In Memorium

Alan Allery, Ph.D. ’04, 59, of Grand Forks, died July 14, 2007 in Bemidji, MN.

The son of Louis and Ermaline (Krebsbach) Allery and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, he graduated from St. John High School in 1965. He went on to attend college,

earning a B.S. degree from Mayville State University; a M.Ed. from Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD; a M.H.A. from the University of Minnesota; and a doctorate degree from UND.

On August 2, 1969, he married Margaret DeMers. From 1970 to 1972, he taught business and history and coached basketball in Lansford, ND. In 1972 and 1973 Alan worked for the Bureau of

Indian Affairs in Belcourt, ND. Alan became assistant area director of the Aberdeen Area Office of the Indian Health Service in Aberdeen, SD from 1973 to 1984. He transferred to Bemidji,

MN and served as area director of the Bemidji Area Office of the Indian Health Service until 1989. He worked for Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians as director of the Self-Governance Program from 1990 to 1991.

He moved to Grand Forks in 1991 and worked for Native American Programs and Student Health at UND. He married Kathryn Broden on September 22, 1995. He served as the director for the National

Resource Center on Native American Aging (located in the Center for Rural Health at UND) and the director for Student Health at UND until his death.

He is survived by his wife, Kathryn; sons, Chris (Chrissy) Allery, Bemidji, MN, and Aaron (Amber) Allery, Phoenix, AZ; daughter Gina Allery, Washington D.C.; sisters Paula (Mike) Parisien,

St. John, ND, Marla Boyer, St. John, ND, and Barb (Wayne) Sande, St. John, ND; his mother, Ermaline Allery, St. John, ND; grandchildren, Alice and Adam Allery, Phoenix, AZ; and many nieces and nephews.

James Berlin, M.D. (res. ’81)  60, formerly of International Falls, MN, died Monday, May 14, 2007, in Britt, MN.

Dr. Berlin grew up in Buhl, MN, and graduated from Martin Hughes High School. He attended Virginia Junior College and graduated in 1966. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, graduated from Officer Candidate School and served three years. He was a Vietnam veteran. He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in 1978. He completed his three-year family practice residency in Grand Forks, ND, before joining the Falls Medical

Center in 1981. He also served as the Koochiching County coroner, Falls Ambulance medical director, Kabetogama Lake First Responder director, and on various hospital boards and committees. As an emergency room physician he worked in

International Falls, Virginia, Roseau, Ely, and Bigfork. He also had worked at the Bois Forte Medical Clinic at Nett Lake.

Dr. Berlin is survived by his wife, Marilyn of Britt; sons, Doug and wife Elizabeth Keeney Berlin of St. Cloud, MN, and Nathan Berlin of Buhl, MN; daughter Kelly Berlin of International Falls, MN; sister, Laurel (Harmon) Badger of Grand Forks, ND; and nieces and nephews.

Deborah Banker, M.D. ’78, died at her Malibu home on May 18, 2007 at age 55.  She graduated from Mohall (ND) High School, received pre-medical training at the University of Colorado, and

completed her medical degree at UND. Dr. Banker practiced medicine in both Colorado and California. She had her own practice in Malibu for the past 10 years.

Dr. Banker specialized in ophthalmology. She explored traditional Chinese medicine in her search for cures to blindness. As a result, she was successful in reversing blindness in patients who had exhausted all other options. She wrote a book on self-help eye care.

Dr. Banker is survived by her son, Troy Dailey; parents John and Betty Banker; and former husband, Will Dailey. She was preceded in death by her four grandparents; brother, Mark Hubbard Banker, and sister, Susan Banker Cross.

Thomas Akers, Ph.D., former professor of physiology, died May 21, 2007 at Port Angeles, WA.  He was 76.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, he served as a Navy hospital corpsman assigned to a Marine combat unit during the Korean War.

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and the doctorate in physiology from Loyola University and taught physiology and pharmacology at Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago from 1961 to 1965.  He was a member of the UND medical school faculty from 1965 to 1992, when he retired as professor emeritus.

At UND, he was project director and chief scientist for the Navy research project, “Man-in-the-Sea,” which focused on long-term

effects of high pressure, and on the reproduction, nutritional and general health needs of test animals.  He received the UND

Foundation/B.C. Gamble Award for Individual Excellence in Teaching and Service in 1987 and the Sigma Xi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scientific Research in 1990.          

A lifelong artist, Dr. Akers was active in the local arts communities where he lived.  He was a founding board member of the Listen Drop-in Center for adults with special needs in Grand Forks, serving on that board from 1971 to 1975.

Survivors include his wife, Virginia; sons, Tom (Pam) Akers, Eugene, OR, and Robert Akers of Bainbridge Island, WA; daughter, Betsy Akers (David Orsatti), Mount Vernon, WA; a brother and sister, and three grandchildren.

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