To send us information about the deaths of North Texas alumni, fill out and submit the online form, send e-mail to north_texan@unt.edu, fax to (940) 369-8763 or mail to The North Texan; University of North Texas; University Relations, Communications and Marketing; P.O. Box 311070; Denton, Texas 76203-1070.

Click on the names for more information.

1920s [ top ]

• Dora Opal Copp ('29), Denton. She taught in Texas public schools for eight years and then taught typing and awarded construction bids at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio from 1942 until her retirement
  in 1973.

1930s [ top ]

• Juanita Allmon McVean ('34), Arlington. She earned her bachelor's degree from North Texas in home economics. She was 93 years old at her death.
• Alma Ramey Edwards ('35), Dallas. She earned her bachelor's degree in business administration.
• W.P. 'Red' Hogan ('35), Rockdale. He was considered an icon in Central Texas business circles and friends claim that he never pulled off his college ring. He operated Hogan Enterprises and Hogan Insurance Agency, formerly owned Gaither Motor Co. and was a Texaco dealer in Rockdale. He had also served as the town's mayor and as president of the school board. He was an Army veteran of World War II.
• Randolph Gavan 'R.G.' Phillips ('37, '66 M.S.), San Marcos. He was a member of the Geezle fraternity at North Texas and served in the U.S. Air Force. After he retired from the Air Force, he and his wife, Camille Johnson Phillips ('65), worked on their library science degrees together.
• Ada Farnsworth Webb ('38), Amarillo. She taught elementary school in West Texas, primarily Amarillo, for 33 years. She was president of the local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma and established a scholarship fund at Amarillo College.

1940s [ top ]

• Orrin D. Bounds ('41 M.Ed.), Fort Worth. He served as a second lieutenant in the Coast Guard in World War II. During his 39-year tenure as head golf coach at Texas Wesleyan University, the team won three NAIA national championships, was runner-up seven times and finished out of the top 10 (in 11th place) only once. He was the first coach inducted into the NAIA Golf Hall of Fame.
• Iris Lynne Newman ('41), Dallas. She was an elementary physical education teacher in the Dallas ISD for 36 years.
• Mozelle Reast Bell ('42), Whitesboro. She earned her bachelor's degree in vocational home economics education and taught more than 40 years at schools in Cedar Mills, Sandusky and Dumas.
• Lena Faye Shawn Green ('43), Arlington. She was a homemaker and a pianist for the Arlington Rotary Club. At North Texas she was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota honorary music fraternity.
• Earline Sillix Peel ('45), Bryan. She was a member of the Officers Wives Club in Bryan-College Station and Washington, D.C. At North Texas she studied home economics.
• Marjorie Cathryn Jones Haren ('46), San Angelo. She worked for the city of San Angelo's senior programs and retired from the Concho Valley Council of Government, where she was director of the Area Agency on Aging. Her husband, former North Texas student Lelan D. Haren, also died recently.
• James G. Hineman ('48), Longview. He taught at Longview High School for 26 years, owned a handweaving shop and worked for Good Shepherd Medical Center. He served in the Army during World War II and the Korean War.
• Robert L. 'Bob' Castleberry ('49), Denton. He was a three-term mayor of Denton, elected to the office in 1990 after winning a $10 million Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes in 1989. He also served
  as chair of the Denton County Historical Commission and promoted economic development in the city.
  He taught in the Denton ISD and had been a sales executive with Moore Business Forms Inc. for more than 30 years when he won the sweepstakes.
• Deolva Ann Barnard Hodges ('49), Houston. She helped establish several parent teacher organizations in the Meyerland area, taught a Bible class and was a supporter of youth baseball.
• Frank R. Lipscomb Jr. ('49), Austin. He worked for Sun Oil Co. for 35 years, which allowed him to work in and travel to more than 40 countries.
• Parker Williams ('49), Houston. She was an original employee of San Jacinto College in 1961, working her way up from its first librarian to president of its South Campus in 1978. After retiring in 1997, she was named to the college's Board of Regents. She was only the second woman to serve as president of a Texas community college and was known for her ability to secure donations.

