Donald Walter Kroeber

Donald Kroeber, of Gainesville, Georgia passed away on February 12, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jamie S. (White), formerly of Moundville, Alabama; son David, his wife Mimi, and their children Ross, Chad, Hollin, Reed, and Cole of Roswell, Georgia; son Eric, his wife Marni, and their children Bryce and Donald, of Richmond, Virginia; and his sister Lois K. Wille and her husband Wayne, of Chicago, Illinois. He was born on December 28th, 1934, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he grew up. He was granted a BS in Economics from Park College, Missouri; an MS in Finance from Boston University; and a PhD in Operations Management from the University of Georgia. He served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1976, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His tours of duty included Germany (twice); the former Republic of Vietnam; Korea; Fort Sill, Oklahoma (three times); and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (twice). He was a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College as well as several courses at the U.S. Army Artillery School. He also served on the faculty of both institutions. His military decorations include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Vietnamese Honor Medal First Class, and various campaign ribbons. Upon retirement from the Army, he joined the faculty of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems. He later became an Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Management Information Systems Department. In 1985 he moved to Radford University in Radford, Virginia, as a Professor of Management Information Systems and Dean of the College of Business and Economics. He was the author of a book on Statistics and Quantitative Methods (McGraw-Hill, 1980), three books on Management Information Systems (The Free Press,1982; Macmillan, 1984, and 1986), various textbook supplements, and numerous articles and papers in scholarly journals. While Dean, he led a successful effort to attain accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business for the business programs at Radford. At the time, only 20 percent of U.S business schools held such accreditation. He also served as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Radford University from 1994 until his retirement in 1996. There will be a memorial service on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 2pm in the chapel at Lanier Village Estates in Gainesville, Georgia. He will be interred at a private family ceremony at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, GA. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to the Gainesville Community Council on Aging Meals on Wheels program in memory of Don Kroeber by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.