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 ]

• Winnie F. Brodie (’28), Austin. She majored in history at North Texas.

1930s [ top ]

• Leta B. Roberson (’31), Denton. She was the first woman in Texas to receive formal florist training. She and her husband owned Linwood Roberson Florist in Denton.
• Dora Mae Kelly (’32), Gainesville. She taught at Angelo State University from 1947 until retiring in 1976.
• Bernice Mitchell (’35), Denton. In 1930, she was employed as the first “girl banker” in Denton, retiring as a vice president 46 years later.
• Helen Collier Randolph (’35), Abilene. She taught school and was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.
• Geraldine L. Schneider (’36), San Antonio. She taught in the San Antonio ISD for 31 years.
• Pauline Wetherell (’36), Tempe, Ariz. Her degree from North Texas was in English.
• Malcolm Graham Ball (’38), Wichita Falls. He received his degree in industrial arts education.
• Dortha Brown Fondren (’38), Corsicana. She taught school in Corsicana for 31 years.

1940s [ top ]

• Josie Kate Bright (’40), Houston. She majored in elementary education at North Texas.
• Hasseltine Smith (’40), Poolville. She received her degree in elementary education.
• Ava Louise Roberson (’41, ’56 M.Ed.), Tyler. She was a retired elementary school teacher.
• Myronell Giles (’42), Lindale. She taught elementary school for 37 years.
• Edgar North Mobley (’42), Fort Worth. He was a chemist for General Dynamics and Whitco of Fort Worth. He was a talented singer, whose voice was heard throughout many churches in North Texas.
• Mary Lee Peele (’42), Aurora, N.C. She received her degree in home economics.
• MB Ward Jr. (’43, ’48 M.S.), Alvin. He was a retired geologist employed by Exxon Production Research Co.
• Margaret Sangster Parrott (’47), Greensboro, N.C. She majored in library science at North Texas.
• Mary Jane Lane (’48), Denton. She and her husband were the proprietors of Lane’s Ice Cream in Denton for almost 30 years.
  
• Arnold H. Anderson (’49), Denton. He worked for Moore Business Forms for 34 years.
  
• Ray Herd (’49), Shreveport, La. He pursued a career in forensic science and was the director of the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory from 1970
  to 2000.

1950s [ top ]

• Jack Warren Banister (’50, ’51 M.S.), Fayetteville, Ark. He taught medical and nursing students at the Medical College of Georgia for many years and later was among the founding faculty of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth.
  
• Joseph Leonard Lewis (’50), Wichita Falls. During his 38-year civil service career, he traveled the world as a program manager and instructor, providing critical technical guidance to military and service personnel.
  
• Dora Frances Mason (’50), Waxahachie. She received her degree from North Texas in elementary education.
  
• Ken Keck (’51), Iowa Park. He majored in business management.
  
• Frankie Montgomery (’51), Richardson. She earned her degree in elementary education.
  
• Norma Maxine Todd Cansler (’52, ’73 M.B.E.), Dallas. She retired from the Dallas Public Schools Human Resources Department.
  
• William Henry Humphries (’54), Edgewood. He owned and operated Citizens Lumber Co. in Edgewood for 40 years.
  
• John A. Leech (’56), Paris. After serving in the Air Force, he was a radio personality in Texas and Arkansas and later became a stockbroker.
  
• Gene Pat Carter (’57), Dallas. He was retired as the manager of Fitz and Floyd Outlet Mall in Dallas.
  
• Dorothy Jean Roe (’57), Grand Prairie. She was librarian at Lee Middle School in Grand Prairie for 29 years.
  
• Joan Schleicher (’57), Fort Worth. She taught special education for the Fort Worth ISD.
  
• Robert Maitland Burch (’58), Italy. He was a coach and teacher and served as principal of Italy High School.
  
• Estella Hill Doty (’58 M.S.), Dallas. She was director of the Wiley College Extension Center in Dallas in the late 1930s, helping black high school graduates begin college. In 1938 she began a 42-year career in the Dallas ISD and was the first woman in DISD history to be named school principal above the elementary level.

1960s [ top ]

• Rosalyn Bass Poindexter (’60 M.Ed.), Princeton. She taught at Texas Tech and Corsicana High School and was a counselor with the Richardson ISD.
  
• Nancy Lou Winslow (’60), Louisville, Colo. She earned a degree in Spanish.
  
• Tommye Jean Martin (’61), Burleson. She retired from the Bridgeport ISD after 30 years of service.
• State Sen. Tom Haywood ('63 M.S.), Wichita Falls. Despite an ongoing battle with a Parkinson's-like disease that predated his election to the Texas Senate in 1994, Haywood was acknowledged by his colleagues as a leader and key player in the recently concluded legislative session. His district, District 30, includes a portion of Denton County. He supported and worked for the passage of a number of bills favorable to the university and the UNT System.
  
• Thomas Albert Dietrich (’65), Dallas. He owned Uniforms Unlimited and was a member of Sigma Nu.
  
