YOUR ASSOCIATION
IN MEMORIAM
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) was saddened to learn of the deaths of the following individuals. We extend our sympathies to the families, friends, and colleagues of these individuals. Each had a profound impact on our profession and the people around them. All will be greatly missed.
For people who worked with Davis, they will remember her tenacity, kindness, and tireless advocacy for tribal environmental public health programs. She had a passion and skill for mentoring and developing people to their full potential. As was shared by a close friend, “Where you can, Celeste would want us all to do bet- ter and be better to each other.” Two of Davis’s greatest passions were improving public health service delivery and supporting Native American youth. A memo- rial fund at OHSU has been established in her name to honor her contributions and memory. The fund has been established to sup- port Native American students pursuing graduate degrees in the OHSU–PSU School of Public Health who are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe. Contributions in Davis’s memory can be made at https://give. ohsufoundation.org/?pid=tribute. Please select “Other Area” from the “Select Gift Designation” drop-down menu, click on “write in your own,” and enter “In Memory of Celeste Davis.” Source: CDR Matthew R. Ellis, USPHS, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. Vartkes “Vic” Karaian Vartkes “Vic” Karaian passed away on February 23, 2023, at the age of 94. He was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, and was the son of Armenian immigrants. Karaian graduated from Watertown High School in 1947 and continued his education at Tufts University. He graduated in 1951 with a bachelor of science in chemistry and biol- ogy. He earned a master of science in sanitary science and public health from the University of Massachusetts in 1953. Prior to attend- ing and graduating from Tufts University with his second master’s degree in civil engineering, he served 2 years in the U.S. Army as a preventative medicine technician during the Korean War. Karaian was employed by the state of Massachusetts as a regis- tered sanitarian engineer. He worked for the Massachusetts Depart- ment of Public Health, followed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, and ended his career with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in 1992. He was one of the pioneers in developing safe food handling processes and procedures for Massachusetts. After retirement, he remained active as an environmental public health consultant. He was particularly interested in all matters relative to solid waste man- agement in Massachusetts and the surrounding region. Throughout his career, Karaian was the recipient of many awards, including Dr. Joseph S. Goldfarb Award in 1979 from the Massachu- setts Environmental Health Association (MEHA). The award rec- ognized his exemplary service and achievement in the professional practice of environmental and public health in Massachusetts. He received the Curtis M. Hillard Award in 1992 for outstanding achievement in public health and the Robert C. Perriello Memorial Award in 1993 in the field of environmental health. Vartkes also received the Governor’s Citation in 2008 in recognition of the 37 years he dedicated to the Massachusetts Board of Sanitarians.
Celeste Davis Celeste Davis passed away on April 5, 2023. Davis was a citizen of the Chicka- saw Nation. She was born in Alaska and grew up in Oklahoma. She was a Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian who earned her
bachelor of science in environmental health science from East Central University. She went on to earn a master of public health in occupational and environmental health from the University of Oklahoma. She was working on her doctor of philosophy in health systems management and policy at the Oregon Health & Science University–Portland State University (OHSU–PSU) School of Public Health. Davis retired from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Com- missioned Corps after a 20-year service career in February 2017. Her last USPHS assignment was as the director of the Division of Environmental Health Services and the emergency management coordinator for the Indian Health Service, Portland Area. During her career, she served 130 tribal jurisdictions and Alaska Native villages through a variety of environmental public health positions in south- eastern U.S., Alaska, New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest. After retirement from USPHS, Davis joined the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) as its environmen- tal public health program director in February 2020. She led the establishment and strategic management of the NPAIHB Environ- mental Public Health Program. She was instrumental to leading the COVID-19 response as the NPAIHB incident commander in ser- vice to Northwest Tribes. Her vision and team received the highest American Indian/Alaska Native Environmental Health Recognition Award in 2022 from NEHA in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Information about the award-winning pro- gram can be found at www.neha.org/ai-an-awards-2022. When Davis started at NPAIHB in 2020, she stated, “I hope my broad work experience in public health—assessment and inspec- tion, environmental and epidemiological investigations, training, policy development, program and project management, and evalu- ation—will be valuable to the Tribes of the Pacific Northwest.” She was valuable to NPAIHB, the Northwest Tribes, and the Tribal Nations across Indian Country. Her legacy will continue in tribal environmental public health long into the future.
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Volume 85 • Number 10
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