Three to Receive UW Distinguished Alumni Awards

Oct. 3, 2007 -- Three University of Wyoming graduates will be honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards during UW Homecoming Oct. 12-13.

The 2007 recipients are former UW professor and attorney Charles G. Kepler (J.D. ‘48), a longtime resident of Cody; former UW trustee and renowned physician Walter G. “Jerry” Saunders (B.A. ‘95) of Sheridan; and natural gas executive Martha Brown Wyrsch (B.A. ‘80), who grew up in Laramie.

They will attend several Homecoming activities, ride in a parade that starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, attend the all-alumni luncheon following the parade and be recognized during the Cowboys’ football game against New Mexico at noon.

Kepler has been a fixture in Park County for nearly 60 years.

After graduating from UW, Kepler worked as a professor of business law for five years -- including a two-year stint at his alma mater -- before he joined Husky Oil Company in Cody as its general attorney in 1952.

Eight years later, Milward Simpson recruited Kepler to join his law practice. He remained in partnership for 40 years and now works as counsel to the firm.

The decision to leave Husky was an easy one. The company was planning to relocate its headquarters to Canada, but Kepler and his wife, the former Ursula Manewal (B.S. ‘43), and their daughter, Loretta, had made a home for themselves in Cody.

In addition to his work with the law firm, Kepler helped reorganize the Paul Stock Foundation, of which he later served as director and president. In that time, the foundation provided support to several enterprises around the state, including the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC), the Wyoming Community Foundation for Park County and the Paul Stock Aquatic Center in Cody.

In retirement, Kepler enjoys working in his yard and hiking in the mountains around Cody. And, of course, Kepler is a proud supporter of UW.

“I believe it is important that Wyoming alums support the university’s activities, not only with financial contributions, but also by participating in its activities,” he says. “The university can only be as strong as the support it receives from alumni.”

Kepler continues to be a member of the Cowboy Joe Club. While he rarely makes “long drives in bad weather” to watch the Cowboys and Cowgirls play basketball, Kepler has season tickets for football games.

Saunders launched his career as an obstetrician and gynecologist while schooling at UW and later served 12 fulfilling years on the university’s board of trustees.

After moving to Sheridan in 1973 with his wife, the former Jeri Wilmot (B.A. ‘63), Saunders emerged as one of the region’s foremost physicians. He and his partners delivered hundreds of babies each year, and Saunders became a consultant for area hospitals and handled all high-risk obstetrics and gynecological surgeries for the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Crow Agency, Mont.

Somehow, Saunders still found time to serve with various professional organizations. He was chairman of the Wyoming Medical Society in 1984, section chairman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 1987-90, examiner for the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists from 1983-93 and served on committees at Memorial Hospital of Sheridan County.

And, in 1991, Saunders returned to UW as a trustee. He was a driving force in the formation of WWAMI, a regional medical education program that provides placement opportunities for UW medical students. He counts the construction of new geology and biology facilities among the greatest accomplishments during his tenure as a trustee.

“My time as a trustee was one of the most rewarding times of my life,” says Saunders.

Saunders completed his degree in 1995. In a unique twist, Saunders, as a trustee, signed his own diploma.

Saunders resides in Sheridan, where he works as a physician volunteer at a free clinic. He remarried following the death of his wife in 2004 and enjoys spending time with his second wife, the former Myrna Robbins (B.A. ‘93), and being in the Wyoming outdoors.

Wyrsch has followed the path less traveled to her current position as president and chief executive officer of Spectra Energy Transmission.

After graduating from UW with degree in English, Wyrsch joined Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson’s staff as a legislative assistant. It was Simpson who encouraged Wyrsch to pursue law school, setting the wheels in motion for her ascent in the natural gas industry.

Following her stint in Simpson’s office, Wyrsch graduated from the George Washington University School of Law and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management program before going to work with the Davis, Graham and Stubbs law firm.

In 1999, Wyrsch joined Duke Energy Corporation, first as senior vice president and general counsel for Duke Energy Field Services in Denver and then as group vice president, general counsel and secretary in the Charlotte, N.C., office.

Wyrsch became president and CEO of Spectra Energy Transmission, formerly Duke Energy Gas, in 2005. Spectra Energy Transmission is Spectra Energy’s natural gas transmission, storage, gathering and processing and distribution business.

“I love the natural gas business,” Wyrsch says. “It has a wonderful history and it ties me back to the state of Wyoming. I like the honesty, integrity and work ethic of people who work in it. It is not fancy or sexy, but it is absolutely needed for day-to-day life.”

Wyrsch, who formerly served on the UW College of Arts and Sciences advisory board, is a member of the Board of the William B. Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources. She occasionally returns to UW to conduct workshops for students on women in business.

Wyrsch lives in Houston with her husband, Gerry, and their two children, Molly and Peter.

Posted on Wednesday, October 03, 2007