Dr. Douglas A. Gormley, Class of 1967
Gormley graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Purdue University in 1971. He then went on to graduate from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry in 1974 and earned his Master’s Degree in Orthodontics from Indiana University College of Dentistry in 1979.
Gormley served as a Captain in the United States Army Dental Corps stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina from 1974 – 1977. He has served as a Deacon and Elder at the First Christian Church of Wadsworth and is a member, and past Board Member of the Barberton Kiwanis Club.
After completing his orthodontic residency, Gormley set up his private practice in Barberton in 1979. He is proud to have treated over 7000 patients, helping them achieve their goals of beautiful smiles, in well-balanced faces, with sound, healthy bites. His practice is currently located in the Anna Dean Professional Park. Gormley and his wife Jane have been married 32 years and have three children.
Herbert “Bill” Johnson, Class of 1973
Johnson received his Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Akron in 1977 and was hired as a history and social studies teacher at Barberton High School. He applied for, and was awarded, a federal fellowship for the Master of Public Administration program at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. After receiving his Master’s Degree in 1980, Johnson began his career with Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Johnson has over 28 years experience with the Miami-Dade County government and has served as a senior member of the county manager’s executive staff since January 1995. He was the county’s representative for major construction projects such as the Miami International Airport, the American Airlines Sports Arena and the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts. Johnson was a coordinator of the relief program for the county after Hurricane Andrew and was recognized for his efforts by President George Herbert Walker Bush.
He has participated in numerous trade missions worldwide and is known for his problem solving and dedication to finding solutions to difficult government issues.
Johnson and his five siblings, raised by parents William Herbert and Ruth Johnson, all graduated from Barberton High School.
Nancy M. Somerick, Ph.D., Class of 1963
Somerick earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Ohio University in 1967, a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Kent State University in 1969 and a Ph.D. from Ohio University in 1974. She is the senior tenured professor in The University of Akron School of Communication, where she also teaches undergraduate and graduate public relations courses. Somerick began the public relations major at The University of Akron and has expanded, and successfully directs, the Schools’ Internship Program. She also established The University of Akron Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. She was the first woman to earn a Master’s Degree from the Kent State University School of Journalism and one of the first women to earn a Doctorate from the Ohio University School of Journalism.
Somerick has managed professional public relations programs for educational, health-care and financial institutions, and has authored numerous articles on how to handle internships and business communication effectively.
John E. Stocker III, Class of 1969
Stocker received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Chaminade University in Hawaii in 1979 and a Masters of Operations Management from The University of Arkansas in 1984. At Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama he completed Air Force Squadron Officer School in 1986 and Air Command and Staff College in 1994. Stocker also completed a Masters of National Security in2001 at the Naval War College at the Newport Navy Base in Rhode Island. Stocker has authored several periodicals pertaining to Nuclear Arms Control. Stocker was promoted to the rank of Colonel January 1, 2002 and currently serves as the Inspector General, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He is responsible for conducting the Nuclear Surety Inspections, Operational Readiness Inspections, Compliance Inspections and Weapons Safety Inspections of 189 Air Force Space Command units located at 50 locations worldwide. Additionally, he manages the investigations and complaints program for the Command.
Carol A. Storad, Class of 1957
Storad graduated from the Akron General School of Nursing in 1961. She attended The University of Akron and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 1988 and her Master’s Degree in Nursing in 1993. She started out at Barberton Citizen’s Hospital as a volunteer “Candy striper” and always said she wanted to become a nurse. Storad started her career as a Staff Nurse and moved up the ladder by moving to Nursing Supervisor, Assistant Director of Nursing, Vice-President/Director of Nursing and was Chief Nursing Officer at the time of her retirement. Storad was heavily involved with the Barberton Hospital Development Fund, which later became the Tuscora Park Health and Wellness Foundation.
Each year this foundation awards scholarships to nursing students. After her retirement, a scholarship was named in her honor. Storad was instrumental in the development and instruction of a high school Pre-Nursing Career Program. This is a vocational class housed at Barberton High School which is in collaboration with the Four Cities Vocational Compact, the University of Akron and Barberton Hospital. Storad married Anthony S. “Tony” Storad, also a 1957 Barberton grad, in 1960. They raised four children who blessed them with ten grandchildren. Storad passed away October 10, 2007.
Robert Elsmore, Jr, Class of 1967
Elsmore earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from The University of Akron in 1972 and his Masters of Education and Administration from Ashland College in 1988. He was a student in the Barberton School District from first grade through graduation and was a member of the first Major Work program for gifted children in Barberton.
Elsmore invested 30 years in education serving as a teacher, principal, Director of Transportation and Superintendent of the Upper Sandusky Schools. While with the Upper Sandusky Schools, Elsmore secured several grants. One of the grants funded the Family Resource Center, which implemented their before and after school child care program. He also implemented and chaired the Wyandot County Family & Children First Council. Elsmore served with many organizations such as Rotary, Red Cross and the board of the Northwest Ohio Education Association Credit Union. Elsmore passed away on October 22, 2003 leaving behind his wife, Judy; children, Jamie, Brianna and Abby; his parents, Robert and Lucille and siblings, Kathleen Brasko, Jim and Gary.
David M. Gormley, Class of 1983
After graduating from Barberton High School as the class valedictorian in 1983, Gormley earned his Bachelor’s Degree from The University of Michigan in 1987 and then his law degree from Harvard University in 1990. He served as a law clerk for a federal court of appeals judge, then worked at a large Chicago law firm and followed that by working several years as an Assistant Prosecutor in Delaware County.
In 1997, Gormley joined the Ohio Attorney General’s office where he was named State Solicitor of Ohio in 2000. In that post, he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the State of Ohio, and successfully defended Ohio’s state motto “With God All Things Are Possible” when that motto was challenged in federal court.
After leaving the Attorney General’s office in 2003, Gormley served as the chief prosecutor in a death-penalty murder trial in Delaware County and served four years as the Director of Legal Resources at the Supreme Court of Ohio. In 2007, he won a seat on the Delaware Municipal Court in Delaware County, where he currently serves as one of two judges on that court.