As 2017 comes to a close, we're remembering some of the great forever Sun Devils on the field and off that passed away in the last year. The memories, work, family and love they left behind will always be honored and celebrated by the Sun Devil Family. Â If we missed a a great Sun Devil, please email Doug Tammaro at tammaro@asu.edu
Allen BenedictÂ
Former ASU football and baseball student-athlete, Allen Benedict passed away on December 10 at the age of 79. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, his children, and grandchildren, and his brother, sister, and brother-in-law.Â
Benedict was a quarterback and halfback under legendary coach Frank Kush and played baseball for Bobby Winkles. After college, he became a teacher and coach of football, baseball and swimming at Tempe High School, eventually transitioning to Mesa Community College to teach and coach. In his tenure at MCC, Benedict served as Athletic Director and Physical Education Department Chair.Â
Wil Cardon
Wil Cardon, a Mesa businessman and politician with an inherent love of Arizona, died August 26 at the age of 46. He is survived by his wife, Nicole, and their five children. Cardon graduated from Stanford before attaining an MBA from Harvard. He also played collegiate-level football as a wide-reciever at BYU and Stanford.Â
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Alongside his passion for growing the family business, Cardon found great joy in serving as a volunteer in capacities such as raising money for charities such as the Cardon Children's Medical Center or serving as a missionary in Portugal.Â
Ruth Downs
On March 28, Ruth Downs passed away at the age of 95. Downs and her husband, broadcaster Hugh Downs were together for 75 years at the time of her passing. Downs was a radio actress, producer and director in Chicago when she met Hugh. The couple have two children together and an extensive travel resume from when she was producing a film documentary or accompanying her husband on business.Â
Downs opened the needlework shop in Carefree, AZ, dubbed 'Ruth Downs, Ltd.' where local artists and employees learned to create high-end needlepoint canvases and where Downs could further express her artistic passion.Â
Family was an important and intricate part of Downs' life. Downs is survived by her husband, their two children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews and their families.Â
Dr. Wally Fisher
On January 30, Wallace Fisher, MD, passed away in Phoenix, AZ, at the age of 85. He is survived by his five children, eleven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.Â
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As a young man fresh out of college, he began to serve his country as a Colonel in the United States Air Force. Dr. Fisher started his medical career in the Valley as a family physician and later switched to an anesthesia practice. Additionally, he served a few months a year at the local Williams Air Force Base until it closed. In 1993, he retired after over 30 years of medical practice in Phoenix.
Dr. Wally Fisher finished medical school in 1964 and during his time as a student at ASU, he got to know legendary Sun Devil basketball coach Ned Wulk. When Dr. Fisher came back home to the valley as a physician he reacquainted himself with Wulk and other members of the Sun Devil Athletics Department. He supported his alma mater and Sun Devil Athletics for four decades.Â
Ben Hawkins
Ben Hawkins, a former Arizona State University football star and Sports Hall of Fame inductee, passed away Tuesday, October 10.  He was 73. Hawkins has been part of the ASU family since 1963 and was known for his versatility by playing receiver and defensive end, while also returning punts and kickoffs.
Known as "Hawk", Hawkins was born on March 22, 1944 in Newark, NJ. He started as both a wide receiver and defensive end at ASU from 1963Â through 1965, where he played under legendary and all-time winning coach, Frank Kush. During his career at ASU, he was known as a big play producer on both offense and defense. Hawkins' jersey number at ASU was No. 18.
Following nine years of playing in the NFL, Hawkins coached for many years at ASU, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the USFL San Antonio and Arizona teams. Hawkins followed that with a successful career in management for a trucking company.Â
Gary Herberger
Gary K. Herberger, an architect, businessman, and philanthropist, died February 28 at the age of 79, leaving a deep-rooted legacy at Arizona State University and the Phoenix Valley.
