Steve Auvil:
CLASS OF 1965
Cass City High SchoolClass of 1965
Cass city, MI
Steve's Story
I grew up on a dairy farm about 10 miles outside Cass City, MI. I attended grade school at Evergreen Township School in Shabbona, MI and high school at Cass City High School.
I am the oldest of 4 children born to Ray & Freda Auvil. My sisters, Nancy, Kathy, and Janet all went to CCHS and onto college -- Nancy to Central Michigan University and Kathy & Janet to Michigan State University. We lost Nancy several years ago to cancer. She's greatly missed.
I started out my college career at Central Michigan University majoring in Chemistry. After a couple of years, I realized I was moving away from Math & Physics, two other subjects I liked. I ended up transferring to Michigan State University, majoring in Chemical Engineering - a subject that is a blend of Chemistry, Math, & Physics. I obtained BS, MS, and PhD ('74) degrees in Chemical Engineering from MSU.
A job skill which served me so well during my college career was how to run movies in theatres - as a projectionist - a skill I learned and mastered working at the Cass Theatre in Cass City. I couldn’t have asked for a better part-time job while at CMU (Mt. Pleasant) and while at MSU (East Lansing/Lansing). It provided me with the means to largely pay for my college and family expenses, pay off a small college loan I took out when I started college, and to leave MSU with some money in the bank.
My...Expand for more
first job as a Chemical Engineer (Feb. 1974) was with Monsanto in St. Louis, MO. I had worked for Monsanto for nearly 8.5 years in R&D when I was contacted by a professional recruiting firm looking for candidates to head up an R&D group at Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., in Allentown, PA. They made me an excellent offer and I accepted it (1982).
I worked at Air Products for 31 years, retiring in May 2013. While at Air Products, I attained the level of Sr. Air Products Fellow, the top technical position in the Company. I have been awarded numerous patents, have publish several technical articles, and made many presentations at national and international technical meetings. I was honored with the Chairman's Award for Excellence by Air Products, the Company's highest honor which included $75,000 in cash and stock.
I married CCHS alumnus, Pam Gee, and we were blessed with 3 sons: Steve Jr, Dennis, & Nathaniel. Sadly, we divorced in 1987. I remarried (Jane Meyers from Center Valley, PA in 1989) and have 2 more sons, Andrew & Bryan. We lost Steve jr. to an illness in April 2015. The pain remains overwhelming at times.
I'm enjoying my retirement. I am a consultant for Air Products, which takes up some time, but there's plenty of time to spend with family and friends, doing things that my job kept me from doing, and traveling. I have 5 grandchildren.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to start a reunion event!
Photos
