Eastern Washington University Athletics

Our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the following individuals who have passed away in recent days, months and even years. All have a deep and lasting connection to Eastern Washington University Athletics as Eagles or as Savages. They will all be remembered and our memories of them cherished forever.

***Indicates Member of the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame.

Tom Missel (1960-2023)

Missel was an assistant coach for the EWU football team for three seasons from 2000-02, first coaching the defensive line (2000-01) before taking over linebackers (2002). He was also Assistant Head Coach in 2001 and 2002. Missel's defensive line in 2000 finished the season ranked sixth in NCAA Division I-AA rushing defense with an average of just 98.4 yards against. He arrived in Cheney after nine years as an assistant coach at Western Washington, including nine years as the Vikings' defensive coordinator. Western made five national appearances during his tenure there, reaching the NAIA Division II Championship game in 1996. Missel earned his bachelor's degree in business from Western in 1983, where he started  and lettered two years in football as a center, earning honorable mention all-conference honors in 1981. He also earned letters at Montana State and Spokane Falls Community College. He was born in Hoquiam, Wash. on Dec. 12, 1960.

Tom Missel Obituary
 

***Kathleen "Kat" Nygaard-Kaut (1982-2023)

Passed away on February 7, 2023 at the age of 40

A three-time All-Big Sky Conference first team selection (2002-03-04), Kathleen "Kat" Nygaard was EWU’s first-ever Kodak/WBCA All-America finalist as an All-Region 7 selection in 2004. She was also selected twice as a member of the Big Sky Conference’s All-Tournament team (2003-04). She helped Eastern to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament three-straight years (2002-03-04), including the 2002-03 season when Eastern finished 17-12 overall and 7-7 in the Big Sky Conference. Eastern was 51-63 overall and 23-34 in the Big Sky in her four years at EWU. Nygaard-Kaut scored 1,466 career points to rank second in school history at the time while also ranking second in scoring average (14.4) and third in field goal percentage (.512). As a senior (2003-04 season), she led the league in scoring (18.6 points per game), field goal percentage (.528), double-double performances (14), 20+ performances (13) and 10+ rebounding games (13). She was also second in rebounding (9.7 per game) and fifth in blocked shots (1.14). 

An outstanding student, she was a CoSIDA Academic All-America second team selection as a senior, a two-time member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII team (2003-04) and a four-time member of the Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team (2001-02-03-04). She culminated her athletic and academic career by being EWU’s female recipient of the Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2003-04 school year. She was a member of the 2003-04 Eagle squad that had a collective 3.626 grade point average to lead NCAA Division I on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top 25 Honor Roll. Early in her senior season, she passed the 1,000-point mark in her career during the East Carolina Lady Pirate Invitational. In that tournament, she scored a career-high 30 points against Ball State. Also that season, she scored 18 points and had 15 rebounds in EWU’s 72-69 win over Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve at the Spokane Arena. 

Obituary in the The Chronicle (Chehalis/Centralia) | Eastern Hall of Fame Bio

Paul Horak (1947-2022)

Passed Away on August 5, 2022 at the age of 75

Paul Horak was a member of the Eastern Washington State College football team which finished as the NAIA runner-up in the 1967 season. The Savages were Evergreen Conference champions and finished 11-1, plus were unbeaten in the first year of "New Woodward Field" on the Cheney campus. Paul was born in Odessa on April 26, 1947, to Frank and Mary Louise Geissler Horak Kern. After graduating from high school in '65, Paul played football for Eastern Washington (College) University. Paul often spoke fondly of those years, the games played, friends remembered, and classes missed. These stories always produced ear-to-ear smiles and addictive belly laughs. When his four years of football were up, he left college and started working construction in Spokane. He'd often point out buildings on the Spokane horizon and tell his kids of adventures and mishaps on the sites as they drove through the city, and with Paul, there were many. After his father passed in 1971, Paul came home and started working on the family farm. He married Debra in 1982 and had three children. When Paul wasn't farming, he could be found in his shop, Rocky Coulee Repairs, working on customers' vehicles, or working on one of his many projects and hobby vehicles. Paul's hobby collection included building hotrods, custom classics, and even some Mad Max-inspired hunting vehicles and service rigs. Paul enjoyed hunting and fishing, and always loved to share those adventures with friends, his children, and grandchildren. Paul also cherished his time as a coach. He helped coach the Odessa football team for many years and could often be found across the line from the students during practice scrimmages. He enjoyed teaching and watching the students participate in the sport that he loved. Paul is survived by his wife of 40 years, Debra Horak; his children, Frank and Abby (Hatten) Horak, Leslie Horak, and Marcus Horak; his two brilliant, loving, and wild grandchildren Luna and Quinn; his sisters and brother, Anne (Horak) Haugen and her husband Jim, Steven Horak, and Carol Kniola; and many nieces and nephews.
Obituary in the Spokesman Review
 