1950s [ top ]

• James H. Daniel ('50), Redlands, Calif. He taught school in Texas and California, worked in real estate sales and was a financial adviser with Waddell and Reed Corp. He served in the Army from 1946 to 1947.
• Geneva Owens ('50, '56 M.S.), Sherman. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, Delta Psi Kappa physical education fraternity and the Retired Teachers Association, among other organizations.
• Ernestine Paula Scholz Bacon ('51), Rockport. She taught school for 28 years in Kaufman and Kemp and at Live Oak Elementary in Rockport. She was also a real estate agent at Cedar Creek Lake.
• Robert Steven Bushnell ('51, '55 M.S.), Garden Grove, Calif. He taught in the Santa Ana, Calif., school district for many years and was one of the district's pioneer special education teachers.
• Uncas D. Bates ('52), Dallas. He worked for Vermont Marble Co. and the Dallas water department.
• William 'Bill' Sterling McClung ('52 M.B.A., '71 Ed.D.), Weatherford. He served in the U.S. Army in England, France and Germany for three years. He worked as a teacher, coach and dean-registrar at Weatherford College for 16 years and spent 24 years as chair of the division of business at the South Campus of Tarrant County Junior College.
• Martha Jane Coggin ('54 M.M.Ed.), Brownwood. She was an elementary school principal in Bowie and taught in Venezuela and in Bridgeport. She later helped found McCulloch County Helping Hands in Brady, providing food and clothing for people in need.
• Shirley L. West Smothers ('54), Cisco. She received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from North Texas and taught in the Dallas ISD. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
• Tommy Edward Smith ('57, '62 M.Ed.), Rockwall. He attended North Texas on a football scholarship, lettering every year, and was named to the Dallas Morning News All-Texas Team. He became a coach for Nocona and Denton schools and later worked for Mountain View College as physical education chair and athletic director until his 1995 retirement.
• Beverly Gay Harris ('58), Saint Jo. She taught a year at Austin College, then lived several places in the United States while her husband was working for IBM. They retired to raise cattle on their ranch in Saint Jo.
• Sally Tate McLaren ('58), Covington, La. She taught at Bryan Adams High School in Dallas and Midland High School. She was an avid bridge player who taught contract bridge in Covington, where she and a group of friends bought a house and created their own bridge club.

1960s [ top ]

• Robert Watts Long, Dallas. Long, who attended North Texas from 1956 to 1961, served in the U.S. Army and was a founding partner of Insurance Associates in Lubbock. He had been a Golden Gloves boxer, played football and baseball and was an avid golfer.
• Henry Paul Chauvin Jr. ('62), Fort Worth. He received his bachelor's degree in general business and was a member of Sigma Nu.
• Eric James Brown ('63), Tallapoosa, Ga. A retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant, he was also retired from the Georgia State Department of Education.
• Billy Earl Bompart ('64 M.Ed.), Lincolnton, Ga. He retired from Augusta State University as vice president for academic affairs in 2002 after a 40-year career in higher education. He was a frequent lecturer at regional and national conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
• Dorothy Bruce ('65 M.Ed.), Fairfield. She was an English teacher for the Dallas ISD and, after earning her master's degree from North Texas, became a counselor to students at Skyline.
• James W. Green Jr. ('66), Garland. He worked for 47 years in the ladies shoe business, including sales, management, design, import and manufacturing. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity while at North Texas.
• Lindsey Garland Spivey II ('66 M.B.A.), Dallas. He served many years in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was owner and operator of a fulfillment service company he created.
• Jack Kent Garner ('67), Plano. He was a retired administrator for the Plano ISD, where he served for 30 years.
• Phyllis Ellis Owen ('69 M.Ed.), Blanco. She taught at the North Texas lab school and worked in the Richardson ISD before serving as a middle school principal in Blanco. After she retired in 1985, she was elected mayor and traveled as a consultant in international tourism issues for Southeast Asia. She was co-founder of the Blanco Gem of the Hills Retirement Center.

