Bio, 2014: Jim Loats
I left Stillwater after my Freshman year, so my presence on this list is a bit bogus! But just in case some of you are curious, here goes. [I have enjoyed reading about your lives.]I remember ninth grade in the “old” high school: “Willy” Varnum for band, Misses Saye for Speech and a skinny fella (?) for Oklahoma History.
I graduated from Lyons Township H.S. in S.W. suburban Chicago. I returned to “THE” OSU to get my mathematics degree for high school teaching. But it wasn’t for me. So I retooled and got my Ph.D. in Mathematics from CU – Boulder in 1977. I did short stint bailing out and living in the Colorado mountains. Since 1983, I have thoroughly loved being a teaching professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
I have one son, Jeff, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons ages 7 and 3. Jeff got his Ph.D. in Physics (from the “OSU” in Corvallis) and is also a professor at MSU-Denver. Our weekly breakfasts - What a joy! - alternate between campus politics and family up-dates. My wife, Dee, is a psychotherapist in private practice here in Denver.
My pastimes are music – I play dobro [and a little guitar] in the bluegrass style; sailing – we have a boat locally and also bareboat charter in St. Vincent and the Grenadines every other year; and I am learning to be a silversmith. I co-authored two fun books that are filled with silly stories about how math works: Algebra Unplugged and Calculus for Cats.
I’ll probably retire next year and do lots of silver work.
Take care everyone.
©2009 Stillwater High School Class of 1964