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.

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1920s [ top ]

• Pearl West McCombs (’25), Fort Worth. At North Texas she lettered in basketball and tennis and was elected a beauty and a class favorite. She was 101 at the time of her death.

1930s [ top ]

• Gladys Lucille McClure Bryant (’32), Mesquite. She graduated from Graford High School in 1925 and after college taught school for many years.
• Aileen Hufstedler (’35), Childress. She earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics from North Texas.
• Mary E. Clark Robinson (’36), Dallas. She spent 60 years as a teacher, including many years as a substitute following her retirement. She taught school in Sundown, Farmers Branch, Midland, Corsicana and the Dallas ISD.
• Ernest ‘Pee Wee’ Haralson (’36), Nocona. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II after earning his bachelor’s degree in business from North Texas.
• Lyman E. Gregory (’37, ’40 M.S.), Shreveport, La. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and spent 34 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He retired after a 28-year career in the Caddo Parish school system.
• Lloyd Gilley (’38), Weatherford. He was a teacher and a salesman, and during his sales career won a Nash automobile in a national contest.
• William Wayne Jones (’38), Louise. He taught school in Louise from 1939 to 1974, then served as superintendent of the district for 26 years.
• Marion M. Phillips (’39), Allen. He earned his bachelor’s degree in health education from North Texas.

1940s [ top ]

• James Barlow Anderson (’40), Houston. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, taking part in several convoys crossing the North Atlantic to Russia. He coached baseball, football and basketball in Texas junior high and high schools for 31 years until his retirement in 1975.
• Frances Dell Orchard Marks (’40), Ontario, Calif. She earned a degree in art education from North Texas and later taught school. She and her family moved to California in 1960.
• Joseph Patrick Cranshaw, Fort Worth. A member of the College Players at North Texas in 1941, he went on to a career as a character actor in television and film that spanned 50 years. He entertained troops with the Army Air Corps during World War II and in 1955 landed his first movie role, an uncredited bartender. More recently he was known for his role as fraternity brother Blue in the 2003 movie Old School and gave his final performance in Air Buddies, scheduled to be released this year.
• Loyd R. Wood (’41), Denton. He served in the Foreign Ferry Command of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He later taught school and coached in Bowie and became a successful rancher.
• Griffin Huey (’42), Denton. He served in China as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II and made a return trip there in the 1990s after retiring from a 40-year career as a dentist. His wife is Texas Woman’s University President Emeritus Mary Evelyn Blagg Huey.
• John Wesley Karnes Jr. (’42, ’47 M.S.), Storrs, Conn. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 and continued to serve in the reserves until the 1950s. He earned his doctorate from the University of Missouri and moved to Storrs in 1950 to teach at the University of Connecticut. He retired as associate dean and professor of industrial education in 1977.
• Travis Lattner Jr. (’42), Pecos. He trained as a pilot in the U.S. Navy Air Corps and served in the U.S. Marine Air Corps during World War II. He was a rancher and cotton farmer and spent many years researching his family tree. In 2002 he wrote The Lattner Story, spanning six generations.
