Information about the deaths of the following alumni was received in the Office of Development and compiled by Susan Apple. Please send information to University of North Texas, Alumni Records, P.O. Box 311250, Denton, Texas 76203-1250, send e-mail to amayer@unt.edu or fill out the online form.

Click on the names for more information.

1920s [ top ]

• Sophia Mary Bradshaw (’28), Grass Valley, Calif. She died at the age of 103. Her degree was in secondary education.

1930s [ top ]

• Jennee Wright Lawhorn, Denton. She was a teacher in Houston for many years and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
  
• Flo Maree Sargent (’32), Dubuque, Iowa. She received her degree from North Texas in elementary education.
• Edna Clift (’33), San Angelo. She studied elementary education at North Texas.
• Jack Alexander Mitchell (’37), Cypress. He retired as general manager and CEO of the Dallas Teachers Credit Union after 31 years. He was the first president of the National Credit Union Executive Society and was elected to its hall of fame.
• James Griffin Taylor (’37), Nacogdoches. He practiced family medicine and obstetrics for 39 years until retiring. The labor and delivery unit of Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital was named in his honor.
• Hallie Mae Witt (’37), Denton. She was a retired teacher from the Denton ISD.
• J. Ross Jones (’39, ’46 M.S.), Galveston. He served as principal of Ball High School in Galveston and South Park High School in Beaumont. He retired as assistant superintendent of schools for the Beaumont ISD.
• Mildred Waters (’39), Azle. She received her degree in elementary education and taught for 42 years.

1940s [ top ]

• Grady W. Daws Jr. (’40), Denton. He was retired from the U.S. Postal Service, where he was a letter carrier and clerk in the Denton office. He served in the Army during World War II and received six Bronze Stars.
• Jewell Scruggs Milburn (’40, ’41), Hurst. She retired from teaching in 1978 after 41 years. She was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa.
• Art Seely Sr. (’42, ’49 M.S.), Denton. He worked his way through North Texas as a student firefighter in Denton, later serving as a driver and captain of Denton Fire Department Station No. 3. He taught history and coached and later was the principal of Robert E. Lee Elementary School until his retirement in 1980.
• Arthur Wilson Tucker (’42), Plano. He taught at the University of Texas at Arlington for 31 years, retiring in 1988. He was a veteran of World War II and served in the Pacific.
• Francis B. Self (’47), Denton. He received his degree in industrial arts from North Texas. During World War II he served in the U.S. Air Force.
• Mary Ann Swan Ham (’48), Jacksboro. She taught at the Jacksboro Elementary School for 22 years, retiring at the end of the 1996 school term.
• Claude E. Hoffman (’48), Hoffman. He was a teacher and school administrator from 1948 until his retirement in 1976. During World War II he served in the Air Force and flew combat missions as a top turret gunner and flight engineer.
• Gloria Jean Jones Phillips (’48, ’63 M.S.), Saint Jo. She taught home economics in Saint Jo for 39 years.

1950s [ top ]

• Jesse Carl Brown (’50), Bellaire. He was a lifelong entrepreneur. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II.
• Libby Jean Dinkle (’50), Silsbee. She taught for many years in Silsbee. She was married for 51 years to Billy Dinkle, a UNT football letterman.
• Ida Belle Allen Sams Fountain (’50, ’68 M.Ed.), Corpus Christi. She retired in 1991 from the child development program of Southwest ISD in Bexar County.
• Ellna Anne McFatridge (’51), Big Sandy. She was a secretary with Dallas Insurance until retiring.
• Rodger E. Murray (’51), Flower Mound. He served as a public school administrator for more than 30 years. He was a private pilot and was a colonel in the Confederate Air Force, an organization that flies and maintains World War II aircraft.
• Lloyed Perkins (’51, ’54 M.M.), Doraville, Ga. He studied music and music education while at North Texas.
• Bernice Estelle Pruitt (’51), Panhandle. She received her degree in art.
• Roy M. Benton (’52), Marble Falls. He retired as executive vice president of Bee County College in 1985.
• Thomas E. Jarrett (’52), Garland. He received his degree in industrial arts education from North Texas. He was a World War II veteran who served in Germany, France and Austria.
• Shirley Reynolds McCulloch (’52), Dallas. She was involved in Alpha Delta Pi, serving as president of the Dallas Alumnae Association from 1968 to 1969.
• Joe Ponce (’52 M.S.), Dallas. He was the first Hispanic school principal in Dallas, serving as principal of the former Benito Juarez Elementary School in West Dallas from 1962 to 1967.
• D. Anne Redford (’52 M.S.), Dallas. She retired as a librarian with the Dallas ISD.
• Edward ‘Sonny’ Blondell (’55), Bowie. He was a charter member of the Texas Boys Choir and a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
• Robert Wade Brown (’55, ’55 M.S.), Dallas. An international expert on foundation problems and expansive soil behavior, he was the author of eight books on the subject. His books are used as textbooks in various universities and engineering schools around the country.
• Richard ‘Dick’ Schleicher (’58), Fort Worth. He received his degree in business from North Texas.
• William F. ‘Bill’ McNamara (’59), Dallas. He was a State Farm insurance agent for 33 years. He was a member of Theta Chi.

