Dr. Alex Vavoulis

Professor Emeritus in Chemistry

I was present at a memorial service for Mary McIntyre who died on Nov. 26, 2015. At the church service, she was remembered for her devotion to the Christian religion.

My thoughts, though, went to Mary when she was the chief staff member for the Chemistry Department at Fresno State for some 25 years. On the wall of the meeting and entertainment room for the department, are photographs of retired faculty members and a photo of Mary McIntyre and another of her co-worker, Donna Hamm. Both are now deceased, but their importance in the functioning of the department is memorialized with these photos.

Mary’s work at Fresno State was another aspect of her personality which was never mentioned at her memorial service. Those of us who were part of the chemistry faculty during those years, were very grateful that Mary and Donna were always there for us and for the many students who benefited by the devotion that these two staff members had for the process of education.