• Robert Lee ‘Bob’ Moore (’42), Richland, Wash. After graduating from North Texas, he was a DuPont Fellow at the University of Texas where he earned master’s and doctoral degrees. He worked on the Hanford Atomic Project with the General Electric Co. in Richland, helping develop several chemical processes for which he was awarded patents, and moved into management in 1956. He called his hobby of soaring (flying in a glider) “almost an obsession” and was inducted into the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame in 2001.
• J.R. Braboy (’43 M.Ed.), New Albany, Ind. He taught in schools in Montague County and in Palo Pinto County, where he served as superintendent of public schools. He enjoyed photography, genealogy and electronics and was involved in real estate and commercial development.
• Lois Ellen Stell Reynolds (’43), Hamlin. She taught home economics at Hamlin High School before she decided to train as a registered medical technologist. She was an employee of Hamlin Hospital for many years.
• Frances Eleanor Kyle Rawlings (’44), Dallas. She taught home economics in the Dallas ISD for 22 years. In her 50s she began a second career as an expert in fine diamonds and jewelry and traveled extensively.
• Kathrine Farrington Freeman (’45), Dallas. She and her husband started E. Ray Freeman Concrete Contractors in Dallas and became homebuilders in the Lake Highlands area.
• Jo Etta Morriss York (’46), Longview. She taught school in Mulberry, Von Ormy and San Marcos and was employed by the Texas A&M Extension Service as a county home demonstration agent and district extension agent for 35 years.
• Lloyd Bass (’47), Summerfield, La. He retired from the U.S. Navy with 23 years of service and was a teacher and principal in Bloomington.
• Melvin E. Fenoglio (’47), Montague. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and then joined the Air Force Reserve, retiring with 29 years of service. He began his career in education in 1949 and served in Montague as a teacher, principal and superintendent until his retirement in 1986. He was chair of the Montague County Historical Commission for more than 25 years.
• Lydia Bell Rystad (’47), Clifton. She taught in the Port Arthur ISD for many years. After an early retirement, she was asked to teach special education at a school for challenged youth in Bosque County.
• Bobbie Sue Moore Gibbs (’48), Dallas. She started teaching school in 1938 and ended her teaching career with the Highland Park ISD at Hyer Elementary School and Highland Park Middle School.
• Barbara Foote Weber (’48), Gatesville. She taught in the Fort Worth public school system for several years and later enjoyed ranching at Foote Ranch in Turnersville.
• William ‘Billie’ Louise Honeycutt Bronaugh Harrell (’49, ’60 M.Ed.), Carrollton. She began her teaching career at Prairie Hill before she came to North Texas. After graduation, she taught in Hillsboro and Lewisville, then spent 30 years teaching in Carrollton. After retiring, she tutored elementary students and was active in local historic organizations.
• J.E. ‘Jim’ Humphries Jr. (’49, ’52 M.Ed.), Edgewood. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II in the Pacific. Later, he graduated from pharmaceutical school and was a charter member of the Edgewood Historical Society.
• Ruby P.L. Morris (’49, ’53 M.Ed., ’64 Ed.D.), Topeka, Kan. She served the Dallas ISD for 43 years, retiring in 1988 as deputy associate superintendent for student services. She received awards for her work from the Dallas Child Guidance Center, the Women’s Center of Dallas and the Texas Counseling Association.
• Gene Lavon Oldham Parker (’49), Overton. She taught at the Arp ISD for more than 20 years and served as director for the Arp State Bank.

