Larry Lonard

2014 Distinguished Staff

Russian, Social Studies.

Native of Valley Falls, Kansas, Larry Lonard graduated with honors from Emporia State University in 1966, majoring in Russian and German. He then spent a year at the University of Wisconsin, a graduate fellowship, and taught German at a Wisconsin high school, 1967-68. Returning to Kansas Lonard obtained a Master of Arts degree in Russian language and literature from KU. From 1973 to 2005 he offered four levels of Russian at Topeka High. He also taught AP European History, World Literature, Western Civilization and German. He oversaw (1980-98) a sister school exchange program with School #62 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Involved in numerous programs relating to Russian culture (e.g., Summer Fulbright Program to Siberia, 1998) the Russian Ministry of Culture and Russian Embassy recognized Lonard in 2010 “for contribution to the study of Russian language and culture in the USA”. In 1995 he was a consultant for Topeka’s Treasures of the Czars Exhibit. Both his son and daughter are Topeka High graduates.

Shaol Pozez (THS 1942)

2014 Hall of Fame Inductee

In 1956 Mr. Pozez and his cousin, Louis Pozez established what now is Payless ShoeSource, a chain of 5,000 shoe stores that allows its customers to self-select fashionable and affordable merchandise in the US, Canada and abroad. Their vision and concept changed the retail shoe industry in the past 50 years. Mr. Pozez was committed to philanthropy and was politically involved, supporting numerous politicians-both Democrats and Republicans. A supporter of the University of Arizona Judaic Studies program, the lecture series is now named in his honor – The Shaol Pozez Distinguished Lectureship Series.

James Barton Phelps (THS 1934)

2014 Hall of Fame Inductee

Superior Court Judge of California.

Judge Phelps earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and law degree from Harvard University. He was admitted to the state bar of California in December 1941. His father, Barton Phelps, was a key player in acquiring a USS Constitution spar that was put to use as the first THS flagpole in 1931. He was in the first class that attended THS in the present building all three years. As a student, he was a member of National Forensic League, Masque and Wig, Thespians, Trojan-Knights, Editor of the Sunflower and World, Student Council Officer, cast member of “The Quest,” “Captain Applejack,” and “Dulcy.”

Carl Nuzman (THS 1948)

2014 Hall of Fame Inductee

Certified Professional Hydrologist and Engineer

Mr. Nuzman is a licensed professional engineer in 19 states with extensive experience in the areas of groundwater modeling, water well and well field design and construction, water well treatment and rehabilitation, and soil and groundwater remediation. He is known throughout the United States for his work in resolving water problems and still consults companies with water issues. Recognized in the K-State College of Engineering Hall of Fame. As a THS student he participated in Track and Vocational Electricity.

Hazel Fleischer Lingo

Hazel Fleischer Lingo

2013 Distinguished Staff

English.

Hazel Fleischer graduated from Seaman Rural High School and then Washburn College, later receiving her Master’s from KU in 1957. During the 1930s and 1940s she taught at various rural and small town Kansas high schools before a brief stint as an instructor at Washburn. She married Robert Lingo, a civil engineer, in 1940. Mrs. Lingo then became an English teacher at Topeka High, from 1951 to 1974. Upon retirement the Lingos entered a new phase as Topeka philanthropists with Ward-Meade Park and the Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library being two major beneficiaries. The stone barn at Ward-Meade is named for them, The Lingo Livery Stable; whereas the library’s rotunda, its chief architectural feature, honors their memory. She passed away in 1998.

Dorothy Jones Greer

Dorothy Jones Greer

2013 Distinguished Staff

English and Journalism. Born in Topeka in 1900, Dorothy Jones graduated from Topeka High in 1917 and four years later from Washburn College. She began her teaching career at Abilene High School but soon thereafter married William Greer and moved to Chicago. Returning to Topeka, Mrs. Greer taught English and Journalism, advisor to the THS World and Sunflower, from 1953 to 1965. Next, for five years she was a journalism professor at Washburn University. In 1970, Mrs. Greer moved to Estes Park, Colorado, where she spent the rest of her life, passing away in 2004 at the age of 104. Among her honors: induction into the Kansas State Press Association Hall of Fame for scholastic journalism, National Journalism Teacher of the Year (1962), and being acclaimed “one of twelve highest contributors to the field of Scholastic Journalism over the past 50 years” (1974).

Judy Stuenkel Soule (THS 1958)

Judy Stuenkel Soule (THS 1958)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

A Topeka High “over achiever,” Judy Stuenkel’s activities list in the back of the 1958 Sunflower goes on and on: A.F.S. Council, Thespians Sec. – Treas., Senior Class Sec. – Treas., plus two telling clubs: Future Teachers and Math Club. She attended Washburn University and began teaching mathematics at USD 501 in 1963. After a brief period as a substitute teacher, she resumed full time at Topeka High in 1976, becoming Chairman of the Math Dept. in 1978, a position held until retirement in 2001. The classroom hasn’t been the only part of her life; Mrs. Soule has been actively involved with Junior League of Topeka, Brewster Place Retirement Center Board of Directors, Topeka Symphony, ERC, United Way of Topeka; and the Topeka High School Historical Society and Friends of the Topeka High School Library. She is especially busy with the Washburn University Alumni Assn., serving as President in 1990-91.

Robert Dolgoff, M.D. (THS 1960)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

Psychiatrist and Medical Volunteer.

Topeka High activities were typical (debate, Boy’s Pep, Key Club) with one unique first; Dr. Dolgoff was Topeka High’s first A.F.S. student to study abroad, in France. College honors include Magna Cum Laude in English Literature from Harvard (1964) and Phi Beta Kappa followed with a medical degree, also from Harvard. After psychiatric residency in New York, Dr. Dolgoff moved to California, eventually becoming Chief Psychiatrist, Berkeley Therapy Institute (1978 – 2001) and then the Institute’s Medical Director (2001 – present). In 1990 he and another physician were invited to Laos to meet clinicians in that country. Seeing needs there, upon his return to America he sent textbooks, journals, and medications to Laos to bring them up-to-date. Out of this endeavor he established the non-profit, all-volunteer Doctor to Doctor program assisting medical facilities across the globe.

Norton Belknap (THS 1943)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

Chemical Engineer and Business Executive.

Graduating in 1943, the Topeka High ‘Honor T’ recipient would soon enter World War II. He became a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Force serving as a navigator on B-29s. After the war, he completed his education in chemical engineering, earning his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from MIT. He then joined Standard Oil, which is now Exxon. He quickly rose up in the ranks with executive positions in various foreign posts: Japan, Australia, and Europe. From 1979 to 1982 Mr. Belknap was Senior Vice President, Exxon International. Equally impressive are his credentials with New York and American cultural icons: President of the Paul Taylor Dance Co. (1983-2009), and Managing Director of Carnegie Hall (1983-1988) during its $50 million restoration.

Fayeben Williams Wolfe

Fayeben Williams Wolfe

2012 Hall of Fame Inductee

Faculty.

Mrs. Wolfe grew up in Smith Co., Kansas, graduating from Smith Center H.S. She briefly attended the Florida Art Academy but concluded her studies at Washburn and ultimately received a Master’s degree from the University of Kansas in 1947. Mrs. Wolfe taught in the Topeka Public Schools from 1935 to 1960 (after T.H.S. she taught art at Roosevelt Jr. High). She helped organize the State Federation of Art and developed the Art Department at the Kansas Free Fair, serving as its superintendent for 20 years. Among her students is Hall of Fame inductee L. Brent Kington for whom she assisted in obtaining a scholarship to a summer art program at KU. (dec.)