Beth Williams earned her D.V.M. at Purdue University in 1977. While working on her Ph. D. in veterinary pathology at Colorado State University, Beth earned fame for providing the first scientific description of chronic wasting disease and cont in ued to be a leading expert on CWD throughout her career.  She was involved in many wildlife organizations and was frequently recognized for her accomplishments. She served on United Nations, National Academy of Scie nce and the National Institutes of local committees concerned with animal health issues. During her career, Beth worked on diseases affecting a host of wildlife species in the West.

In 1980, Beth married Tom Thorne, and in 198 2, she joined the Department of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Wyoming, beginning one of the most productive husband-and-wife collaborations in the history of American conservation.

Tom Thorne earned a bachelor's degree in zoology and D.V.M. at Oklahoma State University. In 1968, he started work as a wildlife veterinarian with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, where he researched  brucellosis in elk and bison, a disease that threatened the economy and ecological integrity of western Wyoming. As a  prominent expert on brucellosis, tuberculosis, chronic wasting disease and many other wildlife health issues, he worked on diseases in most of Wyoming's big game animals and edited and co-wrote Diseases of Wildlife in Wyoming, one of the indispensable texts for wildlife veterinarians in the West. Tom was respected internationally, was a sought after speaker and received numerous awards. He was also deeply involved with a variety of wildlife organizations.

In 1983, Thorne supervised the difficult effort to return black-footed ferrets to the wild and later supervised the captive breeding program that saved the rare Wyoming toad from extinction.

With his wife, Beth, Tom worked tirelessly to solve the problems of disease in game animals and other wildlife. If there was a sick animal anywhere in the Rocky Mountain West, the chances were good that Tom and Beth we're trying to make it well. -Chris Madson