1950s [ top ]

• Hugh E. Corbin (’50), Prairie Village, Kan. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine during World War II. He spent 33 years at Continental Grain Co. in Fort Worth and in Kansas City, Mo., until his retirement in 1989. His wife, Bonnie Davis Corbin (’50), was his college sweetheart.
• Johnson ‘John’ Wayne Hildebrand (’50, ’51 M.Ed.), Austin. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1949 in the Panama Canal Zone. He was a teacher and principal for almost four decades with the Austin ISD, and after retiring logged more than 9,000 hours as a hospital volunteer.
• The Rev. John Forest Riggs Jr. (’50), Austin. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was a dentist for more than 20 years in Kansas and taught at the Wichita School of Dental Hygiene. In 1986 he was ordained as an Episcopal priest and served for 19 years in Kansas and at Texas churches in Taylor, Austin, Comanche and Dublin.
• Michael Elwood Sloan (’50), Denton. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was the retired general manager of Cooke County Electric Co-op in Muenster, where he worked for 31 years.
• Joann Hankins Langston (’51), Arlington. She taught English and journalism in Texas public schools for four years before joining Texas Wesleyan College as a professor, teaching an additional 30 years. After retiring, she and her husband took 14 trips to Hong Kong and traveled to Taiwan, Alaska, Bermuda, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
• George E. McCoy (’51, ’53 M.M.Ed.), Oceanside, Calif. He earned his North Texas degrees in music and was a photographer for the yearbook.
• Bonnye Ruth Whitworth (’51), Harlingen. She taught American history in Harlingen and at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College for 40 years.
• Eldon Udell Black (’53, ’54 M.M.Ed.), San Angelo. He taught at what is now Angelo State University from 1954 to 1970, then left to earn a doctorate. He returned to teach from 1973 to 2003, his long tenure making him “senior professor” of the university.
• Paul Bayless Harrison (’53), Houston. He was a choir director for 31 years at schools in Dallas, Galveston, Giddings, El Campo and Galena Park. He retired in 1985 to run Educational Enterprises Recording Co., which he and his wife started to assist Texas and Florida high school choir directors in preparing music for competitions.
• Barbara J. Armour Hall (’54), San Angelo. She taught in elementary schools in Dallas, Temple, Abilene and Plano and retired as a counselor.
• William J. ‘Bill’ Hill (’54), Tyler. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. At North Texas he played on the golf team. After a brief time on the PGA tour, he was head golf pro at Quail Valley Golf Club in Missouri City for 18 years and coached golf at Stephen F. Austin State University for 10 years.
• Charles Edward ‘Skip’ Keasler (’54), Manhattan Beach, Calif. After serving in the U.S. armed forces from 1954 to 1956, he became a residential building contractor and an instructor in the real estate program at Tyler Junior College for many years.
• Cyle B. Atwood (’55), Austin. Following two years in the U.S. Army, he had a 36-year career with State Farm Insurance Co., retiring in 1992.
• Patsy E. Adams Kennedy (’55, ’74 M.M.Ed.), Dallas. She was an educator for more than 18 years at Eastfield College and was named Educator of the Year by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children in 1997. After retiring from Eastfield, she did consulting and training for childcare centers on U.S. Air Force bases. She was married to Howard Kennedy (’55, ’76 Ph.D.) for 50 years.
• Norita Grant Plummer (’57), Benbrook. She was a junior high math teacher in Santa Fe, N.M., and had served as grand worthy associate adviser for the Grand Assembly of Texas, Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
• Ronald Edd Roberts (’57), Friendswood. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1967, representing the 42nd and 54th districts. He also taught school in Farmers Branch and Midland and was an instructor at Houston Baptist College and at Lee College. He earned a doctorate from the University of Houston.
• Doris Geraldine Woodruff (’57), Austin. She lived in Washington, D.C., from 1962 to 1977, where she studied and worked in education. Returning to Denton, she operated an in-home daycare for infants before moving to Austin. Her yard there was a registered Texas Backyard Wildlife habitat.
• Dorwin Lee Sargent (’58, ’59 M.B.A.), Sanger. He served in the U. S. Air Force for four years and then earned both of his degrees in business from North Texas.
• Philip E. Slater III (’58), Gainesville. He lettered in football at North Texas and was a high school teacher and coach before working for a variety of companies. He retired last year as manager of Cooke County Rural Electrical Co-op, where he had worked since 1989.
• Charles Hatton (’59), Tyler. He was a social worker with the Andrews Center in Tyler before retiring. He earned his degree in sociology from North Texas.

1960s [ top ]

