Sigurd D. Medhus earned a BS in Business and Technology from Oregon State College in 1950. He attended Oregon State for four academic years from 1946-1947 through 1949-1950. In the summer of 1949, he attended ROTC summer camp at Hamilton Air Force Base. After graduation, Medhus worked in financial services, including 26 years at General Electric. He was vice president of finance at Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. from 1976 to 1980 and executive vice president and chief financial officer of American Express from 1980 to 1982. In 1982, he was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of U.S. Industries.
Sigurd Duane Medhus was born in Leeds, North Dakota on March 7, 1929 to a Norwegian family. His family moved to Portland, Oregon, and he graduated from Grant High School in 1946. Medhus used the name "S. Duane Medhus" during his college years; he was known by the nickname "Dewey".
The Sigurd D. Medhus Papers consist of materials generated and assembled by Dewey Medhus during his student years at Oregon State College documenting his membership in the Delta Upsilon fraternity; his activities as a yell leader and yell king; and his attendance at the Air Force ROTC summer camp at Hamilton Air Force Base in 1949. The collection includes scrapbook pages with photographs and newspaper clippings; loose photographs; a yearbook from the 1949 ROTC summer camp; and a felt Oregon State pennant. The scrapbook pages include photographs of Delta Upsilon members in front of the fraternity house and a group of the fraternity members participating in the Interfraternity Sing. Newspaper clippings and photographs document Medhus' antics as a yell leader and yell king as well as other members of the rally squad, including Ray Staub and John Supple.
The collection includes a professional quality photograph from the 1949 ROTC Summer Camp; 22 snapshots of Medhus and his fellow cadets participating in training and recreational activities; and
Collection is open for research.
Sigurd D. Medhus Papers (MSS Medhus), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
These materials were transferred from the Alumni Association to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2013.
The Air Force ROTC