Notes from the Class of 1958

The book The Crossing of Heaven: Memoirs of a Mathematician (Springer) written by Boulder resident and CU professor Karl Gustafson (ApMath, Fin’58) is a memoir that includes espionage, his early pioneering work in computing and encounters with Nobel laureates. Karl’s work in top-secret military intelligence included tracking Russian submarines, intercepting electronic intelligence and writing software for the world’s first spy satellite. He is author of six graduate-level text books and more than 270 published papers.

“CU is considered an important part of my life,” Herb Lundin (MGeog’58) writes. Although CU did not have a doctoral program in geology at the time, he writes he was well prepared for the doctoral program at Syracuse University. “GO BUFFS!” he says. Herb lives in Waukesha, Wis.

The Iron Mountain Inn bed and breakfast run by Vikki Viskniskki Woods (Comm’58) in Butler, Tenn., was named “Best Bed and Breakfast of Johnson County.” This is Vikki’s 15th year running the inn, which she designed and built. She also built Creekside Chalet, a secluded cabin in the woods for guests who want to bring dogs or children.

Former CU regent Pete Steinhauer* (A&S’58) wrote a book Remembering Vietnam 1966-67 for those who have been in the military. Active Boulder residents Pete and his wife Julianne Mattingly Steinhauer (Mus ex’60) have been to Vietnam 24 times since 1989 for volunteer work.

*Directors Club member

On Aug. 25, 2013, Duane Coleman (ChemEngr’58) and Justine Walker Coleman (Edu’58) celebrated their 55th anniversary. They have lived in El Paso, Texas, since 1962 and own the largest travel agency there. They also own two travel agencies in Montana. The couple is active in civic and church activities and has three children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Living in Hawaii, Tom Kurth (A&S’58) says he learned the gift of curiosity from his days at CU, which led to several fruitful careers. He says his work resulted in the removal of two known carcinogens from the food-smoking process. He also took up marine biology, spending 20 years scouring the ocean floor for sponges, which are potential sources for the development of new drugs like Penicilin-G. Remembering his days at CU, Tom says, “I wish I could have those days all over again. It was a heck of a good time.”

Thomas Richard (Econ) and Ann O’Malley Spoor (CommDisor) celebrated their 60th anniversary on July 5. The couple writes that they still attend many CU football and basketball games, and look forward to returning to Boulder every few years to revel in the maj- esty of the Flatirons. “Go Buffs! Thank you forever for our cherished time there,” they write.

For the past 20 years, Vikki Viskniskki Woods (Spch) has run the Iron Mountain Inn, a bed-and-breakfast that she designed and built in Butler, Tenn. “Because an innkeeper never knows who is going to come across the threshold, every time the door opens to new guests, it’s like the opening of a new show. And what fun has it been all these years!” writes Vikki. Since opening the inn, she has also opened Creekside Chalet, a cabin rental company, and built her retirement cabin by a nearby lake in Butler.

Karl Gustafson (APMath, Fin) published Reverberations of a Stroke: A Memoir, a book that tells the story of his struggle to regain his life purpose after experiencing a catastrophic stroke in 2016. Since his stroke, he has returned to teaching at the University of Colorado, where he has been a faculty member in the mathematics department for more than 50 years.

John Lund (CivEngr; PhD’67) is a geothermal energy expert and a retired emeritus professor and engineering dean from the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Ore. He writes, “I am currently working on gathering, editing and summarizing geothermal country update papers from all over the world for the World Geothermal Congress 2020 to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, in April 2020.

Poet and author Joan Wilson Zink (A&S), of Deland, Florida, has produced a musical based on Nostradamus that will be performed locally. Joan began her creative career in the early ’70s when her poems were published in the Denver Post. Her late husband David (MEngl’57; PhD’62) helped her publish a self-help book titled You Are the Mystery. She writes, “To me CU gave the exact discipline and professional quality of teaching that enabled us to do what we have done in the world. It will always have a special place in my heart.”