CLASS NOTES
2021
Dr. D. Ian Bell, Bellevue, Wash.: Practice specializing in prosthodontics in Bellevue, Wash. Our daughter, Caitlyn K. Affrunti, specializing in implants and periodontal plastic surgery, has joined our practice. I love working also with Dr. Dona Seely, a ’78 classmate who is an amazing orthodontist. Enjoy golf and Husky football games – although not this year. Still love what I do and think I’m still pretty damn good. (Spring 2021)
2020
Dr. Susan Adams, Kent, Wash.: It’s been a long six months but have tried to find “safe” ways to give back to my community. I have donated blood, worked on food distribution to people in need, helped develop Kent Community Partners to not only help with food resources but also rent and utilities assistance, marched in our local protest march, and am developing a social justice discussion group. Just recently got in a hike near Mount Rainier and will be celebrating our 12th anniversary at Mount Baker after attending an outdoor wedding near there. Am missing being as active and involved and really missing seeing friends. (Fall 2020)
Dr. Susan M. Adams: I sold my practice in June 2018 and have now fully retired. I sold to Drs. Brent Spencer (mom is Linda Hansen, Class of 1979) and Kooroush Mansourzadel, both UW graduates, Class of 2016. I could not be more pleased with the transitions. Knowing my practice was in good hands (they kept the staff and have a similar philosophy of care) made leaving quite easy. I’m playing pickleball, hiking, snowshoeing, yoga, and lots of nonprofit and church work. I’m loving retirement! Officially, I have changed from Hollinsworth to Adams so you’ll still see me around as I continue to be involved in the profession. (Spring 2020)
2018
Dr. Susan M. Hollinsworth: Looking forward to our 40th reunion this summer! Visited Reuben and Patti Gutierrez in New Mexico this fall – what a wonderfully spiritual place. I’m in for the $10,000 class challenge and I challenge all of my classmates to be in too. Let’s have the highest class participation. If we make it, I’ll pledge an extra $10,000. Let’s show that the Class of 1978 rocks! (Spring 2018)
2017
Dr. Sue Hollinsworth: Although I’m still practicing as Hollinsworth, I have legally changed to my married name of Adams. This is my second year serving as the Washington-Alaska Section Chair of the American College of Dentists. It has been fun to follow classmate Marc Fairbanks as chair. That means we get to see each other more often. Still practicing full time and serving on the Dean’s Club board at the School of Dentistry as well as serving my church and local nonprofits. Never a dull (or quiet) moment! (Spring 2017)
Dr. Michael Rivera, Whistler, B.C.: Still working and loving life in wonderful Whistler, B.C. Here’s a pic of a little mushroom found on our hike near Whistler and a bumper crop of kiwis grown in Vancouver. With ski season starting as I write, getting excited for some downhill exercise! Snow accumulation looking good. My wife, Vicki, ran 125 miles this summer in the Canadian “Fat Dog” ultramarathon and plans on running the six-day, 330-kilometer ultra in Northern Italy called the “Tor des Geants”! We all wish her stamina and luck, but I’m really looking forward to the pasta and vino. (Spring 2017)
2016
Dr. D. Ian Bell, Bellevue, Wash.: Still practicing advanced aesthetic and restorative dentistry in Bellevue, and love working with a classmate, Dr. Dona Seely. She is an amazing orthodontist! I have been happily married for 34 years to Janie, a dental hygienist. We golf and attend UW Husky football games with David and Colleen Crouch and Joseph and Joann Gossler. Our daughter, Caitlyn, graduated from Creighton University’s Dental School in 2014. She is now halfway through a three-year periodontal postgraduate program at Loma Linda. Best wishes to all! (Spring 2016)
Dr. Susan Hollinsworth: Installed as Chair of the Washington Section of the American College of Dentists, following Dr. Mark Fairbanks (fellow classmate), who served as chair the prior two years. Classmate Dr. Mitch Hungate’s sister has endowed a dental student scholarship in Mitch’s memory, and his wife, Marilyn, and fellow dentists established an affiliate faculty award in his memory to honor his longtime commitment to teaching at the School of Dentistry. (Spring 2016)
Dr. Doug Walsh, Seattle: Dr. Walsh sold his West Seattle practice and is spending time with his wife, Kathy, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. (Spring 2016)
2012
Dr. Michael Rivera: Life is good and busy, but not without its bumps. I’m enjoying practicing dentistry limited to surgery and implant dentistry in Whistler and Vancouver. My wife, Vicki, (also a dentist) was diagnosed with breast cancer this fall. She went through a double mastectomy and reconstruction. The good news is that the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes and no radiation or chemotherapy was required. She is still recovering from the surgery, but has her sights on the Boston Marathon in April. We are all wishing her a speedy recovery. We sure look at life in a different and thankful light. (Spring 2012)