Chad Bodnar (1977-2022)

Passed Away on July 18, 2022, at the age of 44

In his seven complete seasons as the head coach of the women's soccer team, Chad Bodnar was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year ('19) and coached Chloe Williams to three-straight Big Sky Offensive MVP awards ('15, '16, '17). He also coached the 2019 Big Sky Defensive MVP (Taylor Matheny) and Newcomer of the Year (Madison Kem). He coached 15 first-team selections, 11 second-team selections and eight honorable mention selections. He coached the 2016 team to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and followed up with a regular season and tournament title in 2017. His program advanced to the Big Sky title game in three out of his last five seasons. In seven years at the helm, he became EWU's all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 73-44-18 (.607) and 38-19-8 (.646) in Big Sky play.
Obituary

David Miles (1988-2022)

Passed Away on June 13, 2022, at the age of 33
David Miles played football at Eastern Washington from 2007-11 and was a member of EWU’s 2010 National Championship team. Playing on both the offensive line and at tight end, he made 34 appearances during his career with 38 total tackles.
Obitutary in the Spokesman-Review | Bio on GoEags.com
 

Charles L. "Charlie" Cox (1947-2022)

Passed Away on May 13, 2022, at the age of 74
Cox was a member of the Eastern Washington State College football team which finished as the NAIA runner-up in the 1967 season. The Savages were Evergreen Conference champions and finished 11-1, plus were unbeaten in the first year of "New Woodward Field" on the Cheney campus. Cox grew up in Spokane and attended Central Valley High School before becoming a member of the first class of graduates from University High School in 1964. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern, and served in the Marines from 1969-1972 with a tour of duty in vietnam. He was an elementary and junior high school teacher in Spokane before retiring in 2013, and also coached youth sports in football, basketball, baseball, softball and soccer.
Obituary in the Spokesman-Review | 1967 Football Team Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

***Jim Wasem Sr. (1936-2022)

Passed away on April 2, 2022 at the age of 85
Jim Wasem Sr. coached in more than 900 collegiate baseball games in a 23-year career as a head baseball coach at three different schools from 1968-90. He spent nine of those seasons (1982-90) at Eastern Washington University, which competed as a member of the Pacific 10 Conference Northern Division. He was 230-251-1 overall with a 78-135 league record. Prior to that, he spent nine seasons at Northwest Missouri State (1973-81) where he had a collective 226-119 record in nine seasons for a .644 winning percentage. He won 61 percent of his games in five seasons (1968-72) at Monmouth in Illinois, finishing with a 64-41-1 overall record. In 23 seasons at the helm of collegiate programs, Wasem coached in 933 games. He won 56 percent of those outings, with a 520-411-2 record. At Eastern, Wasem's 1988 team finished up strong by winning four of six games in the Pac-10 Northern Division Tournament to finish second behind champion Washington State. His best season, percentage-wise, came in 1985 when the Eagles had a collective 42-24 record (.636). Wasem came to the EWU campus in Cheney, Wash., after nine seasons at Northwest Missouri State where his record included four Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles at the NCAA Division II level. His players included Gary Gaetti, who would go on to a 20-year career in Major League Baseball.
Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site | Story in Spokesman Review
 

