York to honor 6 Dukes of Distinction
Six Dukes of Distinction have been chosen by a panel of York High School alumni judges and will be honored Thursday, Nov. 2, as part of the York Distinguished Alumni Program.
The program recognizes and honors alumni who have distinguished themselves through significant and/or extraordinary accomplishments, service, or an outstanding contribution to society.
Launched in 2013, the program honored eight members with the inaugural class. In 2014, seven Dukes of Distinction were honored; eight were inducted in 2015; and seven more in 2016.
This year's honorees are:
• David Bosse, Class of 1980, tried many jobs before answering an ad for a part-time fireman. He was hired by the Lisle-Woodridge Fire District and later by the Bartlett Fire Department. He graduated from the paramedic program with honors.
Bosse worked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, receiving Armed Forces Humanitarian and Mutual Aid Box Alarm System medals for his service. He assisted the New York City Fire Department after the Sept. 11 attacks. He received the Medal of Merit after saving a man from a burning building and taking him to safety.
Bosse, a lieutenant, retired in 2016 after 20 years of full-time service.
• Blake Byrne, Class of 1953, spent 35 years in television broadcasting before retiring in 1997. He is chairman of Byrne Acquisition Group, with TV and radio stations in Wisconsin and South Carolina.
Byrne founded the Skylark Foundation, advocating for the protection of LGBTQ rights and supporting diversity. He is a supporter of the arts and an avid art collector.
He is a lifetime trustee of MOCA, was the founding chairman of the Nasher Museum, and was honored with a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honor given for making a significant contribution to the arts in France.
• Brig. Gen. Thomas Fisher, Class of 1986, began his military career in the Michigan Army National Guard and continued with the Utah Army National Guard. He was promoted to brigadier general in 2016, a position appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
He is currently the Land Component Commander. This is a rare achievement: less than one-tenth of 1 percent of Army officers reach the rank of General Office.
Fisher was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and graduated from the U.S. Army War College with a Masters of Strategic Studies.
• Linda French, Class of 1982, is a 12-time U.S. National Badminton champion. As captain of her team, she led York to a second-place finish in the team state finals in 1981 and 1982. She won the state badminton singles title in 1979, 1981 and 1982.
French was selected to join the U.S. Olympic Badminton Team in 1992, and also was on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.
Extensive travel inspired her to serve as an immigration lawyer and she represents athletes, businesses and individuals.
• Judith Bond Johnson, Class of 1955, is a nurse and was the first to receive a Ph.D. from the adult education program at the University of Minnesota. Her company, HealthQuest, serves individuals, companies and hospitals whose interest is living with chronic illness.
Johnson's Ph.D. thesis, the I Can Cope cancer patient education course, was adopted by American and international hospitals. She has lived and traveled abroad and was appointed as a Fulbright Scholar in 2010.
She is editor of the Asian Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing and presents on living with chronic illness and patient education.
• Mary McEnerney Wooley, Class of 1964, is an influential medical and health research advocate. She is president and CEO of Research! America, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to making health research a higher national priority.
She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Life Sciences and a founding member of the board of associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. She holds two honorary doctorate degrees.
She was awarded the Adam Yarmolinsky Award for distinguished service from the National Academy of Medicine and is a member of the visiting committee of the University of Chicago Medical Center.