Information about the deaths of the following alumni was received in the Office of Development. 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 ]

• Ruby Lee Crane ('28), Fort Worth. She taught for 37 years at Birdville ISD.
  

1930s [ top ]

• Ruth Hale Tignor ('30), Bonham. She taught for 37 years, most of that time teaching fourth- and sixth-graders in Denison.
• Willie Mae Smith Cockrell ('32), Garland. She was recognized as the youngest graduate of North Texas, earning her degree at age 16. Her husband was the pastor at the First Baptist Church in Garland from 1946 to 1974, and she taught Sunday school, wrote children's stories and worked with the choir.
• Julia Maxwell Payne ('32), Levelland. She received her degree in history from North Texas.


• Florence Williams Reagin ('34), Forney. She worked at Forney State Bank and succeeded her husband as bank president after his death. She continued to operate the O.W. Reagin Insurance Agency for several years after retiring from the bank.


• Margaret Montgomery Reese ('34), Culver City, Calif. She graduated with a degree in elementary education.


• Alton M. Bryant ('35, '37 M.S.), Dallas. He worked for the FBI for 20 years and then was an executive with GTE of Florida until retirement.

1940s [ top ]

• Debbie Frances Gerald ('41), Austin. She was retired from the Social Security Administration. She was a member of the American Association of University Women.
  
• Eunice Garrish ('44 M.S, '70 Ed.D.), Dallas. She taught for 50 years, in Era, Salem, Whitehouse, Fort Worth and Highland Park. She served as president of Delta Kappa Gamma and was selected as an Outstanding Elementary Education Teacher.
  
• Thomas Scott Dean ('47, '49 M.A.), Lawrence, Kan. He had an architectural practice and taught at SMU, the University of Texas, Oklahoma State University and at the University of Kansas, where he was a professor of architecture and engineering. He was class vice president at North Texas in 1944-45 and was a member of the GI-ex fraternity.


• Mary Jane Dowse ('48), Ponca City, Okla. She received her degree in elementary education from North Texas.


• Vernon Orville Nelson ('48 M.S.), Dallas. He began his career in industrial psychology at Lackland Air Force Base and worked for LTV from 1951 until his retirement in 1983. He and his wife, Janelle ('50), met in a golf class at North Texas.


• Clyde Edward Utt ('48), Dallas. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and served in the Korean War in the Sea Bees. He was the president and general manager of the Dallas Apparel Mart from 1969 until his retirement in 1982 and then began a new career as a sales representative. He was an avid golfer.

1950s [ top ]

• Joe Roy Curtis ('54), Weatherford. He served as a Marine in the Korean War. After graduating from North Texas, he became an examiner for the state Board of Insurance and after retirement was an administrative vice president of Trans-America Life Insurance in Fort Worth.


• Loyd Taylor Jr. ('54), Texarkana. He was a chief financial officer and retired from the Red River Army Depot after 45 years of federal service. He was a veteran of World War II.


• Dan Sublett Jr. ('55), Richardson. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and worked for State Farm Insurance for 43 years before retiring.


• James A. Banks ('57), Livingston. He was involved in appraising, brokerage, consulting and investments and had owned Jim Banks Real Estate Co. He was a member of Kappa Sigma.


• C. James Carrico ('57), Greenbank, Wash. Named a UNT Distinguished Alumnus in 1991, Carrico was the first physician to treat a wounded President Kennedy in Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital when he was brought in Nov. 22, 1963. Carrico later taught surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Washington. He became chief of surgery at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was professor and chair of the surgery department at UT Southwestern for 10 years.


• Ann Bowman Lee ('59, '64 M.B.E.), Lubbock. She taught in Kennedale for four years and Lubbock for 30 years before retiring in 1995.


• Donald McBee ('59), Odessa. He served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955 and graduated from North Texas with a degree in marketing. He was a supervisor for Meridian Oil Co.

1960s [ top ]

• William Lewis Rutherford ('64 Ed.D.), Austin. He was a public school teacher and served in the Army before joining the University of Texas at Austin as a professor of curriculum and instruction.


• Gary Hudson ('67), Grand Prairie. He spent 29 years in law enforcement, the last 18 with the Cedar Hill Police Department. He did undercover work and assisted the Ellis County Task Force and Drug Enforcement Agency.


• Howell Myers ('67 Ed.D.), Hope, Ark. He served in North Africa during World War II and taught public school in Dallas for many years before becoming a professor at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.


• Will S. Marshall ('68), Denton. He worked as a salesman for Justin Boots before his retirement.


• Donna Sue Nicodemus ('69), Dallas. She was a longtime employee of Baylor University Medical Center.

1970s [ top ]

• Raymond L. Crouch ('70), Smithville, Mo. He worked at Dairy Farmers of America Inc. as the editor of its monthly publication, the DFA Leader, and as senior writer for the communication team. He oversaw, produced and directed all audiovisual productions.


• Lois Mae Haynes ('71 M.L.S.), Denton. She was a librarian for many years after graduating from North Texas.