• Duane Day, Abilene. He attended North Texas from 1957 to 1960, playing two years on the North Texas football team. He was a sales engineer for Schlumberger for 26 years in Andrews, Midland and Abilene.
• Bobbye C. Mosby (’60, ’67 M.Ed.), Dallas. She was a teacher in Arkansas schools before she began a career in the Dallas ISD. She was in her 50s when she attended North Texas and considered herself an unofficial “dorm mother” for the two summers she lived on campus.
• Howard Perdue (’60), Grapevine. Before attending North Texas, he played baseball for the Baltimore Orioles organization until an injury forced him to retire. He went on to law school and served as assistant district attorney for Dallas County and assistant city attorney in Amarillo. In 1970 he founded the law firm of Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott.
• Raymond R. Wilkinson (’60), San Antonio. He was an independent insurance agent for 45 years and had lived in San Antonio since 1968. He was a life member of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition.
• James Earl Giles (’61), Muskogee, Okla. He served in the Air National Guard from 1956 to 1962. He worked with youth as a volunteer football and wrestling coach and served at the YMCA in Muskogee, retiring as director in 2001. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi and Psi Chi National Honorary Society.
• Carol Ann Vogler Brand (’62), Pittsburgh, Pa. She was the owner of Carol Brand Interiors, an interior design firm in Pittsburgh. She developed designs for offices, hospitals and residences, including her own homes in Pittsburgh and Sun Valley, Idaho.
• Gilman Barry Dorn (’62 M.S.), Dallas. He served in the U.S. Army and later taught in the Dallas ISD and at St. Alcuin Montessori School. For eight years, he sang with the Jim Henderson Chorale.
• Joe Mack Pryor (’62, ’66 M.Ed.), Fort Worth. He taught and coached for the Birdville ISD before retiring. At North Texas he played on the varsity football team in 1957 and 1958 and was a member of the 1956 freshman team that included the first African American athletes at the college.
• Charles Ernest Wade (’62 M.B.A.), Dallas. He served in Korea and became the first Texas highway patrolman stationed in Rockwall. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma and was on the faculty of Texas Tech University from 1966 to 1999.
• John David Bronstad (’65), Oklahoma City, Okla. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and then accepted a position at Dulaneys Inc. in Oklahoma City in 1968. He was vice president of consumer electronics when he left the company to found Best Video, which he owned and operated until retiring in 1992.
• Lillian Matthews Conklin (’66 M.A.), Irving. She began college at age 36 and taught English in the Dallas County Community College District, retiring from North Lake College in 1985. She was an avid traveler and artist.
• Bobbie Jo Wilkerson Asberry (’68, ’73 M.Ed.), Dallas. She was an elementary school teacher for more than 20 years with the Dallas ISD.
• Mildred K. Helms (’68 M.Ed., ’85 Ph.D.), Forney. She taught for three years in Carrollton and in 1961 moved to Arlington, where she taught and then served as a counselor, assistant principal and executive director of secondary education. She retired in 1988.
• Wiley A. Johnson (’68 M.A.), Wichita Falls. After serving in the military during World War II, he had a 36-year teaching career with the Wichita Falls ISD. For more than 20 years he was supervisor of math and science for the district, retiring in 1985.
• Elizabeth Fletcher Benson (’69), Keller. She received her degree in library science from North Texas and later became a librarian at the Fort Worth Public Library.

1970s [ top ]

• O’Brien ‘Goldy’ Goldsberry (’71), Allen. He spent 31 years with the Dallas Fire Department, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle.
• Judy Kimes (’72), Highland Village. She taught school for 22 years, serving in both the Irving and Lewisville ISDs.
• Jack Lewis Evans (’73), Garland. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college. He taught in Garland and then worked as a chemical engineer from 1979 to 1990 before returning to teaching.
• Muriel Windham Brown (’74 M.S.), Denton. She had a 22-year career with the Dallas Public Library, where she was the children’s literature specialist and head of the central library children’s room. Later, she worked at the Hockaday school library.
• Kay Davis (’75), Bedford. She worked at her family’s business for many years and enjoyed writing and taking care of animals.
• Shirley June Price Ashley (’76), Fort Worth. She worked as a substitute teacher and as a chief insurance writer and was president of the Fort Worth Insurance Women. She also wrote poetry and music and was an accomplished artist.
• Lydia Gaytan Martinez (’76), Irving. She was an art teacher at the Magnet School of Dallas and enjoyed playing tennis, cooking and drawing.
• Mary Rose Holley (’78 Ph.D.), Glen Ridge, N.J. She was an assistant professor of sociology at Montclair State University for 23 years. At North Texas, she was a teaching fellow in sociology and anthropology and a research assistant for the Center for Studies in Aging.
• Virginia Flodeen Drennan Mullins (’78 M.Ed.), Fort Worth. She was a retired teacher who taught at elementary schools in the Fort Worth ISD for 34 years.
• Ardelia Pickett Gauntt (’79 M.Ed.), Mount Vernon. She was a retired teacher for the Mount Pleasant ISD and owned and operated the Tiger Den and Gauntt’s Sweet Shop.