***Vic Wallace (1934-2022)

Passed away on January 28, 2022 at the age of 87
Eastern's former police chief, in retirement Wallace became an Eagle Athletic Association member and one of Eastern's biggest supporters. He and his daughter, Chrissy, rarely missed any EWU games or events, and attended practices for most sports regularly. They greeted and welcomed players as they came and went at practice, with an especially endearing treatment of new students. Wallace annually served as a "team member" for Eagle Athletic Fund drives. Wallace retired from the United States Air Force in February of 1974 and started at EWU that October. After the death of his spouse in 1999, Vic and Chrissy began their passionate involvement with Eastern Athletics. In fact, during the two-month installation of the red Sprinturf surface at EWU's Roos Field in 2010, they were on hand for all but one day to view the progress.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

***Maxine Davis (1940-2021)

Passed Away Oct. 28, 2021, at the age of 81
Davis was Eastern's women's gymnastics coach for nine years as part of a 40-year career in education. She was coach at Eastern from 1970-78 with national championship appearances all nine seasons. Eastern placed fifth in 1971, seventh in 1972 and seventh in the AIAW Small College National Championships in her final season in 1978. In 1978, she was selected as the Coach of the Year by the Northwest Collegiate Women's Sports Association. She retired as professor emeritus in Eastern's physical education department and health department.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site | Story in Spokesman-Review
 

Sally Tibbitts (1939-2021)

Passed Away on June 10, 2021, at the age of 91
Tibbitts and her husband, Thorne Tibbitts, were avid EWU fans and supporters through the years. They were integral in the creation in 1983 of the Eagle Athletic Association, which eventually became known as the Eagle Athletic Fund. Thorne and Sally were married for 62 years, and Thorne was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame as a gymnastics coach and contributor.
Obituary in Cheney Free Press | Thorne Tibbitts Bio on EWU Athletics Hall of Fame Site
 

Mary Cullinan (1950-2021)

Passed Away in Spring of 2021, at the age of 70
Cullinan served as EWU's 26th President from 2014-2020. She and her husband, Jeffrey Kelter, attended most EWU home athletic events and numerous games on the road.
Wikipedia Entry | Story in Spokesman-Review on Her Passing
 

***John Dacey '82 (1931-2021)

Passed Away Feb. 17, 2021, at the age of 90
A long-time supporter of Eastern Athletics and resident of Cheney, Wash, Dacey was President of the Eagle Athletic Association from 1987-89 and on the EAA board for more than 10. He was one of  the former presidents of the association to be honored on Oct. 1, 2016, with the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award. He served in the Air Force for 26 years, then received his Eastern degree in general studies in 1982.
Complete Obituary | Story on EAA Receiving Hall of Fame Service & Contribution Award
 

***Bob Maplestone '74

Passed Away Jan. 2, 2021, at the age of 74
A sub 4-minute miler originally from Cardiff, Wales, he was the first Briton to run a mile indoors in under four minutes (3:59.5) in 1972 and went on to have a time of 3:58.5 outdoors in 1973. His eventual best in the mile was 3:57.6. Besides being an inaugural member of the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, he is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame after winning four national titles while at Eastern. He was 74 and the time of his death lived in Edgewood, Wash., near Tacoma, after a long teaching and coaching career at Highline Community College in the Seattle area.
Story on His Passing | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site | Column by John Blanchette/Spokesman-Review | Story Published by WelshAthletics.Org
 

Raphael Guillory '94 (1971-2020)

Passed Away Nov. 29, 2020, at the age of 49
Guillory was the starting free safety on the first Eastern team to win the Big Sky Conference football championship in 1992. He played for Eastern in 1992 and 1993, and went on to become an Eastern professor and earn his PhD. He played at Walla Walla Community College before he came to Eastern, where he was a teammate for one season with his younger brother, Justin Guillory. Formerly from Lapwai, Idaho, Raphael earned Academic All-District VIII honors and was on the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team as a senior in 1993. He earned his bachelor's degree from Eastern in 1994 in sociology with a minor in communications. He was a psychology professor at Eastern since 2002, including his first 15 years as an assistant professor.
Story at GoEags.Com | Story at Inside.ewu.edu | 1992 Football Team Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

