other universities, and author of ten books on accounting, including A Dictionary for Accountants. Professor Kohler served as Controller of the Tennessee Valley Authority; Controller of the Economic Corporation Administration, President of the American Association of Accounants, etc. In 1945, Professor Kohler was recipient of the AICPA Gold Medal – the highest honor granted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He was also recipient of the Alpha Kappa Psi Foundation Accounting Award in 1958.
Timothy R. Zinnecker, Professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law, and author and co-author of books on law and business.

Molly Faries, Professor Emeritus of the Department of History of Art of Indiana University, and Professor and Chairperson of Technical Studies in Art History at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Dr. Faries initiated and developed the use of infrared reflectography to see through layers of paint down to artists’ original drawings, thereby revolutionizing the fields of technical art history and authorship identification. Dr. Faries is the author and co-author of several books and monographs, and she has been honored with top awards in higher education and scholarship.

Richard E. Young, Professor Emeritus at Carnigie-Mellon University, author of scholarly books and other works on English and rhetoric, and founder of one of North America’s first Ph.D. programs in rhetoric.

Benjamin A. Stolz, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan and author, co-author, and editor of scholarly books and other works on language and literature.

Kimberly A. (Burek) Neuendorf, Professor of the Department of Communications of Cleveland State University. Dr. Neuendorf is the author and co-author of several books and chapters of books, and scores of papers, on advertising and communications. Dr. Neuendorf is a videographer, editorial board member of four professional journals, and she has taught over twenty different courses on film and other media.

Howard Suber, Professor Emeritus of UCLA’s School of Theatre Film & Television, and author of The Power of Film. Dr. Suber has taught over 65 different courses in film and television screenwriting, directing, production, etc., and he founded and chaired UCLA’s Critical Studies and Ph.D. program in the history, theory and criticism of film and television. He is also a founding director of UCLA’s Film Archive, which is the largest collection of preserved films west of the Library of Congress.

Harry Burns Hutchins, President of the University of Michigan from 1910 to 1920, Professor of Law and Dean of the University of Michigan Law School, organizer of the Cornell University Law School, Director of Owosso Public Schools during 1871 and 1872.

Father John Cavanaugh, former President of the University of Notre Dame. He is portrayed in the movie, Knute Rockne, All American, by actor Donald Crisp.

Edward Hardy, President of the State Normal School/San Diego State College/San Diego State University from 1910 to 1935, and executive director of the San Diego Museum of Man.

Lawrence H. van den Berg, President of the State Normal School/State University of New York at New Paltz from 1923-1943. The doctor’s prior resume includes serving as Principal of Owosso High School from 1904 to 1907.

James Oliver Curwood, Conservationist and best-selling author of thirty-three novels. More than twenty movies were made of Curwood’s books and stories, including The Bear. The tourist attraction and museum now known as Curwood Castle in Owosso was built by Curwood to serve as his writing studio, and Mount Curwood (1978 ft.) in Michigan’s upper peninsula was named in his honor.

Gregory Brodeur, author of forty-six science fiction novels, including eight New York Times Bestsellers.

Diane Carey, author of forty-six novels including several Star Trek books, and seven New York Times Bestsellers.

Dave Galanter, author and co-author of several Star Trek books including the Voyager book, Battle Lines, and the Next Generation duology Maximum Warp. His short story, Eleven Hours Out was included in the Tales of the Dominion War anthology.

Ed Dodge, author of Dau, which sold over 1.3 million copies making it one of the best-selling Viet Nam War books in history.

Gary Slaughter, author of Cottonwood Summer, Cottonwood Fall, Cottonwood Winter: A Christmas Story, and Cottonwood Spring.

Tom G. Gerst, author of Owosso Rain: Memories of a Michigan Boyhood & Other Stories.

Shaffer Fox, author of humor books and the award-winning health sciences book, 100 & Healthy. In December of 1999, Radio/TV Interview Report announced that Fox was their most requested guest for radio interviews in the U.S.

Richard Amidon, author, poet, award-winning playwright and Dean of Baker College Owosso.

John E. Glowney, attorney, author of Swimming Lessons, Volume 66,and award-winning poet.

Inez Ross, award-winning author of Southwest gothic romance, history adventure and detective novels, and children’s books.

Lynette Dyer Vuong, award-winning author of children’s books, and the historical saga, The Shadow of the Sickle, and former President of the Associated Authors of Children’s Literature

Janie Lynn Panagopoulos, historian and award-winning author of a dozen historically-based adventure books for young adults.

Patricia (Pedigo) De Santi, author of twenty textbooks and educational self-help books for children.

Elisabeth A. Freeman, award-winning author of Christian self-help books.