1970s [ top ]

• Stanley E. Hovatter Sr. ('70 M.M.Ed.), Dallas. He served as a minister in North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas and taught choral music in the Richardson ISD for 12 years. He was also a member of the Plano Civic Chorus and enjoyed composing choral music.
• Tom Turrentine ('70), Dallas. He worked at Lone Star Container Corp. as a vice president in sales for 17 years and was an avid golfer. He was a Dallas Athletic Country Club Champion and a four-time Senior Club Champion, and he qualified as a 2002 USGA Senior Amateur.
• Gary Brobst ('71), Charlotte, N.C. He was the first morning disc jockey on KNTU-FM when the station signed on. After graduation he worked with the KVIL sales department for 10 years, then moved to North Carolina and worked with E-Z Communications.
• Thomazena Dixon Cejka-Magnusson ('72 M.S.), Varnville, S.C. She taught history at North Texas as well as at Morris College, Mather School, Estill Training School and Robert Smalls High School. She served in the U.S. Army and traveled extensively in the United States and abroad.
• Prentice R. Preston ('72), Sanger. He earned a business degree from North Texas and was a retired real estate broker.
• Betsy Wood ('72), McKinney. She taught elementary school for 25 years in Texas and Louisiana.
• Ronald Wayne DeJulius ('74), Dallas. He was a social worker who spent many years with Parkland Hospital clinics serving children and youth. He also volunteered with the March of Dimes.
• Richard Joseph Arnswald ('75 M.B.A.), Dallas. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1964 and earned his North Texas degree in finance.
• June E. Thomsen Jetter ('75 Ph.D.), Mission, Kan. She was a Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, retiring in 1993 after 21 years of service. Her research took her on many travels through Europe.
• Robert Howard Wood ('75), North Richland Hills. He taught second and third grades for 25 years in the Lancaster and Mansfield ISDs. He was a collector of children's books.
• James E. 'Jim' Hall ('76), West. He taught music at Brooks Avenue Elementary School in Waco and had served as a band director at Lakeworth, Pottsboro, Wills Point and Pilot Point high schools.
• John T. Williams ('79, '81 M.A.), Riverside, Calif. He was a professor and chair of political science at the University of California-Riverside and had also taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Indiana University in Bloomington. He was a nationally recognized scholar in the use of statistical methods in the study of political economy and public policy.

1980s [ top ]

• Tracy Jo Wilson ('84), Dallas. She was a certified physical fitness trainer who worked with the Cooper Fitness Center and was founder and president of Fitness Success Enterprises and the Southwestern Race Walkers Club. She filmed weekly fitness
  segments for KTVT-TV Channel 11.
• Suzanne Vineyard Nichols ('85), Dallas. She worked for companies including Fusion Labs, Kentetsu Global
  IT Inc., Tri-Pacific Software, Prudential-Bache Securities and Bank One Mortgage Capital Markets.
• Charles Bayne Harrell ('88 Ph.D.), Tyler. He was director of the library at the University of Texas at Tyler and had served as associate director of the library at the University of Texas at Arlington.

1990s [ top ]

• Scott Heim ('90), San Antonio. He managed restaurants in Galveston and San Antonio and later started his own software design and telecommunication company.
• Constance Jean Roe ('90 M.S.), Austin. A teacher and librarian, she had lived and traveled extensively throughout North America and the United Kingdom.
• Kimberley Chantee Smith ('90), Atlanta, Ga. She was a certified public accountant and a member of Delta Sigma Theta.
• Rebecca Washington ('90 M.Ed.), Plano. She earned her master's degree in special education from UNT, specializing in autism and emotional disturbance.
• Randal C. Foerster ('92), Dallas. He earned his degree from UNT in spite of being diagnosed at age 21 with a rare genetic brain disease. He worked for Dallas Systems Corp. for five years.
• Joe Dan Toland ('93), Andrews. He was a journalism teacher at Andrews High School and previously taught in Lubbock. He also wrote and edited for several newspapers, including the Denton Record-Chronicle and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
• Brandon Bow ('95), Irving. He received his associate's degree in aviation technology before he came to North Texas and later held several aviation-related jobs. He was a pilot for EagleMed, an air ambulance service of Ballard Aviation based in Wichita, Kan.
• Kathy Jo Scott Hawkins ('95 M.S.), Hubbard. She was a librarian at the Mansfield ISD for 19 years and had just begun work as the librarian at Waco High School.
• Phillip Hull ('96), Azle. He earned his bachelor's degree from North Texas in criminal justice and was a teacher at Seagoville. He was married to Peggy Miguez Hull ('96).
• Harold W. Chaney ('97), Gainesville. He was retired from the Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. and for the past 10 years had driven a bus for the Gainesville ISD. He was a Navy veteran, an election precinct chair for more than 20 years and a member of the Gainesville Masonic Lodge for more than 40 years.