1960s [ top ]

• Dee Barton (’60), Brandon, Miss. He was a former trombonist, drummer and arranger for the Stan Kenton Orchestra and composer of popular movie and television scores. Two of his original songs, “Waltz of the Prophets” and “Turtle Talk,” were on Kenton’s 1961 Grammy Award-winning album Adventures in Jazz. Barton was composer in residence at Jackson State University. In 2000 he was among the first inductees into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.
• Claude Wendell Bolton (’61 M.Ed.), Fort Worth. He was a retired math teacher and consultant for Fort Worth ISD and a data processing coordinator for Education Service Center Region 11.
• George Edgar ‘Eddie’ Evans (’61), Dallas. He worked for his father’s business, E.B. Mott Co., prior to moving to London in 1970. He returned to Dallas in 1981 and became active in the Democratic Party.
• Newell Franklin Barrett Oler (’63), Dallas. He played piano at the Wyndham Anatole (formerly the Loews Anatole) in Dallas from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He had several popular recordings and owned a production company, NOME Co., that produced 22 CDs ranging from popular World War II hits to Christmas tunes.
• Raynell Mitchell (’64), Odessa. She taught for the Ector County ISD until her retirement in 1998.
• Ruth Yvonne Parks Stubbs (’66, ’85 M.Ed.), Richardson. She practiced dental hygiene for several years and later taught part time at Dallas Christian College.
• Melvin Derr (’67), Sherman. He taught voice and theater at Grayson College and East Texas State University while teaching private voice and piano in Sherman. He performed with symphony orchestras around the world.
• H. Duane Temple (’68), Houston. He was a minister and was chair of the music department, registrar and dean of Southern Bible College in Houston.
• Dana Tubb Bozarth (’69), Hurst. She taught for 16 years with the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD and then transferred to Bell High School, where she taught English until retiring in 1989.
• Katie LaRoe (’69, ’87 M.Ed.), Plano. She was with the Richardson ISD from 1978 until 1997.

1970s [ top ]

• Richard Dixon Kerr (’71 M.Ed.), Argyle. He was the founder and a former minister of the Argyle Church of Christ. He was also a counselor for the Fort Worth ISD.
• Susan Ludwick (’71), Ruidoso, N.M. She received her degree in elementary education.
• Hugh Thomas ‘Tommy’ Massey (’72), Crosbyton. He was an X-ray supervisor at several area hospitals and also worked as a reserve deputy sheriff.
• Phyllis Asplund (’73 M.Ed.), Irving. She taught at Irving High School, Nimitz High School and Marcus High School and retired from Lewisville ISD in 1994.
• Calvin Fenton (’73), Weatherford. He was an attorney and practiced in Dallas for many years. Most recently he taught economics and social studies at Mineral Wells High School and Weatherford College.
• Floyd ‘Doc’ Allen (’74 Ed.D.), Dallas. He was the recipient of Fulbright Scholarships to Japan, Thailand and Greece. He taught English at North Texas, El Centro College and Richland College.
• Bobby Joe Fry (’74), Denison. He was an economist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 22 years.
• Lawrence Glenn Roark (’78), Austin. He studied music at UNT and played the euphonium with many groups, including the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus band and the Creative Opportunity Orchestra. He made musically tuned wind chimes through the company he founded, Music of the Spheres, and was an accomplished art photographer.