Halleck (Hal) Duncan Fry, Jr., a reporter at the Argus Press in Owosso during the 1940’s, a reporter, feature writer, editor, and editorial writer at the Akron Beacon Journal until 1983. Fry was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for the Akron Beacon Journal’s coverage of the Kent State shootings in 1970, and he was the recipient of the John S. Knight Award for Journalism in 1984. He also was the editor of several books, and author of the book Publish It!

James Paul Sterba, award-winning reporter and writer for The Wall Street Journal, and author of Frankie’s Place: A Love Story

Gordon Graham, decorator, designer, artist, and author of children’s books.

LaDonna Morales, co-author of the comic book series, Faith: Warrior Princess, and other work.

Betty Mahmoody, lecturer, advocate for the rights of women and children, and co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated, best-selling book, Not Without My Daughter: Escape from Iran. The book was the basis for the movie, Not Without My Daughter, which starred Sally Fields and Alfred Molina. In 1990, Betty was voted Most Courageous Woman of the Year and Woman of the Year in Germany.

Tony Hornus, journalist, author, actor in twelve independent movies; producer, co-producer or associate producer of six movies; director of three movies; b-unit director of one movie; screenplay writer of three movies. Award-winning actor, director and producer of An Ordinary Killer.

Aaron Sherry, actor in seven movies, producer of two movies, and actor in TV commercials. He played the part of Obi-Wan Kenobi in American Jedi, and Nightmare Man in the movie Nightmare Man.

Steve Crumrine (Steve Tracy), actor who appeared in several movies, including National Lampoon’s Class Reunion, Save the Last Dance for Me, Forever Young, Say Yes, Desperate Moves, etc., and who guest starred or co-starred in several TV shows, including, Quincy, The Jeffersons, The Frankie and Annette Show, etc. Steve was probably best known for playing Percival Isaac Cohen Dalton, the husband of Nellie Oelson on the TV series Little House on the Prairie.

Robert Lyons, actor in the German TV soap opera, Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten, from 2004 to 2007. He played himself in the German TV soap opera 17, and was an episode director of the German TV soap opera, Unter Uns.

Robert L. Gibson, actor who appeared in TV shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including Amazing Stories, Welcome to My Nightmare, Otherworld, Highway to Heaven, etc.

David Pappenfuss, actor who played the part of Howard in the movie, Ghost Town: The Movie.

Greg Crandall, magazine model, and actor in the movie, Gypsy Boys.

Lee Zatkovic, actor in independent movies.

Rob Oliver, character layout artist, team artist and episode director of The Simpsons TV show, and additional sequence director of The Simpsons Movie.

Peggy Dillingham, host of Miss Peggy’s Playhouse, which was broadcast mostly live on Lansing’s WJIM TV (WLNS TV). One of Michigan’s/America’s great early children TV shows, Miss Peggy’s Playhouse ran from 1954 to 1959.

Heather Claborn, reporter/producer for National Public Radio (WNPR) in Hartford, CT. Former host of All Things Considered and reporter/anchor for the USA Radio Network.

Jane M. (Feltes) Golombisky, Peabody Award-winning producer of the public radio program This American Life. Producer and music supervisor of the Showtime television series This American Life.

Mel Schacher, bass guitarist and a vocalist for the rock band Question Mark and the Mysterians and, later, a co-founding member, bassist and vocalist for Grand Funk Railroad – a rock band that sold twenty-five million records and had four gold albums.

Scott Kinsey, jazz keyboardist with several groups and best known for his work with Tribal Tech. Kinsey’s work is also part of many major motion picture soundtracks.

Richard S. Bruner, composer/sound designer/producer of New Age/ambient/atmospheric/electronic music. Winner of the 1994 Stemra Award for best use of music in TV.

George Sidman, Medal of Honor winner. During the Civil War, Sidman was a sixteen year old drummer boy with the rank of private in Company C of the 16th Michigan Infantry. While in battle at Gaines Mill, Virginia, on June 27, 1862, Private Sidman “rallied his comrades to charge vastly superior force until he was wounded in the hip.”

John Steck, former brigadier general in the U.S. Army, and active in the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II.

Ralph Hamilton Tate, former brigadier general in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Robert Ploger, former major general in the U. S. Army, who fought on Omaha Beach on D-Day, and was active in the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. He is the author of the book, Viet Nam Studies: U. S. Army Engineers 1965-1970. His son, Robert Ploger III, and his son’s wife, were passengers on Flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.

Reverend William Scott Ament, minister, missionary and temperance advocate. Reverend Ament gained international acclaim during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Outnumbered 50 to 1 by the marauding revolutionary Boxers, Reverend Ament heroically defended and rescued Christians from Tung Chow, China, and escorted them to safety in Peking. Ament’s life is the subject of the book, William Scott Ament, Missionary of the American Board in China, by Henry D. Porter, published in 1911 in Canada and in Great Britain.