2000s [ top ]

• Alicia 'Lee' Hawkins ('00 M.S.), Austin. She was a manager for Romano's Macaroni Grill and had worked
  as an adviser in the UNT School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management.
• Antonio Broomfield, Atlanta. He was a business administration major from 2001 to 2003 and part of the 2002 Mean Green football team that won the Sun Belt Conference and New Orleans Bowl.

University Community [ top ]

• Margaret Middleton Allison ('37), Dallas, assistant professor of child development and director of the nursery school, 1942-1952. She earned her bachelor's degree from North Texas and taught home economics at Abbott and Hillsboro high schools before earning her master's degree from Oregon State College. She then joined the North Texas faculty in the child development department, at that time part of the School of Home Economics. She retired from teaching in 1952 after her marriage to John Allison.
• Eugene Robert Black, Colorado Springs, Colo., professor of speech and drama, 1960-1971. Black earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska, his master's from Northwestern University and his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. Well-known throughout the Southwest for his innovative theater designs, directing and teaching, he held professorships at Texas Woman's University, the University of Texas and Northwestern State University in addition to North Texas.
• Remi Ghilespi ('66), Hurst, piano instructor, 1966-1969. Ghilespi was a nationally acclaimed concert pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and at North Texas was a student of Silvio Scionti. He worked as assistant to the conductor and as chorus master and rehearsal pianist for the Fort Worth Opera and as a rehearsal pianist, assistant conductor and conductor for Casa Mañana theater.
• Troy LaGrone, Denton, President's Fellows organizer and chair of the President's Council. "Mr. Denton," as he was known, spent much of his life promoting local arts, education and politics. He worked his way up from a clerk's position to become president of Ben E. Keith Co. He was also a member of the board of directors of the UNT Foundation and was named an honorary alumnus in 1991.
• Stephen C. Miller ('71), Denton, assistant vice president for human resources who had worked at North Texas since 1972. Miller began work at the university a month after his graduation and worked his way up in the personnel office from compensation specialist to director in 1991. He was promoted to assistant vice president in 2001, the same year he was certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Memorials may be made to the Steve Miller Human Resources Scholarship through the Office of Development at (940) 565-2900 or giving@unt.edu.
• Margaret B. Smith, Denton, former president of the University Women of UNT and wife of Howard W. Smith, Professor Emeritus of education and interim North Texas president from 1981 to 1982. She was a civic leader and volunteer active in the Denton Community Theatre, the Denton Interracial Fellowship and HOPE Inc. She had also served on the Denton City Council and as mayor pro-tem.
• Jack Bennett Tinsley, Fort Worth, frequent guest lecturer in journalism. An Army veteran, Tinsley joined the staff of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1959 as a reporter and later held various editor positions. He was vice president for community affairs when he retired in 2000. At UNT he was named to the C.E. Shuford Journalism Hall of Honor and the UNT Wall of Honor and was a lifetime member of the President's Council. Memorials may be made to the Jack B. Tinsley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram Endowed Journalism Scholarship, UNT Department of Journalism, P.O. Box 311460, Denton, Texas 76203-1460.
• Frank E. Vandiver, College Station, 11th president and first chancellor of North Texas and the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, 1979-1981. He earned a master of arts in history degree by examination and a doctorate from Tulane University. One of the nation's foremost military historians, he was the author of several books, including Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, which was a National Book Award finalist. He came to North Texas from Rice University and in August 1981 was appointed president of Texas A&M University, where he served until 1988. The family requests memorials be made in the form of donations to the UNT Libraries. Contact the Office of Development at (940) 565-2900 or giving@unt.edu.
• Merrill Delwin Williamson ('47, '52 M.S.), Denton, Professor Emeritus of industrial arts, 1962-1984. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from North Texas and his doctorate from the University of Missouri. Before joining North Texas, he taught at several schools and colleges, including Southwest Mississippi Junior College, the Dallas ISD and Abilene Christian College. He served as executive secretary and president of the Texas Industrial Arts Association and also served on the state Child Welfare Board and was active in Habitat for Humanity.