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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHesby, HowardLosin one of the famil g y Sudden death of A&M's professor Hesby stuns colleagues By HOLLY HUFFMAN Eagle Staff Writer Howard Hesby taught or advised more than 15,000 students during his 34-year career at Texas A&M [Jniversity and had a knack for making each one feel like family, his colleagues recalled Monday. He often could be found at his office until the wee hours of the morning working on one project or .another with his students. He even created personal folders - com- plete with photos -for each of his Aggies. And he built a vast network of job and internship opportunities, matching his stu- ~~~ ' s r ~ ..., dents to the appro- priate positions. "I can safely say there will never be another profes S ' sor anywhere that would come close to having the pas- sion for his stu- HESBY dents and his animal science department as did Howard," said Larry Boleman, assistant deputy vice chancellor at A&M. Hesby, an animal science pro- fessor and adviser in Texas A&M's College of Agriculture, ^ Funeral information /A5 died suddenly Saturday after col- lapsing while boarding a plane in Houston. He was 61. "We are all better off from hav- ing had the `Hesby Experience,' and I will miss him greatly, but I am even more saddened that future Aggies won't be able to have the `Hesby Experience,"' Boleman said. Shocked and saddened by his unexpected death, Hesby's stu- dents and colleagues were left See HESBY, Page A5 Services are set fir 11 a m Wednesday. at Peace Lutheran , Church in College 5tatian. Visitafi~L~~ tivi{I h~: from ; to 7 p,m. Tuesday at `. Fti{tier Funeral Home irk Bryan.. In lieu of flowera> donatiorrs may be made to the Hoard Hesby ~! Scholarship Fund, Texas A&M L~n~ versity,, Cepartment of Animal- ScE ence, 24~%1 TAMt1, C~.~ilege Sta trion, Texas 7785E 2471. Checks ; Should be mGde to the Texas A&M foundation. Grief counseisn~ ~s available thror~ttr the .Texas n~M 'Student Counseling Servece. Call ;.845 4427 to make an appointment students also can cal! the 'after >i~ours' help .,,line a 845-27013': :between ~ p.m. and 7 a.m. lip served as a faculty advi- sor to the Saddle and Sirloin Club as well as several other on-campus clubs. "He had the ability to male students feel at ease in l.is office to discuss their hopes and dreams," professor Chris Skaggs said in a statement released Monday. "He got t~~ know them as individuals I marveled at his ability ~a always bring out the best n each student. Dr. Hesby epito- mized Texas A&M at its finest." ~e person could ever fill the yid left by his absence. Hesby could be found at early every animal science apartment function, walking sound snapping photos to ~cument the event, Boleman called in a phone interview [onday evening. As proctor of the Kleburg gilding in which the animal ;fence department is housed, :esby took pride in his duties nd often could be found leaning the floors, painting Lassrooms, picking up ciga Otte butts along sidewalks or ven trimming the hedges, i:e And all that was in addition to his primary duties as a pro- fessor, he noted. "The Kleburg Center, home of the animal science center, was actually his home," Bole- man said. "He treated it like it was home, and he treated those students like they were family." Born in Arlington, S.D., Hesby earned his bachelor's degree in animal science from South Dakota State Universi- ty. He received his master's degree in animal nutrition and doctoral degree in swine nutri- tion from Purdue University. ^ Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffmanC~theeagle.com. Dr. John Howard Hesby Professor of Animal Science Texas A&M University Oct. l5, 1943 -July 23, 2005 ' '~ Howard Hesby, Professor of .. ' ~' Animal Science at Texas A&M University, passed away unexpectedly on July 23, 2005. Born in Arlington, SD on October 25, 1943, Howard grew up on the family farm in Volga, SD. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1966 from South Dakota State University where he was on the livestock judging team, played football, and was a member of FarmHouse. He served in the South Dakota National Guard from 1961 - 1969. After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Kay Stubkjaer, in July 1966 Howard earned his Master's and PhD degrees from Purdue University (Indiana). While at Purdue Howard's love of learning became a lifelong love of teaching. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1971 where his wish to broaden student experience resulted in his developing several courses, including field travel trips throughout the United States. The recipient of many teaching awards, Howard was most honored by the 'TAMU Former Student Association Award in Teaching and with the American Society of Animal Science national award in teaching. Howard participated in most ag-related activities and enjoyed keeping up with his former students. Howard was committed to doing his best and setting a good example. He loved people, traveling, skiing, Norwegian jokes, and ushering at Aggie football games. A life-long Christian, he was proud of being a founding member of Peace Lutheran Church in College Station, TX. Survivors include Kay, his loving wife of 39 years, his brother, Stanley (Marilyn) of Volga, uncle Lars Steinnes of Seattle, many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends everywhere. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Pearl (Lewison) Hesby. Funeral services will be held at Peace Lutheran Church in College Station on Wednesday, July 27 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastors Craig Borchardt and Deb Grant presiding. Burial w ili be at First Lutheran Cemetery near the family farm in Volga. Memorials maybe made to the Howard Hesby Memorial Scholarship in care of Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, Peace Lutheran Church of College Station, or South Dakota State University. Howard will best be remembered for his dedication to students, personal ethics, loyalty, and sense of humor. He will be missed.