Rabbi Leonard Beerman, lecturer, teacher, activist, and founding Rabbi of Los Angeles’ Leo Baeck Temple. Among his notable life events, he performed the wedding of Barbra Streisand to James Brolin.

Bobbi McCaughey, the Iowa mother, and wife of Kenny McCaughey, who made international news when she gave birth to septuplets in Des Moines on November 19, 1997.

Chief Wosso/Chief Wasso, chief of the Shiawassee band of Ojibwa Indians. Chief Wosso was a signatory of the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819 which ceded 15,000 square miles in central Michigan to the U. S. Government. He was also a signatory of the Treaty of Detroit in 1837, which ceded much of southeastern Michigan and northwest Ohio to the U. S. Government. Chief Wosso lived in and near Owosso, and the city was named in his honor.

Cora Taylor, co-founder of Owosso’s Indian Trails Bus Line. On April 19, 1914, Cora Taylor became the first women in the United States to obtain a commercial chauffeur’s license.

Bette Lou Pittman, represented Michigan in the Miss America pageant. Miss Michigan 1950.

Vicki Witt, known as “the ultimate girl next door” and the “Holy Grail” of Playboy Playmates. Miss August 1978.

Richard Cain (Ricardo Scalzitti), mobster, double agent, chief aide and emissary of mob chief Sam Giancana. Cain’s life is the subject of the book The Tangled Web.

Paul T. Spaniola, named six-time world champion pipe smoker by the The International Association of Pipe Smokers’ Clubs, Inc. In 1952, Spaniola was recruited by Twentieth Century Fox Studios to teach Susan Hayward how to smoke a pipe for the movie The President’s Lady.

Tara Davis, female professional featherweight boxer. Ranked 17th in the world as of March 15, 2007.

William Graham, left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1908 to 1910.

Bill Reichert, engine builder, 2006 and 2007 National Champion Top Alcohol Dragster, and top speed national record holder in top alcohol dragsters. Reichert won three national events through 2004, won seven of seven national events during 2005 and 2006, and won seventeen consecutive rounds of racing from mid-July to September of 2006. In Joliet, Reichert set a national record for hitting 284 miles per hour in a quarter mile – the highest speed ever reached in an alcohol fueled dragster. Also, Reichert set the Elapsed Time record with a 5.10 seconds in a quarter mile. Reichert became the National Champion Top Alcohol Dragster with his win of the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals in Richmond, VA, in 2006.

Earl Sutphen, trick roper and rodeo star. In 1927, Sutphen won the world championship in trick roping at the International Rodeo at Tampa, Florida.

John Tomac, bicycle racer, bicycle builder, and an icon in the mountain bike racing field. Tomac won more international mountain bike races than anyone else in the sport. He was voted the top all-around bike racer in the world in 1988, and was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1991.

Chester Brewer, star athlete, coach and athletic director. Chester Brewer was a four sport star at the University of Wisconsin, and football coach at Michigan Agricultural College/Michigan State University for 1903 to 1910, 1917 and 1919 where he posted shutouts in 49 of 88 games and went undefeated in 43 straight home games. He also coached track, field, and cross country, and as baseball coach led his teams to a .564 record from 1904 to 1910, and coached the school’s basketball teams to a .736 record from 1904 to 1910. He served as athletics director and coach at the University of Missouri from 1910 to 1917, Director of Army Athletics for the U. S. War Department during 1918, served as director of athletics and professor of physical education from 1919 to1922 at MAC/Michigan State University, and held the same positions at the University of California-Davis until returning to Missouri where he served as athletics director until 1935. Brewer also coached his home town, Owosso, Michigan’s, West Side Indoor Baseball Team to win the world championship in 1905-1906.

Bradlee Van Pelt, American football star. Bradlee Van Pelt, one of the all-time favorite quarterbacks for the Colorado State University Rams, set several records there during his years as a starter. He is currently a free agent and was last a backup quarterback for the Houston Texans of the NFL. Bradlee Van Pelt is the son of American football star, Brad Van Pelt.

Brad Van Pelt, American football star. Van Pelt was a three sport star at Michigan State University. In football, he was a two-time All American, and in 1972 he became the first defensive back to win the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top collegiate football player. Van Pelt was a first round draft pick for the NFL where he played, from 1973 through 1986, with the New York Giants, the L.A. Raiders and the Cleveland Browns. Van Pelt was named the Giants’ Player of the Decade for the 1970s , and he was selected for the Pro Bowl five years in a row from 1976 through 1980. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002, and has recently been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.