***James Kirschbaum (1940-2020)

Passed Away Oct. 23, 2020, at the age of 80
Kirschbaum was a member of the EWU Board of Trustees for 12 years, include a tenure as chair. He helped provide administrative support during Eastern's drive to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I status after being a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for most of the school's history. He led the tireless efforts in the 1970's and the 1980's in helping Eastern achieve and maintain NCAA Division I status and become a member of the Big Sky Conference. He joined five other individuals from that era to receive the Eastern Athletics Service and Contribution Award in 2011.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

Nick Reynolds '04 (1980-2020)

Passed Away Sept. 26, 2020, at the age of 40
A 1998 graduate of Cheney (Wash.) High School, Reynolds lettered for the Eastern football team as a punter and kicker from 1998-01. He punted 152 times in his career for a 38.8 average, marks that still rank in the top 10 in school history (both fourth at the time). He also made 7-of-13 field goals in his career (long of 48), had a long punt of 60 yards and averaged 49.2 yards on 34 career kickoffs.
A 2004 graduate of Eastern with a degree in marketing, he resided in Spokane and passed away from kidney failure. As per request in his obituary, memorial donations may be made in his name to the Eagle Athletic Fund by check or phone 509-359-6208, 207 P.E. Bldg., Cheney, WA 99004.
Eagle Football Coach & Former Teammate Aaron Best: "The time Nick and I shared during our playing days was memorable. He represented his city, community, school, athletics and his teams with pride. Nick will be missed but not forgotten."
Complete Obituary
 

***H. George Frederickson (1934-2020)

Passed Away July 24, 2020, at the age of 86
Frederickson served as the 20th president at Eastern from 1977-87, and he spearheaded Eastern's drive to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I status after being a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) for most of the school's history. He led the tireless efforts in the 1970's and the 1980's in helping Eastern achieve and maintain NCAA Division I status and become a member of the Big Sky Conference. He joined five other individuals from that era to receive the Eastern Athletics Service and Contribution Award in 2011.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site | Story on His Passing | 2019 Editorial by Fredericksion in the Spokesman-Review

Steven Ulrich '86 (1962-2020)

Passed Away June 6, 2020, at the age of 58
Ulrich was a member of the Eastern cross country and track and field teams from 1981-85, and received his bachelor's degree in education in 1986. He was a member of the 1982 cross country team which won the NCAA Division II National Championship and was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. At the time of his death he was the mayor of Lamont, Wash., and passed away while on a morning run near his home. He was born in Colfax, Wash., and grew up in nearby St. John.
Complete Obituary | 1982 Cross Country Team Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site

***Holt Brewer (1927-2020)

Passed Away April 18, 2020, at the age of 92
Brewer competed in the 1948 Olympic Trials and is still the school record holder in the 220 yard dash (21.2) and fifth in the 100 (9.6). He also played basketball and football for Eastern, and was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
Family Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

Pete Isakson '95 (1971-2020)

Passed Away January 14, 2020, at the age of 48
A 1995 graduate of EWU where he worked as an undergraduate in the EWU Sports Information office, Isakson went on to a long career as an administrator at Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Isakson served as the interim athletic director from spring 2018 until last summer and most recently served as the senior director of development for special projects in UI Advancement. He spent 14 years at WSU.
Complete Obituary | Story on His Passing
 

George Becker (2001-2020)

Passed Away January 4, 2020, at the age of 18
George was a redshirt freshman football player for Eastern in the 2019 season. He was from Gridley, Calif.
"Eastern Washington University is saddened to learn of the death of George Becker, a freshman offensive lineman on the football team, over the winter break. The whole Eagle family extends its deepest sympathies and support to the Becker family."
Obituary | EWU Football Bio
 

Wayne L. Bartelheimer (1944-2019)

