John Henry Walker (1937-2025) Dr. John Henry Walker, Clemson Professor Emeritus of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development, and resident of Anderson, passed away Monday, March 3, 2025. Born August 24, 1937, in Harrison, Arkansas, he was the son of the late Albert Monroe and Ruby Clementine Klepper Walker. Dr. Walker was a professor at Clemson University. He earned two doctorates, a PhD from the University of Texas-Austin and EdD from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. John was very active in volunteer work. He traveled to Bucharest, Romania several times to work with the Ruth School, which serves the Romany People. He also built houses, and did construction work for several non-profits. John was a member of Boulevard Baptist Church for over 51 years.
Richard Delose Ringeisen (1944 — 2025) Dr. Richard Ringeisen, former Clemson Professor and Assistant Chair of Mathematics, and member of the Emeritus College, a resident of Seneca, SC, passed away on February 18, 2025. Dr. Ringeisen graduated from Manchester University (Manchester, IN) in 1966, and obtained a Doctorate in Mathematics from Michigan State University in 1970. He spent the first ten years of his career teaching and doing graph theory research at Colgate University, Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne, and at the Air Force Research Laboratory (Dayton, OH) before settling at Clemson University in 1979, becoming the Assistant Department Chair at the Mathematical Sciences Department. Dr. Ringeisen was promoted to Head of the Department in 1988 and served in that capacity until he left the University in 1993. Throughout his career he continued research and published in areas including graph embedding, crossing numbers, and maximum genus.
Larry Wilson Hudson (1942-2025) Larry Wilson Hudson, Professor Emeritus of Animal and Veterinary Science, of Central, SC, passed away on Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Upstate Community Hospice House in Landrum, SC due to complications from a chronic illness. Larry retired from Clemson University in 1999 after working 28 years in the Animal Science department as both a professor and horse specialist within the Extension Service. He consulted on equine issues across the state of SC and fostered youth education initiatives, such as district and state level horse camps and 4-H programs. Larry was actively involved in making the Garrison Arena’s presence in Clemson a reality. In 1988, he was awarded for his support of the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championships. He was active in regional and national horse shows and served annually in leadership roles with the State Horse Show, while working to establish the Garrison Arena in Clemson. He served as the President of the Extension Senate and earned awards in both 1988 and 1996 for Superior Service in the Clemson Extension Service. He was a National Extension Leadership Development Program intern from 1990-1993. In 1993 he won the Extension Master Teacher Award
Michael Bader Pursley (1945-2025) Dr. Michael B. Pursley, husband of Lou Ann Pursley, passed away on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. In 1992, Dr. Pursley became the first Holcombe Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University. After retiring in 2018, he was granted the title of Emeritus Professor at Clemson University in recognition of his service to the university and students. Dr. Pursley received the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1967 and the Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1968, both from Purdue University. From 1968 to 1974, he was employed in the Space and Communications Group of the Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles. During this time, he also worked toward his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California. After completing his Ph.D. degree in 1974, he joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1980.