2011
Dr. Susan M. Hollinsworth: Just completed my two-year term as president of the UW Dean’s Club. I want to thank all of you who contribute $1,000 per year or more to the School of Dentistry to be Dean’s Club members. It is imperative, now more than ever, that we support the school financially. We’ve all worked hard to get where we are at, but we didn’t do it alone, and we have benefited greatly from having that DDS from UW behind our name. I challenge each of you to become Dean’s Club members (that’s less than $100/month) from now until you go to that great dental clinic in the sky. With your help, we can make a difference! (Spring 2011)
2010
Dr. Michael Rivera: With the Olympics descending upon us here in Whistler, things were looking very festive especially with all the record snow we received in the month of November. It’s easy to become addicted to skiing when one lives at a ski resort. We had our parent/kid ski race last season; I used to give Liam, our 7-year-old, a head start with the race. Well, no more head starts. This time he beat me! I’m still practicing dentistry part time and enjoying a practice limited to oral surgery and implant dentistry in Whistler and Vancouver. Where did the years fly? To all the skiers that travel to Whistler, look me up for a few runs. My e-mail: Whistler2804@telus.net (Spring 2010)
2008
Dr. Jack Anderson, Sequim, Wash.: Dr.Susan M. Hollinsworth reports that Dr. Anderson is a Lutheran pastor in Sequim and sings in the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Group. (Spring 2008)
Dr. Michael Rivera: Another year closer to the 2010 Winter Olympics and things are getting exciting here in Whistler. Living in a ski resort is fun to say the least. We’ve never had so many visitors! I hope to be an “Olympic Dentist” and be able to go into the venue with the athletes and help with any dental problems during the Games. Over 70 days of skiing last season, hope to get as many days in this season. Look me up if in Whistler. Whistler2804@telus.net (Fall 2008)
REUNIONS
Our 40th class reunion was held in September in Chelan, Wash. We had 37 classmates who attended the event. On Friday we gathered at Siren Song Winery for wine, appetizers, and great conversation. On Saturday, some classmates headed by Steve Harrop and his wife went for a bike ride. We also had a group that played golf and told stories at Bear Mountain Ranch. Others did some shopping in town or went wine tasting. That evening we had a wonderful dinner at Campbell’s Resort, which allowed everyone to catch up on what was happening in our lives. Sunday was brunch at Sorrento’s Restaurant, then everyone said their goodbyes. Overall, it was a great weekend for fun and reminiscing. – Mike Hardy
IN MEMORIAM
DR. STEVEN A. BRAZEAU, CLASS OF 1978
Dr. Steven Alby Brazeau passed away on Feb. 28, 2017. He was 64.
Dr. Brazeau was born on Aug. 6, 1952 to Lila Freiboth Brazeau and Ruben Alby Brazeau. He was an active and rambunctious boy in Kingston, Wash., until he attended the UW in 1970. There, according to his mother, he was only “rambunctious” during his freshman year, earning “just” a 3.8 GPA. After this low blow, he buckled down and received a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors before entering the School of Dentistry.
During his years as a UW student, Dr. Brazeau worked as an oiler in the engine rooms of the Washington State Ferries, found a free apartment under the Cat Clinic of Seattle and, in 1973, married his true love, Janice Cathleen Otten.
The couple had met on the road by the slough in Kingston, Wash., in the summer of 1970. He was in an eye-catching green muscle car, his older brother’s fast Plymouth Roadrunner. He revved the engine to pass her and their eyes met. She flashed her bright lights and he pulled over. One could say it was a citizen’s arrest.
Dr. Brazeau practiced dentistry in Carnation, Wash., from 1978 to 1989, after which he sold his practice and home and moved his family to the Dominican Republic. There he worked as a Christian missionary dentist and church planter from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, he and his family settled in Yakima, Wash., where he worked for the Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic and enjoyed the good hunting in the foothills.
In 1996, he purchased a dental practice from Dr. Raymond Haight, and later the practice of Dr. Harold Clark. He moved both practices into Dr. Clark’s office in the iconic Korach Building. He was not yet retired when he passed away from health complications.
