Vet Cetera magazine 2015

CLASS OF 1965
REX OLSON, DVM, opened a mixed animal
practice in his hometown of Waynoka,
Okla., and served as the veterinarian at livestock
auctions in Seiling and Woodward. He
also served on the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical
Association’s Board of Directors. After contracting
Brucellosis, which reduced his energy
level, he sold his practice in 1983. With a friend,
he formed Santo Resources Inc., operating oil
and gas wells. Olson passed away Oct. 27, 1997.
JOHNNIE REMER, DVM, bought a small
animal practice in Fort Smith, Ark. His son, Jon,
earned his DVM degree from OSU in 1984 and
joined the practice. At age 59, Remer suffered a
massive heart attack and died March 30, 1993.
WILLIAM ROBERSON, DVM, served in the
Army Veterinary Corps for two years. He then
moved to Little Rock, Ark., where he was part
owner of three AAHA-approved hospitals and
one emergency clinic. He served as president
of the Arkansas VMA and was named Veterinarian
of the Year in 1981.
ROGER WELLS, DVM, practiced in Vinita,
Okla., before establishing a racetrack practice
in Pennsylvania. He spent 12 years at the Penn
National Racecourse in Grantville and at racetracks
in Florida and Ohio. In 1984, he established
a practice in New Hampshire that served
Rockingham Park and Suffolk Downs. In 2005,
he ran for the New Hampshire House of Representatives
and served six years.
THOMAS WELSH, DVM, PH.D., DACLAM,
moved to California to practice at the Firestone
Veterinary Hospital. Eight months later, he was
called to join the U.S. Army, serving until 1968.
He went on to complete his Ph.D. and a laboratory
animal residency in Illinois. In 1972 he
accepted a position at Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago, retiring 30 years later
in 2002. He then accepted a position at Northwestern
University as director of its laboratory
animal medicine program. After eight years at
Northwestern, he retired again in 2010.
JAMES ZYSKOWSKI, DVM, practiced at
Edgewood Veterinary Hospital in Tulsa for
one year before opening his own practice on
South Harvard. In the early 1970s, he built
Valley Glen Veterinary Hospital in east Tulsa
and practiced until he sold it to Walgreens. He
built one more practice, leased it for a while
and finally retired in 2007.
DERINDA BLAKENEY, APR / CVHS
86 Center for Veterinary Health Sciences