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.

1930s [ top ]

• Mattie Glover ('30), Henderson, Nev. She was a teacher.
  
• Hazel Bruner Horton ('30), Austin. She taught elementary school and served as a substitute teacher in the Austin schools before retiring.
  
• Oliver Lawhorn ('30), Denton. He was retired from the field of oil exploration geophysics.
  
• Gladys Alexander Waters ('30), Weatherford. She taught in the Weatherford ISD for 38 years.
  
• Nettie Chambers ('33, '49 M.A.), Sunset. She taught in Stoneburg, Sunset, Park Springs and Chico for 36 years before retiring in 1973.
  
• Helen S. Stone ('33), Dallas. She studied home economics at North Texas.
  
• Laura B. Ridlon ('35), Bedford. She was a teacher and librarian for the Northwest school district. At North Texas, she was one of the founders of the Kaghlirs, which later affiliated with Alpha Phi sorority.
  
• Woodrow McCam Avent ('36), Waco. A doctor, he was in private practice for more than 50 years and served as the medical director of St. Elizabeth Long Term Care Facility.
  
• Mary Tom Campbell ('37), Waxahachie. She taught English and Spanish at Waxahachie High School for 20 years.
  
• Ralph Monroe Gage ('37), Fort Worth. The first in his family to earn a college degree, he established Gage Chemical and Equipment Co. in 1956.
  
• Irene Brewer Emerson ('38), Parker. She taught school in the Seagoville and Pleasant Grove area for 44 years.
  
• Frankie Mae Stewart Hansell ('38), Arlington. She helped establish the first public health nutrition clinic in New York City, and she worked for the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, D.C. For almost 20 years, she served with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, working in India, Thailand and Italy.
  
• Verda G. Justiss ('38), Corsicana. She was a business administrator at Navarro Junior College for 27 years and taught school in Carbon, Scranton and Dawson.
  
• Audie Sumner ('38), Grand Prairie. She taught elementary school for 40 years. She started working in Grand Prairie in 1951 and was a third-grade teacher at Milam Elementary School.
  
• Dorothy Waldrip ('38), Brookshire. Her degree from North Texas was in elementary education.
  
• Era Collins ('39), Stephenville. Collins majored in elementary education at North Texas.
  
• Thomas W. Hendrick ('39, '40 M.S., '41 M.S.), Tow. He was a physical education teacher and then principal for 30 years, the last 21 in Andrews, before retiring in 1976.
  
• Eloise Young Hughes ('39), Jonesboro. She earned her degree from North Texas in elementary education.

• Helen S. Miller ('40), Dallas. She studied general business at North Texas.
  
• Bettye Jo Schultz ('41), Anahuac. She taught a Sunday School class at the First United Methodist Church in Anahuac for more than 20 years. She earned her license to practice vocational nursing from Lee College.
  
• F.G. Chrisman ('42), Austin. He was a pharmaceutical representative. During World War II, he was chief inspector for the P51c Mustang plant at North American Aviation in Grand Prairie.
  
• Flora Mae Jones ('42), Mineola. She earned her degree in general business.
  
• Seth V. Strain ('42), Fort Worth. He was a teacher and then principal of B.H. Carroll Elementary School in Fort Worth for 35 years.
  
• Dorris Kirkpatrick Hollabaugh ('44), Arlington. She was a teacher for 32 years and retired as a real estate broker from Ebby Halliday.
  
• Iwania Lucille Williams ('45), Granbury. She taught in several Texas towns and retired from Birdville ISD in 1972.
  
• Jeirenne Jones ('46), Krum. Jones majored in art at North Texas.
  
• John C. Spencer Jr. ('47), Gilmer. He was the owner and operator of Complete Business Systems. He served with the Marines at Iwo Jima in World War II and received a Purple Heart.
  
• Vada Mae DeFoor ('48), Denton. She had worked for Williams Dickey, the American Red Cross, the Blackstone Hotel and Moore Business Forms.
  
• Zelva Ray McIntyre ('48), Trenton, Ohio. Music education was McIntyre's field of study at North Texas.
  
• Bob Gene Black ('49, '54 M.Ed., '71 Ed.D.), Keller. His degrees were in elementary education.
  
• Olin E. Ford ('49 M.S.), Corinth. He was a teacher and principal for many years.

• Maxine Kamenitsa ('50), Fort Worth. She taught in the Fort Worth ISD and later retired as a consultant for the Education Service Center Region 11.
  
• Mildred C. Roberts ('50), Amarillo. She studied elementary education at North Texas.
  
