Sandra Doran Grove (’70), Friendswood. She earned her bachelor’s in speech and drama at North Texas, where she met her husband James “Jim” (’69) in a history class. Following their first date, they lost touch for a year before unexpectedly reuniting at the North Texas State Student Union. The couple wed in 1971 and eventually settled in Austin, where Sandra was the traffic manager for the local public TV station. In her free time, she enjoyed quilting, knitting and reading.

Kathryn Gilbert Craig (’78), Bartlett, Tennessee. After studying management at UNT, she was employed for 30 years by Delta Airlines. An ordained elder at her church, she was a cancer survivor and served on the board of directors of the Kosten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, leading a monthly support group and counseling cancer patients. She also was a patient advocate on the National Cancer Institute’s Pancreas Task Force.

Dr. Kenneth L. Dickson ('66, '68 M.S.), 80, Professor Emeritus of biological sciences, former director of the Institute of Applied Sciences and founder of UNT's Elm Fork Education Center, died Jan. 9 in Aubrey.

After graduating with a bachelor’s in science education and a master’s in biological sciences from UNT, where his mentor was Dr. J.K.G. Silvey, he earned a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology at Virginia Tech. He served on the faculty there for seven years and was the assistant director of its Center for Environmental Studies, evaluating chemicals and their effects on aquatic organisms.

In 1978, he began a 32-year career at UNT that focused on environmental connections between water, energy, agriculture, natural resources and sustainability, as well as collaborations between the community and the university. He joined UNT as a research scientist and the next year was named the director of the Institute of Applied Sciences, an interdisciplinary research consortium founded by Silvey. Under Dickson’s guidance, the institute became widely recognized as a leader in environmental research.

Dickson pushed for the founding of the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in environmental science in the early 1990s. He also was instrumental in the creation of the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building at UNT, which opened in 1998. Bringing together experimental and educational spaces for faculty across environmental disciplines, the EESAT was the first green building on campus. And thousands of schoolchildren have experienced the excitement of scientific discovery at the building’s outdoor learning area through the Elm Fork Education Center, the environmental education outreach program that he founded and directed.

At UNT, Dickson earned distinguished research professorships, was named a Regents Professor, and received the President’s Award and Ulys Knight Spirit Award. He also later served as dean of the Emeritus College, which became the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNT.

He was involved in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry from its beginnings, serving on its board of directors and as president. He also served on the EPA’s Science Advisory Board, worked locally with the city of Denton on wastewater treatment and other environmental issues, and was involved with the Greenbelt Alliance, the Upper Trinity Water Conservation Trust and many other organizations.

A remembrance and celebration service is scheduled at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 at UNT’s EESAT Building. Donations may be made in Dickson’s name through UNT’s Division of University Advancement.

Dr. Denis George Paz (’67, ’69 M.A.), 78, Professor Emeritus of history who taught at UNT from 1995 to 2013, died Dec. 9, 2023, in Hartwell, Georgia.

He graduated from North Texas with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history and later attended the London School of Economics and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. and lectured in history from 1974 through 1977. He also taught at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Clemson University in South Carolina.

He taught modern British history and served as the faculty advisor for UNT’s award-winning chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society. He published four monographs — including Popular Anti-Catholicism in Mid-Victorian England and Dickens and Barnaby Rudge: Anti-Catholicism and Chartism — as well as teaching aids, articles in scholarly journals and an edited essay collection, Nineteenth-Century English Religious Traditions: Retrospect and Prospect.

Bobby Brown Fincher (’58), Grand Prairie. He grew up a few blocks from the North Texas campus and graduated with a bachelor’s in industrial arts. He worked as a machinist for 34 years and enjoyed sailing, driving his TR3 sports car and attending the State Fair of Texas. His daughters and three granddaughters are also UNT graduates.

Cragg Hines (’67), Arlington, Virginia. A graduate of UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism, he worked at the Houston Chronicle for more than three decades, becoming its Washington bureau chief in 1983, and its Washington columnist in 2000. During his career, he covered seven U.S. presidents and was named one of D.C.’s top 50 journalists by the Washingtonian in 2001. At North Texas, he sang in the A Capella Choir and choruses and worked for the Campus Chat newspaper and Yucca yearbook. He won the Green Glory Award from the UNT Alumni Association in 2010. Read our 2018 profile.

Jerrell "Jerry" L. Pair (’62), Grapevine. He attended North Texas on a football scholarship and earned a bachelor’s in business administration. The longtime owner of the Motor Supply Co. auto parts store in Grapevine, he was a member of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District board for a dozen years. An avid golfer, he also enjoyed traveling.

Joseph W. Pinson, Jr. (’73), Denton. He received degrees in music from Southern Methodist University and American University in Washington, D.C., before relocating to study for a doctorate in music theory and composition at North Texas. A board-certified registered music therapist, he was director of music at the former Denton State School (now Denton State Supported Living Center) from 1974 through 1997. He taught music therapy as an assistant clinical professor at Texas Woman's University through his 2013 retirement, when he was named Denton County Composer in Residence. Joseph founded and spent more than a quarter-century directing the Denton Bell Band. In 2009, he was awarded the Community Arts Recognition Award by the Greater Denton Arts Council.

Julia Anna Troeger Thompson (’55), Lexington, Kentucky. A member of Chi Omega at North Texas, she taught for more than three decades at elementary schools in Plano, Lubbock and Bowling Green, Kentucky. She earned a master’s degree in education at Western Kentucky University, led church youth groups and participated in women’s groups and on Volvo’s Women’s Tennis teams where she was recognized for her wicked, slicing serve. In retirement, she held a staff position at the National Corvette Museum.

Danny Handler (’96), Austin. At UNT, the drummer majored in jazz studies, performed with the Lab Bands and earned a bachelor’s in music. He met his wife, Jennifer Watson (’95), at the Delta Lodge fraternity house. Danny also played with the popular Denton funk band Beef Jerky. He enjoyed web design and was a car aficionado.