Art & Art History

On October 12, 2018 Gary Leroy Keimig passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family after a year-long struggle with Glioblastoma. Gary was born in Wichita, Kansas on September 25, 1941 to Chester and Nadine Keimig and married Eileen Hickman in 1963. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree at Wichita State University. In 1964, Gary and Eileen moved to Boulder, Colorado where he earned an MFA in painting and drawing. Gary had a rich, rewarding life as an artist, art professor, husband, and father. He taught for 43 years in the Department of Art and Art History at Colorado State University, specializing in figure drawing. Gary's body of work, prints, drawings, paintings, and sculptures, has spread far and wide. His large painting of children reading and imagining is featured prominently in the entry to the Estes Valley Public Library. But equal to his art is his legacy as a teacher, which became even more evident when word spread of his condition and students began writing to express their appreciation for his influence on their lives and art. Gary and Eileen moved to Estes Park, Colorado in 1974 where they raised their daughters Emily and Rachel. In 1982, Gary and Eileen opened Omnibus on Elk Horn Ave., Estes Park.

English

Jim Tanner, a former professor in the English department, passed away at the end of March. Patti Cowell said of him, “Jim Tanner was among the first people I met when I moved to Fort Collins to join CSU’s English Department in 1976. I remember him as a quiet man, quietly doing fine teaching and always willing to help a newcomer find her way. Over the years, as I got to know him better, I enjoyed his deadpan humor, literary expertise, and apparent ease with students. I understand second-hand that he was a skilled regular at an on-going departmental poker game!” Current department chair Louann Reid added, “He retired in 2000, so I knew Jim for a fairly short time. He struck me as dignified and reserved--until we had somewhat longer conversations and I saw his humorous side. I understood that he was liked by students and knew that he was a legendary host of poker nights that continued well past retirement.”

Sociology

Dr. Max Lowdermilk passed away last October in Tempe, Arizona.  Dr. Lowdermilk earned a BA in Rural Sociology from Duke University and his M.SC and Ph.D. in Agricultural Extension Education and Agricultural Economics at Cornell University. He worked closely for many years with faculty in CSU beginning in the 1970s, including faculty members in the Sociology Department, teaching Rural Sociology and doing research on rural development, irrigation and water management projects in Pakistan, Egypt and India, before retiring in 2000. As stated in his obituary in The Coloradoan:

"Compassion and a deep commitment to serve others were central to Max's life and work. He was a scholar, always reading, writing and asking questions of himself and others….Throughout his life Max worked tirelessly to better the lives of those less fortunate."