• Naomi Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Efird (’65, ’78 M.S.), Dallas. She was employed by Unity Hunt Inc. for 21 years and served as the payroll administrator for the past 11 years.
  
• Frank G. Turrentine (’66), Las Cruces, N.M. He studied accounting at North Texas.
  
• Minnie Ruth Carter Bouldin (’68 M.Ed.), Dallas. She received her degree in secondary education.

1970s [ top ]

• Bruce Porter Craig (’70 Ed.D.), Stephenville. He was a professor and basketball coach at Tarleton State University.
  
• James Melvin ‘Jim’ Jones (’71), Pottsboro. He worked as a postal employee in McKinney and was a former U.S. Air Force pilot.
  
• Ben Hemphill (’72), Palestine. He was the owner and operator of Northside Shell in Athens.
  
• Richard Denbo (’73), Salinas. He had worked in the produce industry for more than 30 years, most recently with SYSCO Corp.
  
• Joyce Buttrill Parrish (’73), The Woodlands. She taught Latin, English and French at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago for five years and then devoted her life to community service.
  
• Cyprian J. Cooney (’74 M.A.), Youngstown, Ohio. He received his North Texas degree in studies in aging.
  
• John R. Summerville (’77), San Marcos. He worked in records management. He also was a bowling instructor for more than 30 years and was the creator, editor and publisher of Bowling This Month, a monthly bowling magazine.
  

1980s [ top ]

• David Simon Jennings (’81), Dallas. He majored in accounting at North Texas.
  
• Robert N. Cotter (’85 M.S.), Corinth. He received his degree in industrial arts education.
  
• John Ardoin (’87 honorary), Costa Rica. A retired music critic for the Dallas Morning News, he spent 32 years as a chronicler of music in Dallas. He was the author of several books, including four about Maria Callas, considered the godmother of the Dallas Opera.
  
• Jimmie Franklin Dean II (’89), Houston. He taught in the Plano ISD and received numerous outstanding teaching awards from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.
  

1990s [ top ]

• Charles A. ‘Chuck’ Bennett (’90 M.M.E.), Houston. He was choir director for Richardson High School and Cypress Springs High School in Houston, as well as choir master for many different churches in Dallas and Houston.
  
• Carmen Christine Littlejohn (’97), Lewisville. She received her degree in general studies.
  

University Community [ top ]

• Merl E. Bonney, Boulder, Colo., Professor Emeritus of psychology, 1935-1979. Under Bonney’s leadership, what began as one psychology course at North Texas grew to a full department. He introduced courses in child psychology, statistics and abnormal psychology and created a master’s program in 1948. He was also one of the first researchers in the nation to hypothesize that children play not just to imitate adults but to express their feelings. In the 1970s, theories like his led to the creation of the field of play therapy. An endowed lectureship in psychology established in his name in 1986 was elevated to a visiting professorship in 1995.
  
• George C. Copp (’40, ’47 M.S.), Denton, Professor Emeritus of mathematics, 1950-1977. During World War II, Copp did research for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. At North Texas he taught math at all levels, served as a major professor to master’s students preparing their theses and was the sponsor of the mathematics honor society. He was a member of the American Mathematics Society for more than 50 years.
  
• Ernest Flemming Crystle, Denton, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, 1964-2001. Crystle had served as the undergraduate adviser in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures since 1990 and taught the department’s intensive French course for the last 25 years. In 1989, the UNT Student Association presented him with the ’Fessor Graham Award, the highest honor bestowed by the student body, for outstanding and unselfish service to students. In 1993 he was named a “Top Prof” by the Mortar Board senior honor society.
• Donald Mitchell Jones ('48, '49 M.B.A.), Denton, Professor Emeritus of accounting, 1955-56 and 1961-1989. After earning degrees in accounting from North Texas, Jones taught at San Angelo College and worked in the field of oil and gas accounting before returning to join the faculty. He directed the Petroleum Accounting Center from 1979 to 1981. Jones was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Accounting Association, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Dallas chapter of the Petroleum Accountants Society, among other professional organizations. He pursued doctoral studies at Louisiana State University.
• E.L. 'Buddy' Langley, Irving, UNT regent, 1989-1995. Langley, retired president of GTE Southwest, was a key player in establishing UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, a program that allows talented high school students to complete their first two years of college while earning a high school diploma. He served as chair of the academy's advisory board from 1989 until his death. He was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters by UNT in 1989. He and his wife, Dottie, were also named honorary alumni of UNT in 1997 and of TAMS in 1998.
• Lucille G. 'Lupe' Murchison, Dallas, UNT regent, 1981-1999. In addition to her longtime service on the UNT Board of Regents, Murchison was a leader in planning and supporting UNT fund-raising events. She personally contributed to student scholarships and donated pieces of art to the campus from her collection. She was also a lifetime member of the President's Council. Most recently, she was serving as an honorary chair of the university's $150 million capital campaign. To honor her longtime support, in 1998 UNT named its Performing Arts Center after Murchison and awarded her an honorary doctor of public service and philanthropy.