Passed Away in 2019, at the age of 74
Impacted by collegiate athletics and the sport of cross country running deeply, Wayne left a $600,000 endowment to the Eastern Washington University athletic department as a generous planned gift through his estate. Bartelheimer was born on Nov. 13, 1944, and spent most of his lifetime involved with his family's dairy operations in Snohomish, Wash., and Othello, Wash. He graduated from Eastern Washington State College in 1972 with a degree in psychology, but never competed in athletics at Eastern. However, at Snohomish (Wash.) High School, Bartelheimer was a top 10 placer at the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) Cross Country Championships. That love of the sport provided the incentive for the avid runner and triathlete to make his subsequent bequest to benefit EWU Athletics.
More Information on Wayne Bartelheimer & His Endowment
 

Randy Wellman (1957-2019)

Passed Away November 9, 2019, at the age of 62
Randy lettered as an offensive lineman for the Eastern Football team in 1978 and 1979 after playing at Columbia Basin College. He was originally from Arlington, Wash., and then spent most of his adult years in Sequim, Wash.
Complete Obituary

Frank "Ike" Cummings '58 (1935-2019)

Passed Away October 17, 2019, at the age of 84
Ike ran for the Eastern track and field team, and went on to become the long-time athletic director at Eastmont High School in Wenatchee, Wash. He was inducted into the Washington State Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 1992.
Complete Obituary
 

Denny Humphrey '68 (1940-2019)

Passed Away October 2, 2019, at the age of 79
Denny was a men's basketball administrative assistant for 4 1/2 seasons from 2003-07. Prior to that he was the long-time head coach at Cheney High School and his son, Rhett, later played for Eastern.
Complete Obituary | Spokesman-Review Story
 

Rosalind "Roz" Wallace '90 (1959-2019)

Passed Away October 2, 2019, at the age of 59
Roz was the head women's track & field coach at Eastern for eight seasons from 1987-1995. Among the athletes she coached was Joyce Rainwater, who won eight total Big Sky Conference sprint championships and advanced to the NCAA Championships twice. Wallace settled in Atlanta after her time in Cheney, and returned to EWU in 2012 for the induction of Rainwater into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame.
Complete Obituary

John Nugent '62 (1940-2019)

Passed Away May 3, 2019, at the age of 78
A long-time supporter of Eastern Athletics, John played basketball for the Eastern from 1959-62. The graduate of Rogers High School in Spokane was the team's most inspirational player in 1962.
Complete Obituary

***Dick Eicher '51 (1929-2019)

Passed Away January 13, 2019, at the age of 89
Inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, Eicher played basketball for Eastern from 1947-51. He led the school to a pair of Evergreen Conference championships in 1950 and 1951, including victories over Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Idaho State and Gonzaga. He earned second team All-Evergreen Conference honors as a junior and first team accolades as a senior when he also earned honorable mention Little All-America honors. He scored 1,084 career points, and led Eastern in scoring in 1950 and 1951.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

***Mick Landmark '68 (1943-2018)

Passed Away December 21, 2018, at the age of 75
Mick earned honorable mention All-America honors in 1966 and twice earned All-Evergreen Conference honors as a lineman for the Eastern football team. He also earned honorable mention Little All-West Coast honors and first team AP Little All-Northwest accolades. Landmark lettered from 1964-66 as Eastern won 20 of 27 games in that span, leading the Savages to league titles in both 1965 and 1966. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the "100 for 100" All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern's 100th year of football. He was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site | 1967 Football Team Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site
 

***Ron Swords (1952-2018)

Passed Away September 29, 2018, at the age of 66
Swords was a photographer for EWU from the late 1980's until his death in 2018 after a seven-year battle with a rare form of cancer. His work was viewed by Eagle fans and others throughout his 30-plus years of taking photos at all athletic events, as well as the WIAA State Track and Field Championships taking place at EWU since 1996. Swords preferred to shy away from the limelight and deflected credit that was thrown his way, but he overcome so much to continue to serve Eastern. He was the epitome of service – giving much, asking little in return and never complaining.
Complete Obituary | Bio on Eastern Hall of Fame Web Site