In Memoriam: Richard J. Sonnen, 1936-2014 Emeritus Professor Richard J. “Dick” Sonnen, of the Graduate School of Education, born March 27, 1936, died February 26, 2014. Professor Sonnen, a native Oregonian, earned a B.S. emphasizing secondary education at Western Oregon College in 1958, and an M.Ed. at the University of Oregon with an emphasis on teaching students with disabilities (1965). He interrupted his education to serve in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1961 as a medical technician. His highly productive career began with special education teaching appointments in the Portland and Lake Oswego public schools. He served five years as a consultant for the Oregon Board of Education. Dick pursued further graduate training at the University of Oregon, and in 1971 completed an Ed.D. in special and general education administration. He continued to broaden his experience base through service as Director of Student Services for the North Clackamas School District and Director of Special Education and Student Services for Portland Public Schools. Professor Keith Larson, founder of PSU’s Special Education Program, recruited Professor Sonnen to join the School of Education in 1978 with an appointment as chairperson of the newly formed Department of Special and Counselor Education, a position that he fulfilled until 1988 when he took a well-deserved year-long sabbatical leave. Subsequently he carried out full-time teaching assignments prior to retiring as Emeritus Professor in 1992. The School of Education’s Annual Report for 1991-1992 highlighted contributions stemming from Professor Sonnen’s departmental service and leadership as a teacher trainer, resulting in improvements to quality of instruction, research and community service. Through committee service Dick was well known and highly respected by colleagues throughout the University. Moreover, he gained recognition as an ongoing advocate for the integration and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities into the community’s public schools and vocational settings. In consonance with PSU’s mission to fulfill educational needs of the Portland metropolitan region and the state of Oregon, Dick contributed extensive noteworthy support for public and community service organizations. These activities included chairing the United Cerebral Palsy professional advisory committee, presiding over the Providence Child Center advisory board, and providing leadership and guidance for the PSU Chapter and Divisions, Oregon Council for Exceptional Children. He also supported the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, the ARC (for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities), and Oregon’s Higher Education Council and Department of Education. The University owes Professor Sonnen a debt of gratitude for long years of productive institutional service. Under his guidance and leadership, the Graduate School of Education trained a generation of public school teachers who are especially equipped to help persons with disabilities function more fully in our society. In 1963 Dick married Joann, who along with daughter Alice and sons David and Steven survives him; to them we extend our heartfelt condolences for their loss. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am Friday, April 11, 2014 at St. John the Evangelist Church, 8701 NE 119th Street, Vancouver, WA 98662, followed by burial at 3:00pm at Willamette National Cemetery, 11800 SE Mt. Scott Boulevard, Portland OR 97086. A celebration of Dick’s life will be held 2:00pm Saturday, April 12, at Bill’s Chicken and Steak House, 2200 St. Johns Boulevard, Vancouver WA 98661. Memorial gifts may be made to the Richard J. Sonnen Memorial Scholarship through checks written to the PSU Foundation, Attn: Development, P. O. Box 751, Portland OR 97207. --Emeritus Professor of History Victor C. Dahl, with assistance from Emeritus Professor of Education Steve Brannan 6
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