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Jeffrey A. Bowman
57, of Seattle, Washington, formerly of Wheeling, WV, passed away on Dec. 1, 2023, after recent health challenges. Jeff was a 1989 University Honors Scholar graduate of West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Upon graduating Summa Cum Laude from WVU, Jeff began his engineering career with Dupont Corporation working both in Richmond, VA, and Brevard, NC. In 1999, he received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, resigned from Dupont, and worked for a solar battery start-up company for two years. He then began pursuing his passion and securing a position with “The Mountaineers” the oldest Mountain Climbing organization in the United States. Jeff was one of the most tenured members of the Mountaineer staff, working in several capacities including manager of the bookstore, and illustrations coordinator and chapter contributor for the 7th and 8th editions of the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills. Additionally, Jeff worked as the organization’s IT Specialist, launching and maintaining “mountaineers.org 2.0” the “new” Mountaineers website. Jeff was an accomplished instructor of “Aid & Big Wall,” “Climbing Self- Rescue,” and “Intermediate Rescue Methods.” Passionate about big mountain climbing, Jeff also taught “Denali Expedition Planning Seminars” after returning from his successful climb to the summit of Denali in 2003. He was the recipient of the 2003 Seattle Branch Climb Leader of the Year, 2022 Outdoor Centers Service Award in recognition of his efforts to go above and beyond for the Stevens Lodge community and earned the designation of Super Volunteer for the last five years. He is survived by his sister Pamela B. Sundbeck of Manistee, Michigan, his father’s fiance Sigrid “Siggie” Little, Harry and Carolyn (Broemsen) Keagler, his aunt and uncle of Kirtland, OH, and cousin Carrie Keagler of Sarasota, FL.
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Joseph Daniel Henry Jr.
83, of Berkeley Springs, WV, passed away on Dec. 7, 2023. He attended West Virginia University where he majored in chemical engineering. Upon graduation, he took a job with the Exxon Corporation in New Jersey. After deciding to pursue and complete a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, Henry went to work for Continental Oil in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Henry then decided to seek a career in academia and obtained a faculty position at West Virginia University where he went on to become chairman of chemical engineering. He subsequently left WVU to take a position as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Sciences at Arizona State University, then followed his work at ASU by pursuing public policy research at Carnegie Mellon University. His career in chemical engineering culminated when he was appointed as one of the chairs of the Gordon Research Conference. Henry retired from chemical engineering in 2003 and moved to Canaan Valley, where he embarked on a second career in landscape photography. He won a regional photography competition sponsored by the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, and the museum exhibited his photography in 2005. Since then, Joseph won third place in a national photography competition of National Natural Landmarks and had one of his prints featured in a European photography journal. He is survived by his wife Dana Nugent, his son, Andrew Henry, and his niece Marge Wachorn.
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Michael Allen Lemon
22, of Gassaway, passed away on Sept. 6, 2023, due to complications of heart surgery. In the spring of 2023, he traveled to the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. He participated in the University Rover Challenge with WVU teammates where he and others designed and built the next generation of the Mars Rover. Team Mountaineers was crowned best in the world, competing with 104 teams from 15 countries and earning top scores in several categories. Michael graduated Magna Cum Laude from WVU in Spring 2023 with a degree in computer science. He is survived by his parents, Greg and Susan Lemon; brother, Matthew Lemon; and grandmother, Shelvy Frame.
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Madhukar Ramarao “M.R.” Pamidi
79, passed away at Kaiser San Jose‚ on February 23, 2024. M.R. was born on April 22, 1945, in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He earned his bachelor's degree at Shri G. S. Institute of Technology and Science in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. He then went on to earn his master's degree at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. At age 22, he immigrated to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering at West Virginia University. M.R. worked for Argonne National Labs and General Motors in Chicago before moving to San Jose, California where they raised their two children, Matthew Arun and Meera Linda. Throughout his 43 years in Silicon Valley, M.R. worked for a variety of Tech companies, including Amdahl, Cray, Sun Microsystems, Netscape, and Qualys. M.R. and eventually started his own consulting company, C-Cube Consulting. He also started a publication called IT Newswire, which captured and communicated the latest trends and developments. He is survived by his son Matt, his daughter Meera, his elder brother Prabhu and wife Pushpa of Orlando, Florida, his younger sister Tara and husband Krishna Murthy of New York City. He is preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lee Holland, whom he missed dearly.
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Jacob Reed
25, of Scott Depot, WV left this Life on Dec. 29, 2023, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. Jacob was employed by Eaton Corporation within the Leadership Development Program in Technical Sales within the Cincinnati, Ohio office. Jacob is survived by his mother: Kara; his father: Brian; his sister: Emily and brother: Kagen; his longtime girlfriend and partner, Valerie Gress and their dog: Chauncey whom everyone referred to as "The Big Guy."
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William Allen Savage
87, passed away on Dec. 25, 2023. William attended Southern Garrett High School and the WVU School of Engineering. He worked for IBM and PNC Bank during his employment. He served in the United States Air Force.
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Judge Robert Brand Stone
79, of Morgantown, passed away Nov. 6, 2023, after a six-month illness. Judge Stone graduated from WVU in 1965 with a degree in industrial engineering. He then graduated from WVU Law School in 1968. While in college, he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity, Fi Batar Cappar, Mountain Honorary, and Tau Beta Pi, an Engineering Honorary. After graduating from WVU Law School in 1968, he started his legal career as the law clerk for Chief Judge Robert Maxwell of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Elkins. After returning to Morgantown, he began his law practice with his father, Ward D. Stone, and his brother, Ward D. Stone, Jr. From 1971-74, he served in the West Virginia House of Delegates and then became an assistant prosecuting attorney for Monongalia County in 1981. Stone was appointed judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit by Governor Arch Moore in 1985 and then elected as Circuit Court Judge of Monongalia County in 1986, 1992, and 2000. He served as Chief Judge for many of those years. After retiring in 2008, Stone continued as a senior status judge until his death. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Susanne Ponek Stone, and their children Kevin Stone, Jonathan Stone, Sarah Stone, Kim Keever, Robin St. Clair, and Megan Stone. He is also survived by eight grandchildren.
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James Russell "Jim" Wiseman
81, of Ashland, Kentucky, passed away on Nov. 29. In 1963, he attended West Virginia University as a mechanical engineering student. In 1964, Jim took a position with Armco and after thirty years with the company he retired and worked at several engineering firms including Debcon, EEC, and EN Engineering. Jim is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Ann Wiseman. He was a proud father to Wendy Luckett (Danny), Rusty Wiseman, Jennifer Nance (Terry), and Dr. Jane Strader (Jason), and beloved grandfather.