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Most recently, Gary and his wife Jeanne Herberger helped launch the Gary Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a school for academically gifted children at ASU's west campus and added an additional donation to expand the campus this year. The Herberger family's impact on ASU began in 1962 and as the years went on, their support grew to more than $40 million, including the $12 million gift in 2000 that started the transition of the School of Arts into the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
A true patron of ASU, Herberger's intelligence, creativity, and passion for philanthropy will have a long-lasting impression on the ASU community for years to come.Â
Frank Kush
Frank Kush, Arizona State University and College Football Hall of Fame inductee and the winningest coach in Sun Devil Football history, passed away June 22 at 88. Kush was a part of the ASU family since 1955 and served in many roles over the years, most recently as an ambassador for Sun Devil Athletics.
As the 15th football coach in Arizona State history, Kush went on to win 176 games, the most in school history, across 21.5 seasons and was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He led his team to seven Western Athletic Conference Championships and guided the Sun Devils to winning seasons in 19 of his 22 years.Â
After his coaching career ended in 1979, he went back to ASU 21 years later and served as a special assistant to the Athletics Director and then as an ambassador for Sun Devil Athletics. Since then, Kush won multiple awards and honors, including being inducted into the Peach Bowl Hall of Fame, the Michigan State Hall of Fame, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lott Impact Trophy.
Away from football, Kush has served the community in many entities and on numerous boards, and was the former executive director of the Arizona Boys Ranch.
Billy Mann
In March, former ASU golf coach Billy Mann passed away at the age of 92. A University of Arizona graduate, Mann coached in Phoenix for 15 years. In his tenure at ASU, Mann's team won 26 titles while leading the Sun Devils to seven top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship.Â
Paul Medina
A lifelong Arizona resident, Paul Medina passed away on May 10 at the age of 72. A graduate of the local Chandler High School, Medina worked at Honeywell from 1965 until he retired in 2013.Â
A lover of sports, Medina supported ASU Athletics and its teams and was a lifelong fan of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, three children, 15 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.Â
Ted Bredehoft
Ted Bredehoft spent 11 years at ASU as wrestling coach, during which time he also coached men's tennis and served as an assistant athletic director. His wrestling teams won the WAC championship in 1965, and placed in the top three for five straight seasons. ASU placed sixth at the 1965 NCAA Championship, and eighth in 1967 when Curley Culp won his individual title.
Bredehoft left ASU in 1972 to become Wichita State's athletics director until 1982, when he began working in the oil industry. In 2000, he and his wife, Susan, started the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Network of Kansas after the death of his 6-month-old granddaughter.Â
Dr. Fred Miller
Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Famer Dr. Fred Miller passed away on October 22 at the age of 86. Miller joined the Sun Devil family in 1971 and served as Athletic Director and a professor of physical education.Â
Miller earned an associate's degree from Santa Monica City College and bachelor's degree from the College of Pacific (now University of Pacific). After graduating in 1953, he was commissioned as an officer in the Navy and was on duty in Korea aboard an LST. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1955, Miller played in the NFL for the Washington Redskins. Afterward, Miller earned a master's degree in education from the University of Southern California. He furthered his education in 1963 by completing his doctorate of physical education at Indiana University.
From 1971-80, he transformed ASU and Sun Devil Athletics by adding 10 women's varsity sports to an 11 sport, all-male program. Miller also launched private fundraising efforts in order to renovate and develop six campus athletic facilities, including: Packard Baseball Stadium, Joe Selleh Track, Sun Angel Track Stadium, Sun Devil Tennis Stadium, Whiteman Tennis Center, and University Aquatic Center.
In addition to ASU, Miller has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame at Long Beach State, SDSU and NACDA. He previously served as NACDA president and Executive Committee member. Miller was awarded the 41st NACDA Corbett Award in 2007, which is the highest honor given to a collegiate athletics administrator.
Jim Newman
Coach Jim Newman, who played basketball at Arizona State from 1956-58 and played a major role as an assistant coach for some of Arizona State's best teams, passed away on July 1 at his home at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Harriet, son Jim Jr. and daughter Alison.
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Recruited by Sun Devil legend Bill Kajikawa, he played on ASU and Coach Ned Wulk's first NCAA Tournament team in 1958, Newman transitioned his time as an athlete into a coaching career. He spent 15 seasons as a highly successful high school and junior college coach in Compton, California and one year at New Mexico. Coach Newman returned to Tempe and helped mentor such Sun Devil greats like Byron Scott, Fat Lever, Johnny Nash and Sam Williams.
