Arthur Fetter

Arthur Williams Fetter passed away on May 6, 2024, in Prescott, AZ. He was born April 4, 1937, at Sunny Slope Service Station, Route 39, Nashville, Ohio (Holmes County) to Russell M. and Ethel L. (Williams) Fetter. He attended Nashville High School and graduated in 1955. During his school years he was known as "Sonny" and was active in sports, music, and 4-H.

He entered The Ohio State University (OSU) in 1955 where he received the following degrees: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree summa cum laude in 1961; Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Veterinary Pathology in 1968 and 1970, respectively.

He served as a Base Veterinarian in the U.S. Air Force Veterinary Corps from 1961-1963 and in the Air Force Reserve in assignments that included: Lockbourne (Rickenbacker) AFB, Columbus, Ohio, Wright Patterson AFB, Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio; and, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Washington, D.C. He retired as a Colonel with 22 years of service in 1987.

Following his active-duty service, he joined Dr. Eugene Byers in Loudonville, Ohio, in general veterinary practice in 1963. Upon receipt of a National Institute of Health (NIH) Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 1966 he returned to OSU to pursue his graduate degrees. He joined the faculty of the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1970 as an Associate Professor of Pathology and in 1978 was named Head of Large Animal Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center. He joined Johnson and Johnson in 1979 as a Section Manager of Pathobiology at Ethicon, Inc. In 1981 he became Director of the Ethicon Research Foundation and in 1986 he joined Rorer Pharmaceutical Corp. as Vice-President of Drug Safety. In 1991 he was promoted to Senior Vice-President of Worldwide Drug Safety. In 1991 he was newly merged Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (RPR). He retired from RPR in 1999.

During his career he was an active member of many Professional Societies and received numerous awards among which were the Armed Forces legion of Merit in 1987 for outstanding services to the AFIP 1980-1987; the Ohio State 4-H Alumni Award in 1988; and, a Distinguished Alumnus Award from The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, in 1993 for outstanding contributions in the advancement of Veterinary Medicine.

Arthur is survived by his loving wife Janice Adams, a daughter Cari Moore, son Christoper Fetter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.