1980s [ top ]

• Rodolfo Contreras (’80), New York City. He worked as an artist and fashion designer and had lived in London and Barcelona before settling in New York.
• Susan Armstrong Birchard (’81), La Grange. She received her degree in speech pathology and audiology from North Texas, graduating summa cum laude. She was employed by Smithville ISD.
• Mitchell Lamm (’81), Arlington. He earned his degree in journalism and worked for many years as a posting-listing regional manager for Eller Media in Arlington.
• Stanley Marcus (’82 honorary), Dallas. He was chair emeritus of the Neiman Marcus Stores, co-founder of what is now the UNT Texas Fashion Collection and author of four UNT Press books. He delivered the dedication address at the opening of the Art Building in 1972 and, over the years, donated works of art to the School of Visual Arts and designer garments to the Texas Fashion Collection. He also published fine press miniature books, many of which he donated to the UNT Libraries.
• Sally Anderson (’84, ’84 M.S.), Coppell. A CPA, she was a controller at North American Railnet.
• Margie Lois Davis (’86), Decatur. She received her degree in elementary education from North Texas.
• Robert Craig Brown (’87), Lake Winnebago, Mo. He taught and coached for several years. He had just begun Brown Brothers Construction Co. Inc., a general contracting company.
• Stephen Henry Price (’88 M.S.), Rusk. He worked for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission and Crockett State School as a caseworker.

1990s [ top ]

• Nina Marie Schwartz (’91), Plano. She received a degree in business from North Texas and went on to a successful career in insurance.
• Jason W. Barefoot (’92), Denton. He received his degree in fashion design from North Texas.
• Gualberto D. Besinaiz (’92 M.M.E.), Tom Bean. He was a band director for 19 years. During his teaching career in Tom Bean the band received the UIL Sweepstakes Award six consecutive years.
• Ileana Si Fuentes (’94 M.S.), El Paso. She received her degree in industrial-technical merchandising and fabric analytics. Her career in product quality control and testing included positions at J.C. Penney, The Limited Co. and Chico’s.
• Mark Wayne Hack (’96), Farmers Branch. He worked as a lead computer programmer at Rushcreek Software in Las Colinas.

2000s [ top ]

• Jeremy Craig Stinson (’00), Grapevine. He received his degree in advertising from North Texas. He was an advertising account executive.
• Bhanu Kiran Bontha (’01 M.S.), Denton. He received his degree in computer science from North Texas.

University Community [ top ]

• Francis Bullitt Lowry, Denton, professor of history, 1964-2002. He received his bachelor’s degree from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., and earned his master’s degree and doctorate in history from Duke University. At North Texas he taught European, military and diplomatic history. Dedicated to the historic preservation of Denton, he helped create the Denton Historic Landmark Commission, serving as its first chair in 1980. He also chaired the Denton County Historical Commission and wrote several works on the history of the city. He received numerous awards from the Texas Historical Commission, including the John Ben Shepperd Award for the best chair of a Texas county historical commission in 1987.
• James Riddlesperger (’37), Denton, Professor Emeritus of political science, 1950-1978. During his tenure at North Texas, he founded the International Students Association and received the ’Fessor Graham Award and the Distinguished Teaching Award, among other honors. Born in Malakoff, he earned an A.A. degree at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville and later graduated from North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in history. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. After retiring from North Texas, he served three terms on the Denton City Council, worked with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and in 1986 was elected to the first Texas Silver Haired Legislature.
• Arthur P. Schoep, Denton, Professor Emeritus of music, 1967-1990. He first joined the North Texas faculty as an instructor of music in 1948, serving for two years before continuing his education. He returned in 1967 as a professor of music, directing the opera and teaching choral conducting, voice and diction. He was the host of the monthly radio program “Music from North Texas,” which aired on KERA and WRR from 1979 to 1989. Schoep performed with opera companies and symphonies all over the United States and was a contributing editor for Opera Canada, reviewing the Dallas and Fort Worth opera seasons. He was also music director at First Presbyterian Church in Denton for many years.