In his career he was athletic director at Willowbrook Junior High, head of the Cultural Enrichment Program at Compton High School, liaison officer for the Compton Unified School District, and financial aid director and assistant dean of student personnel services at Compton Community College. As a head coach of Compton High's junior varsity squad, his team went 44-1 over two seasons.
Joe Porter
A Sun Devil golf favorite Joe Porter, a 1967 All-American and fifth-place NCAA Championship finisher under Coach Billy Mann, passed away on July 2.
The 1963 Arizona Amateur champion, Porter also won the 1962 Arizona State Junior Golf Championship and led Arcadia High School to consecutive state championships in 1962 and 1963, winning the individual title in both. After high school, Porter went to Phoenix College where he led the golf team to the National Junior College Championship in 1964. He played on the PGA Tour for over ten years with a career best of second place in the Western Open at Butler National.Â
In 1979, Joe left the Tour and began a real estate career with CB Richard Ellis where he had a very successful career. He was a Lifebird with the Phoenix Thunderbirds and very active in the Phoenix Open.Â
Bill Schaefer
Former President of the Sun Devil Club, Bill Schaefer passed away on August 3 at the age of 79. Schaefer graduated from ASU as a double major in both Insurance and Accounting. In 1960 at ASU, he met Judy Barrett who became his wife of nearly 54 years.Â
The next year, Schaefer and a partner started the Schaefer and Smith Insurance Agency which would grow to become one of the largest agencies in the Phoenix region. He was the youngest inductee into the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona Hall of Fame.Â
Schaefer had a passion and commitment to ASU, serving as a Lifetime Board Member of the Sun Angel Foundation and a Lifetime member of the ASU president's club. Bill and Judy held football season tickets for 55 years and traveled the country to support ASU teams. In 2004, their generosity created the Bill and Judy Schaefer Sports Hall of Fame on ASU's Tempe campus.Â
Louise Solheim
On July 7, Louise Solheim, the wife of the late Ping founder Karsten Solheim, passed away at the age of 99.Â
In 1992, Solheim received an honorary Doctorate degree from ASU, joined the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 2004, and in that same year, earned a Arizona State University Regents Award for Outstanding Service to Higher Education.Â
Solheim is credited with playing a large role in the creation of PING and the Solheim Cup, a women's match-play tournament played in the U.S. and Europe.Â
Jim Watson
Jim Watson, a former Arizona State University football student-athlete and valued member of the community, passed away Tuesday, November 21. He was 48. Watson played offensive line at Arizona State from 1988-1992. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their three children Savannah, Tyler, and Sierra.Â
Watson would go on to graduate from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with a B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Economics. After his football career, Watson stayed heavily involved with Arizona State and Sun Devil Athletics. Watson became a member of the Fiesta Bowl Committee soon after graduation and remained a committee member until his passing.Â
He was also involved in several other philanthropic endeavors after graduating from ASU, including charitable organizations such as the United Way Campaign Cabinet, Pinnacle Peak Presbyterian Church, Boys & Girls Clubs of Scottsdale and giving back to the ASU College of Business.
Gralen Wilson
A lover of travel, Gralen Wilson passed away on October 23, 2016 surrounded by family and friends. She was 49. She is survived by her husband, three children, her parents, brother and several aunts, uncles and cousins.Â
Following two years as a exchange student during the high school summer, Wilson went to UCLA as an Italian major. She spent a semester in Italy and graduated with honors in 1989. Wilson continued to travel by being involved with the Sister Cities International visiting Italy, Crimea, Japan, Venezuela, and the Canary Islands. When she moved back to Los Angeles in the early 90's and throughout her career worked with the City of Los Angeles, Credito Italiano, and Twentieth Century Fox Studios.Â
Ellie Winkles
On September 7, Ellie Winkles, wife of former ASU baseball head coach Bobby Winkles, passed away at the age of 86. She graduated from ASU with a BA in Elementary Education in 1971 and worked as a teacher from grades 1-3.Â
Winkles and her husband started the Bobby and Ellie Winkles Scholarship Foundation. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, two daughters, two grandchildren and sister and brother.