Even as a child, knowing God was important to Dr. Brazeau. In Carnation, he and his wife started Carnation Bible Church in their living room with neighbors Don and Bev Unruh, NWCBA church planter Jerry Back and evangelist Elmer Magnussen. In the Dominican Republic, they started an outreach ministry using dentistry to share the love of Jesus Christ, and a new church was born in the community of Los Girasoles, located on the north side of Santo Domingo. Dr. Brazeau served as an elder at Memorial Bible Church (MBC) in Yakima for many years. The Brazeaus accompanied two MBC mission trips to Mexico and, in 2000 and 2001, worked with Haiti Medical Team’s outreach to the Dominican Republic. He also enthusiastically volunteered at the Union Gospel Mission Dental Clinic in Yakima.
Mrs. Brazeau had felt called to missions as a child, but her husband was a busy young dentist with no similar interest – until he saw a newspaper article about an organization called Healing the Children that was seeking foster parents to house and care for youngsters from underserved countries needing heart surgery. The Brazeaus signed up and, in 1988, 9-year-old Zoraida arrived from the Dominican Republic. When she limped off the plane, they could see how close she was to death from cardiac insufficiency, as she was born with only half a heart. Seattle heart surgeon Edward Rittenhouse performed a heroic surgery and many other life-saving procedures. Zoraida was near death three times. Thanks to God and Dr. Rittenhouse, she survived those events. Through the experience, God touched Dr. Brazeau’s heart and called him to missionary service.
Every year since 2002, the Brazeaus led MBC teams to the Dominican Republic, with the primary purpose of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Jesus Cordova, Allen and Elaine Miller, Ken Howie, Kaye Zook, Dee Powell, Goldie Hoffman, daughter Sara, son Steve and his wife, Laura, Cheri Alexander and many others were integral to this ministry. In the Dominican Republic, their partner ministers are Roberto and Idania Polanco and Dr. Bienvenido Yeme. They embraced Dr. Brazeau as a brother and father, and he responded in kind.
Dr. Brazeau enjoyed tending his small orchard and vineyard, gourmet cooking, winemaking, salmon fishing in Puget Sound, smelt fishing at Kalaloch, ATV trips, hunting, camping, traveling to Scotland, Seattle sports teams, Disney parks and anything associated with his grandchildren.
Dr. Brazeau is survived by his wife, Janice; daughters Melissa (Jameson) Green and Sara (Douglas) Lorig; son Steve Jr. (Laura Eastman); grandchildren Mikaela (Zachary), Hailey, Evelyn, Arden, Nathan and Tess; mother Lila Freiboth Brazeau; a brother; and niece Amy. He was predeceased by his father, Ruben. (Dignity Memorial)
DR. WILLIAM P. “MITCH” HUNGATE, CLASS OF 1978
Dr. William P. “Mitch” Hungate died in an avalanche on Granite Mountain, Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., on April 13, 2013. He was 61. He practiced dentistry in Renton for 34 years and taught Prosthodontics at the University of Washington since 1979 as an affiliate faculty member.
Dr. Hungate was born on Nov. 25, 1951, in Ridgewood, NJ, and moved to the Pacific Northwest with his family in 1956. He graduated from Sammamish High School in 1970 and completed his undergraduate and dental school programs at the UW. He told stories of his seven summers in Alaska cooking for the cannery workers to earn his way through school. He passed the Dental Board Exam in June 1978 and completed an internship in the Navy in Norfolk, Va., where he served as a lieutenant DDS in the public health sector.
While practicing dentistry, Dr. Hungate continued his affiliation with the UW. An avid Husky fan, he never missed a season of football games. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Renton Rotary Club, serving as president in 1984 and receiving the Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
Dr. Hungate excelled in full Ironman Triathlons. He won slots to the World Championship Ironman in Kona in 2006, 2007 and 2011. He also won admission to the World Championship Half Ironman in Clearwater, Fla., for two consecutive years and again in 2011 in Las Vegas.
Mountain climbing was his heart’s delight. It was a mutual love of the mountains that drew him and his wife, Marilynn, together some 17 years ago. He climbed many of the world’s greatest mountains, including Aconcagua, McKinley, Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Pico de Orizaba, the Matterhorn, Mount Blanc, Mount Whitney, Mount Assiniboine and the major peaks in Washington and Oregon. He climbed Mount Rainier more than a dozen times, including two one-day ascents by different routes. The North Cascades were his playground and he mentored people in the sport as he did with triathlons, dentistry and other fields that gave him joy.
Dr. Hungate is survived by his wife, Marilynn; sister, Cheryl Hungate; brother Robert B. Hungate Jr.; sister-in-law Sandra Neely Hungate; nephew Adam B. Hungate; niece Serenity Hungate (H. Allen) Shelby; grand-nephew Micah Burns; and grand-niece Chloe Burns. He is also survived by stepson Brody Rutter; stepdaughter Darcy (Bryan) Sera; and grandchildren Lucelia and Griffin Sera. (Seattle Times)