• Evelyn Elrod Allen ('51), Dallas. Allen majored in journalism.
  
• Levi H. Hall ('51), Texarkana. He earned a degree in math at North Texas.
  
• Jerry E. Grantham ('52), Beaumont. Grantham's degree was in elementary education.
  
• James W. Swain ('52), Waco. He was a faculty member in the theatre arts department at Baylor University from 1966 to 1991.
  
• Richard ‘Dick' Curtis Jr. ('53), Pottsboro. He retired as an engineer from Texas Instruments in 1970 and owned and operated Curtis Acres Boat Storage in Pottsboro until 1990.
  
• Harold Ray Fuller ('53), Colleyville. He was a co-founding partner of Cheshier & Fuller LLP in Dallas. While at North Texas, he served as president of Sigma Phi Epsilon and was elected to the student senate.
  
• William Wilhite ('53), College Station. He studied general business at North Texas.
  
• Kenneth A. Willeford ('53), Waco. He majored in industrial arts education.
  
• Billy Reese Glasgow ('54), Fort Worth. He was a retired U.S. Navy commander, serving during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
  
• Bill R. Moseley ('54), Paris. He taught journalism and English in the Winters, Midland, Odessa and Prairieland school districts and spent 17 years as dean of instruction and as vice president for administrative affairs at Paris Junior College.
  
• Lois L. Caldwell ('55), Denton. She taught in schools in Van Alstyne, Sherman, Tom Bean, Allen, Gainesville, Denton and Channing, N.M., and at North Texas' Lab School and Congress Junior High.
  
• Lee Carl Lehmberg ('55, '61 M.Ed.), Converse. Lehmberg's degrees were in secondary education and elementary school supervision.
  
• Jesse Edward Waldrop ('55), Rainier, Ore. Waldrop majored in history at North Texas.
  
• Rayneal O. Baze ('56 M.Ed.), Abilene. A World War II Navy veteran, he taught at Olden, Carbon and Ranger before serving as principal of Siebert Elementary School in Eastland for 19 years.
  
• Martha Lou Ramsey ('56), Dallas. She studied elementary education at North Texas.
  
• Lydia P. Gresham ('57), Loveland, Colo. She taught elementary school for 34 years in Texas
  
• James H. Russell Jr. ('58), Fort Worth. He was a retired retail merchant and formerly owned Russell's department store in Denton.

• Jimmy Blackwell ('60 M.M.), Henderson. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and was a band director for Henderson High School before working for Henderson Clay Products.
  
• Johnnie Mae Askey Greer ('60, '65 M.S.), Decatur. She was a retired librarian for Boyd High School.
  
• Durwood ‘Woody' Bruton ('62), Dallas. He taught school in the Dallas area and was co-owner of Medical Electronics in Dallas. He was known as an excellent musician who entertained for friends and business functions.
  
• Larry Don Enis ('62), Boyd. He worked for the Boyd ISD for 40 years, 30 years as superintendent. He received a lung transplant in 1999 and encouraged others to become organ donors.
  
• Louise J. Nelson ('62), Fort Worth. A retired teacher, she was a founding member of the Association of Texas Educators, which later became the Association of Texas Professional Educators.
  
• Barry C. Minke ('63, '94 M.Ed.), Denton. He worked in sales and production for Christian Images & Slides and was associated with the Boy Scouts, receiving the Order of the Arrow award.
  
• Charlene Ann Hahn ('64), Irving. She worked as a substitute teacher in the Irving ISD before beginning her career in library administration with the Irving Public Library. She later worked at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Library in Dallas.
  
• Richard A. Gibson ('65), Sanger. He taught speech in Texas high schools and was a principal in Lolita, Henrietta, Windthorst and Saint Jo. He was also a licensed Methodist pastor.
  
• Norman Hobbs ('66), Sanger. He was a teacher for Burkburnett and Northwest schools before going into retail sales.
  
• Ralph D. Hight ('67, '69 M.S., '75 Ph. D.), Round Lake, Ill. His North Texas degrees were in physics.
  
• Carolyn Pettus ('67), Graham. She taught first grade at Shawnee Elementary School before retiring. She was also a cattle rancher, actively managing a cow-calf operation in Graham.
  
• Janice Faye DeMore ('68), Pearland. She was a biologist in cancer research at M.D. Anderson Hospital.
  
• Jamie Voigt Hemphill ('68 M.S.), Mason. The mayor of Mason, he had taught and served as counselor in the Mason schools for 25 years. For more than 30 years he sang the national anthem and served as the announcer at home football games.
  
