Dr. Vincent P. Drnevich, P.E.

Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering
Purdue University

Dear Geotechnical Colleagues,

It is so heart warming to read the stories of your interaction with Dick and the impact that he had on your lives and careers. I first met him in 1962 when he was completing his MS degree at Notre Dame and I was completing my BS degree.

We began our friendship by collaborating on building a prestressed concrete beam made by stacking concrete blocks with post tensioning cables strung through the hollow cores. On our first testing of it, it held up nicely; it even held me up but was quite flexible. When Dick and I got on it, the deflection increased to the point where the prestressing cables were no longer within the middle third of the hollow cores and the beam exploded, no damage except some bruised egos. The beam was to be part of an Engineering Day exhibit the following day. It ended up in the dumpster.

Dick and I kept in close contact since those days.  He and I started and completed our doctorates at Michigan at the same time.  I spent much time with Dick, his wife Dixie, and daughter Kathy in those Ann Arbor Days.  In fact, their daughter Kathy went to the UM football games with us as my “spouse”, since Dick could only buy one spouse ticket.  Dick and Dixie were great enablers of my courtship of Roxanne whom I met in Ann Arbor through an ad in the Michigan Daily.  Dick was a lector at our wedding and Dick and Dixie were the godparents of our daughter Julie. Dick and I continued to collaborate throughout the years. He was like a big brother to me.

A singular memory for me was on May 1, 2010 when Dick presented the 8th G.A. Leonards Lecture at Purdue.  It also was the occasion of my retirement.  The attached photo documents the event.  Jack Hall, Betty Richart, Dick, and I are in the first row with Ken Stokoe and Bobby Hardin looking over Dick’s shoulders. It was a wonderful day to celebrate with so many good friends.

We all were blessed to have Dick Woods in our lives.

Vince Drnevich