Lakewood Lore

Five LHS graduates to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Five graduates of Lakewood High School -- all of whom have scaled the role-model heights of personal achievement -- will be introduced into the school's Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame next week.

They will represent the 11th such annual group to be honored since the Hall of Fame's inception 10 years ago.

The new crop of winners will be greeted at the Honor Day student assembly of the high school, starting at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Lakewood Civic Auditorium. There, they will be invited to address the student body.

Afterward, a luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in the school's L-Room. It will be open to alumni and friends who may make reservations at $8 per person by phoning the alumni office at (216) 529-4033.

During the afternoon, the honorees will be given an opportunity to discuss their career fields of interest in a variety of classes at the school.

Here is a roll call of the new inductees, together with career cameos:

James E. Doty (class of 1940) has traveled more than 100 countries in religious and social counseling endeavors. He has authored a book and written many articles about his experiences aboard. His lecture tours have taken him twice to the jungle hospital of the late, legendary humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Lambarene, Gabon, Africa.

With a night-shift job in a steel foundry, Doty worked his way through Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, completing his undergraduate studies in 35 months. He later attended graduate school at Boston University, achieving cum laude honors. He is the holder of the distinguished alumnus awards from both of these institutions of higher learning.

He served as a pastor of Methodist churches at Alliance, Hatteras Island, N.C., and at Salem and Lynn in Massachusetts. He has been a delegate to World Methodist Conferences and has represented the church as director of pastoral care and counseling for its Indiana area and for Corpus Christi, Texas, his current home.

A champion of small colleges, Doty was president of Baker College from 1966-73 in Baldwin, Kan. He belongs to numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. He and his wife Merciel have three children.

Albert C. Hausmann (class of 1950) is a dynamic, versatile and widely acclaimed artist who works in bronze, steel, wood, plastics, stained glass, printmaking, watercolors and weaving.

He has held professorships at the Universities of Mississippi and of North Alabama, and his creative accomplishments have been exhibited in many shows throughout the country, as well as abroad.

His recent commissions include a life-size bronze sculpture of "Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy, plus wall murals and silkscreen posters of the Handy Festival in Florence, Ala., where he and his family now reside. Among his works are a large number of wood carvings and stained glass windows he has produced for clients.

Hausmann was graduated from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He received his formal art training and a master of fine arts degree from Bowling Green State University.

He was a Navy officer, retiring from the reserve with the rank of commander. As a professor emeritus, he remains active in the arts, serving on civic boards and assisting with the handicapped.

He and his wife Barbara have three children and four grandchildren.

Dr. Richard B. Freeman (class of 1965) is a noted physician and currently chairman of the department of surgery at Lakewood Hospital.

He completed his undergraduate studies at Ohio University and earned his medical diploma from Case Western Reserve University. He also is the holder of a doctor of philosophy degree in anatomy.

Freeman received his post-graduate training at the Jewish and the Barnes Hospitals in St. Louis. He belongs to several medical associations and is licensed to practice in Ohio, Missouri and California.

Freeman is a trustee of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation and the Cleveland Montessori Association, and serves as a clinical assistant professor at Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine.

His family background fits well his field of endeavor. He is the son of Dr. Marvin Freeman, widely known physician in greater Cleveland, and the brother of Dr. Bruce Freeman, a reconstructive surgeon in Virginia and also a Lakewood High alumnus.

The new Hall of Famer is described by his many patients as a particularly compassionate and caring doctor. He and his wife Barbara live in Lakewood. They have two children.

Janis Fichter Purdy (class of 1966) has been executive director of the Citizens League of Greater Cleveland and its affiliate, the Citizens League Research Institute, since 1986. These organizations are dedicated to improving local and state government through independent and objective public policy research and citizen participation. Before joining these staffs, she served as assistant director of Cleveland's Department of Economic Development.

Purdy studied at Cleveland State University where, after receiving bachelor and master degrees, she spent a year as research associate in the school's College of Urban Affairs. The college has since honored her with two outstanding graduate citations. Also, she is a holder of an Ernest J. Bohn Public Administrator of the Year Award presented by the American Society for Public Administration in 1988.

Gov. George V. Voinovich appointed Purdy a member of the Ohio Ethics Commission in 1991. She is a trustee of the National Civic League, the Cleveland City Club, the Leadership Alumni Steering Committee, and Cleveland Public School Superintendent's Committee on Advocacy and Accountability.

Our subject has two children and lives in Bratenahl.

Daniel A. DiBiasio (class of 1967) became the 17th president of Wilmington College in southwestern Ohio last summer. With his new appointment, he returned from the Buckeye State from the University of New Hampshire, where he was executive assistant to the president and later vice president for student affairs.

Other formerly held positions include executive officer of the Council of Presidents for New England Land-Grant Universities and assistant dean for the Graduate School at Ohio State University. He also taught at graduate and undergraduate levels.

DiBiasio received a bachelor's degree in English from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master's degree and doctorate in educational administration from Ohio State. He belongs to several academic and leadership honor societies and has published articles in higher education journals.

While in New England, he was a community leader, serving on councils and committees in civic and educational fields. Most recent of such activities were with the New Hampshire Statewide Task Force on Sexual Harassment and with Greater Seacoast United Way.

He is the son of Julie and Tony J. DiBiasio, Lakewood High School alumni director. The new honoree and his wife Chris have two children and live in Wilmington, Ohio.

This article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post May 23, 1996. Reprinted with permission.

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