• Gena Poore Piccolo ('68), Weston, Colo. She operated a holistic chiropractic and nutrition counseling practice in Sedona, Ariz., and more recently edited journals for the American Heart Association.
  
• James W. Rushing ('68), Woodstock, Ga. He majored in banking and finance at North Texas.
  
• William Burr Pilcher Sr. ('69), Richardson. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and was active in the Knights of Columbus.

• Shirley Sharon Murphy ('71), Irving. She was co-founder of the Mail Box Inc., a Dallas direct-mailing company. In 1997, she and her husband established the Ken and Shirley Murphy Scholarship in Entrepreneurship at UNT. They also donated $1 million to establish the Murphy Enterprise Center in the Department of Management. Shirley received UNT's Distinguished Alumna Award last year.
• Barry Lyn Williams ('71), Grand Saline. He was a teacher and musician.
  
• Nancy Kiser (74), Denton. She was employed as a nurse.
  
• Joe Dale Sparks ('74), Boyd. He was a teacher at the Juvenile Detention Center in Boyd.
  
• JoAnn Valerie Churak ('75), Arlington. She had taught school and was employed as the manager of the Summer Brook Apartments in Arlington.
  
• David Lee Hyman ('75), Austin. He was employed by Unisource in Austin.
  
• Harry Ray ‘Maxx' Johnson ('76), Dallas. He taught elementary school for 19 years in Fort Worth, Houston and Dallas.
  
• Terisa D. King ('79), Tucson, Ariz. She majored in speech and drama at North Texas.
  
• Virginia Ann Vanderzyl ('79), Fort Worth. She was a visual information specialist supervisor with the Army and Air Force exchange services for more than 18 years.

• Barbara Joan O'Brien ('85), Dallas. She was an elementary school teacher for 15 years, teaching at Margaret B. Henderson Elementary School for 13 years.

• John Dwight Greenhill ('92), Carrollton. He was employed with Peterbilt Motors Co. in Denton.
  
• Bradley Sterling ('92), Carrollton. He studied illustration at UNT and won the best portfolio award in 1992. He became a certified fitness trainer and later worked with Network Multifamily and Advocare International while establishing his own business, BySterling.com.
  
• Supitcha Morakul ('99 Ph.D.), Fountain Valley, Calif., killed in an automobile accident in Thailand. She received her doctorate in accounting in May 1999.
  
• Lora Leigh Swindle Trout ('99), Coppell. She was employed by the Hurst-Euless- Bedford ISD as a 10th-grade teacher at L.D. Bell High School. At UNT she was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.
  
  
  
  

• Ruth Michler, Denton, associate professor of mathematics, 1994-2000. Michler was struck by a construction vehicle Nov. 1 as she waited to cross a Boston intersection on her bicycle. She was born in Ithaca, N.Y., and grew up in Germany. Before joining UNT, she taught at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, and at Berkeley. An active researcher, she was spending a year as a visiting scholar at Northeastern University under a grant from the National Science Foundation. Her areas of expertise included algebraic geometry, cyclic homology and singularities. She also was a marathon runner and cyclist.
• Irby C. Nichols, Dallas, Professor Emeritus of history, 1955-1990. Nichols taught at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell before joining UNT. He specialized in post-Napoleonic diplomacy and was also interested in modern Europe, European military history and church history. He wrote the first book-length study of the Congress of Verona — The European Pentarchy and the Congress of Verona, 1822 — and co-wrote a 1962 self-study for the university. He also served as the departmental graduate adviser and directed 16 theses during his tenure.
• Rita J. Pilkey ('29), Denton, Professor Emeritus of kinesiology, health promotion and recreation, 1946-1974. As a student at North Texas in the '20s, Pilkey was a member of the Green Jackets, the Women's Athletic Association and the Physical Education Club. During World War II, she served abroad with the American Red Cross, establishing recreation clubs for troops in China. Classes she taught at North Texas included recreation theory, camp leadership, tumbling and square dancing. The Rita Pilkey Scholarship is given annually to outstanding students majoring in recreation and leisure studies.
• Ann Sartin Windle ('69, '78 Ph.D.), Denton, lecturer in the early childhood program, 1994-1997. In 1996 Windle received the 'Fessor Graham Award, given annually by the students to a faculty member for outstanding service. She developed and taught the first state-funded kindergarten classes in Texas at the Birdville School District in the early '70s, consulted for schools across the state and helped with Head Start training for 17 districts. A Denton school board member since 1998 and current board secretary, she helped design an early childhood center in Denton. The board renamed the Sullivan-Keller Early Childhood Center the Ann Windle School for Young Children in her honor.