• James Ferguson('72 M.S.), Evanston, Ill. He was a professor of physiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and had received numerous teaching awards from the medical students there. His research interests included vascular control, sepsis and alcohol's effects on the cardiovascular system.


• James Boyce Jr. ('76), Dallas. He was a computer programmer and business analyst and worked in the mortgage banking industry for 17 years.


• Jacquelyn Pearson ('76), Plano. One of the region's first female stockbrokers, she retired in 2000 as a vice president of Prudential Securities.

1980s [ top ]

• Tim L. Mayfield ('84 M.Ed.), Houston. He taught English and career investigation courses at Brewer Middle School for 24 years. He was also an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.


• James 'Jim' Whitworth ('87), San Francisco. He graduated from North Texas with a degree in business management.

1990s [ top ]

• Belinda Lopez Warthen ('90), Dallas. She majored in music composition at North Texas and minored in music theory.


• Charles Duark Myers ('92), Denton. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and later was a store manager for Southland Corp.


• Alan Pryor ('99 Ph.D.), Baloi, Pa. He earned his degree in business computer information systems from North Texas.

University Community [ top ]

• Larry Gene Bowman, Denton, professor of history and director of cooperative education, 1966-1998. Bowman received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Fort Hays Kansas State University and his doctorate from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. As director of the cooperative education program at North Texas, he oversaw the placement of students in jobs related to their majors. He taught Colonial and Revolutionary American history but was best known as a baseball historian, focusing especially on the Negro National League. His book Captive Americans: Prisoners During the American Revolution was published in 1976. Before the World Series: Pride and Profits in Baseball's Early Days is due out in 2003.


• Clifford Hardy, Denton, professor of teacher education and administration, 1969-2002. He was the passenger in a small aircraft that crashed at the Denton Municipal Airport July 8. Hardy, a Navy veteran of the Korean War, earned a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Kansas and worked as a petroleum engineer with Texaco and Tenneco before starting his career in education. He earned a master's degree in education from Eastern New Mexico University and received his doctorate from Texas Tech. A sports fan who especially liked UNT basketball, Hardy chaired the UNT Athletic Council, serving as a liaison between the academic and athletic departments. This fall he was posthumously honored with the President's Council University Service Award, given annually to a faculty member with a record of outstanding service. Memorials may be made to the Cliff Hardy Scholarship Fund, in care of the UNT Foundation, P.O. Box 311250, Denton, Texas 76203-1250.


• Isabel Scionti Hicks, Denton, renowned pianist who taught North Texas students at her Denton piano conservatory in partnership with her former husband, the late Silvio Scionti. She attended Baylor University and the Chicago Musical School, where she met her first husband, Scionti, in 1933. The Sciontis, who both also had solo performance careers, were among the world's pre-eminent duo piano performers. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in 1938 and traveled the world as concert pianists until World War II ended their international career. In 1942 they returned to America to teach in Denton, and they recorded with RCA. Students who went on to achieve sustained prominence included future UNT faculty members Mary Nan Hudgins Mailman and Jack Roberts.


• Charlotte Joan Hunter, ('53 M.A.), Van Alstyne, instructor in English, 1955-1982. She earned her bachelor's degree in English from Austin College and her master's degree in English from North Texas. She taught at Van Alstyne High School before joining the North Texas faculty. Among her students here was Karleen Koen ('70), who became a best-selling author with her 1986 book, Through a Glass Darkly. Hunter was an accomplished pianist and organist and had traveled often, especially in England and Spain. She was also an excellent bridge player and was active in her bridge club until she became ill in December 2001.


• Sarah Law Kennerly, Denton, Professor Emeritus of library and information sciences, 1951-1977. Kennerly was a regular reviewer of children's books for Library Journal. From 1965 to 1969 she conducted summer library institutes for school librarians, funded by the U.S. Office of Education. For her work she received the Silver Book Award from the Library Binding Institute in 1968, given to one librarian in the United States each year for outstanding professional achievement. Before coming to North Texas, she worked in public school libraries in South Carolina and academic libraries in Alabama, Florida and Virginia. She earned bachelor's degrees from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C., and Emory University and received master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan.


• Nelson G. Sullivan, ('37), Denton, Professor Emeritus of accounting, 1947-1982. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from North Texas, received his M.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and completed course work there toward a doctorate. He was a member of several professional accounting organizations and the co-author of a cost accounting textbook. He served in World War II and the Korean War, retiring from the U.S. Army Reserve as a colonel after more than 30 years of service. Before joining the faculty at North Texas, he taught at high schools in Sanger, Sweetwater and Wichita Falls.


• William D. Witter, ('78 M.S., '85 Ph.D.), San Antonio, assistant professor of applied economics and director of the Center for Economic Education, 1978-1992. Witter received his bachelor's degree from Baylor University and taught high school social science in the San Antonio area before coming to North Texas to earn his master's degree in economics and doctorate in college and university teaching. As director of the Center for Economic Education at North Texas, which was established to increase Texas public school teachers' knowledge of economics, he coordinated on- and off-campus economic education programs and developed new programs in Texas school districts. After leaving UNT, he operated a private consulting business.