Damon Gus Tassos (December 5, 1923 – February 28, 2001) was a guard in the National Football League. He was drafted in the third round of the 1945 NFL Draft by The Yanks and played with the Detroit Lions that season. After another season with the Lions he went on to play three more with the Green Bay Packers.
Warren Camp Wilson (March 29, 1922 – March 22, 2001) was an American football player. He played college football at Tarleton Junior College (1941), Hardin–Simmons University (1942), and the University of Tulsa (1943–1945). He helped lead his teams to appearances in the four consecutive New Year's Day bowl games: 1943 Sun Bowl, 1944 Sugar Bowl, 1945 Orange Bowl, and 1946 Oil Bowl. He later played at the fullback position for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949 and was the team's leading rusher each year from 1946 to 1948.
Nora Eddington (February 25, 1924 – April 10, 2001) was an American actress and socialite. She was best known as the second wife of actor Errol Flynn. Eddington appeared in several minor film roles.
Charles Lund Black Jr. (September 22, 1915 – May 5, 2001) was an American scholar of constitutional law, which he taught as professor of law from 1947 to 1999. He is best known for his role in the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, as well as for his Impeachment: A Handbook, which served for many Americans as a trustworthy analysis of the law of impeachment during the Watergate scandal.
Franco Dino Rasetti (August 10, 1901 – December 5, 2001) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist, paleontologist and botanist. Together with Enrico Fermi, he discovered key processes leading to nuclear fission. Rasetti refused to work on the Manhattan Project on moral grounds.
Dee Elbert Mackey (October 16, 1934 – February 26, 2001) was an American football tight end who played professionally for six seasons in the National Football League and the American Football League. He played for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers (1960) and the Baltimore Colts (1961–1962). He played for the AFL's New York Jets (1963–1965).He played college football at East Texas State and was a 24th round selection (287th overall pick) in the 1958 NFL Draft.
Frank Langton Christensen (June 1, 1910 – September 6, 2001) was an American athlete. After receiving all-state honors at Granite High School in baseball, football, and basketball, Christensen played fullback at the University of Utah. "Crashing Chris" was the university's first three-time All-American. In 1930–31, he was named Third-team All-American, and in 1932 he earned First-team honors. During those years, the Utes owned a 21-3-1 record.
Christensen holds the school's all-time career-scoring mark with 235 points. He is second in individual points in a season, scoring 100 points in 1930. Christensen is credited with scoring 13 points in 13 seconds vs. Colorado College.
The fullback was honored as a Silver Anniversary All-American in Sports Illustrated.
Christensen went on to the pros with the Detroit Lions (1934–37), where he was a member of the 1935 World Championship team.Christensen was also successful in business. He helped revolutionize the mining and petroleum industry and is recognized as the driving force behind the introduction of diamond drill bits into the petroleum exploration industry. Originally, the company manufactured diamond drill bits for the western mining industry, but the founders quickly envisioned a strong market in petroleum. By 1946, Christensen diamond bits were introduced into the Rangley field of Colorado. The bits were so successful the company decided to make petroleum drilling its primary market. His company, Christensen Diamond Products Company, became the world's largest producer of industrial diamond products.By the 1960s, the company was expanding into international markets. Christensen also developed an erosion-resistant matrix for diamond bits and introduced the 250P-core barrel system that quickly became the industry standard. In the 1970s, downhole tools and motors formed the basis for a broader drilling package that included the Navi-Drill downhole motor. Later in the decade, Christensen Diamond Products introduced the synthetic polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit.
In 1978, Christensen Diamond Products was acquired by Norton Co. of Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1983 the company's name was changed to Norton Christensen. Norton Christensen merged with Eastman Whipstock, the world's largest directional drilling company, in 1986 to form Eastman Christensen. In 1990, Eastman Christensen was acquired by Baker Hughes, who subsequently merged the company with its Hughes Tool Company to form Hughes Christensen.
Christensen died on September 6, 2001, at the age of 91.
Arthur Addison Seeligson Jr. (October 29, 1920 - April 17, 2001) was an American oilman, rancher, and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder.
Kennedy McCampbell Crockett (January 18, 1920, in Kingsville, Texas – May 3, 2001, in Kingsville, Texas ) was an American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1967 until April 19, 1970.
Martha E. Bernal (April 13, 1931, San Antonio, Texas – September 28, 2001) was an American clinical psychologist. She earned her doctoral degree at Indiana University Bloomington in 1962. She was the first Latina to receive a doctorate degree in psychology in the United States. She helped with the treatment and assessment of children with behavioral problems and worked to develop organizations that have a focus on ethnic groups.