1980s [ top ]

• Timothy Fleming (’80 M.S.), Centreville, Va. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star and a Joint Service Commendation. He was a former vice presdent of long-term care at St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas and the CEO and administrator of St. Catherine’s Nursing Center in Emmitsburg, Md.
• Cathy Anne Ray (’81 Ph.D.), Lubbock. She was the Native American granddaughter of an original enrollee in the Chickasaw Nation. A licensed psychologist, she worked in rehabilitation services for the blind and for people with chemical dependencies.
• Michael Lynn Kavanaugh (’88), Arlington. He graduated from the Baylor School of Dentistry and had been in private practice in Arlington for 13 years. He was named America’s Top Dentist in 2003-04.
• Dixie Joe Miller Porcher (’88 M.Ed.), Arlington. She served in the Arlington ISD for 40 years, teaching chemistry and other sciences as well as vocational education. She was an avid gardener who raised prized irises, roses and orchids.

1990s [ top ]

• David R. Roberson (’91), Denton. He was a human resources representative and had worked at UNT since 1987.
• Mary Shields Pearson (’92 Ph.D.), Farmers Branch. She taught in Maryland schools until 1972, when she moved to Denton with her husband, the late Jim Berry Pearson (’47, ’49 M.A.), who became North Texas provost and history department head. They wrote and edited History of Texas textbooks used for many years in the Texas public school system.
• Jim Henry Graham (’93 M.Ed.), Arlington. He served in the U.S. Navy and later started his career in medical equipment sales. He owned his own business in Arlington.
• Kimberly Sue Felknor (’94 M.S.), Farmers Branch. She worked as a database administrator in Dallas.
• Dennis L. Boe (’95 D.M.A.), Ada, Okla. He was a professor of music at East Central University in Ada and had been director of its Scholastic Honors Program since 1989. A pianist, he often served as an accompanist and performed for university and community events.
• Jeffrey Lee Hermes (’96), Coppell. After graduating from UNT, he continued his education while employed at H.D. Vest Financial Services. He received numerous financial planning certifications during his employment.
• Kay Maher (’97, ’99 M.S.), Dallas. She earned her bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences and a master’s degree in sociology with a minor in applied gerontology from UNT.
• Amy Nicole Rudisill Anable (’98), Burleson. She was a licensed social worker employed by the Texas Masonic Retirement Center, where she was director of social services.
• Dana Engstrom DeLoach (’99 M.A.), Cromwell, Conn. She worked in the education programs at the Dallas Museum of Art and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn.
• Thomas ‘Tad’ Ashley Dodson, Plano. He worked with special needs children in the Carrollton/Farmers Branch School District and was active in the Dallas theater community. He wrote for the North Texas Daily while attending UNT from 1998 to 1999.

2000s [ top ]

• Vernon Boyd Dean Jr. (’00), Waurika, Okla. He was a computer analyst for Arctic Solutions and earned his degree in business computer information systems from UNT.
• Lori Lee Peel (’01 M.M.Ed.), Plano. She was a Renner Middle School band director for 10 years.

University Community [ top ]

• Will Hill Acker Jr., Dallas, instructor of English, 1960-1988. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned his bachelor’s degree from East Texas State College and his master’s degree from SMU. A member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Acker performed in radio, television and motion pictures and appeared in more than 80 commercials. He was also an award-winning poet. At North Texas he sponsored chapters of the Newman Club and Phi Kappa Theta, two national Catholic organizations.
• Wesley Elizabeth Cragin, Denham Springs, La., assistant professor of health, physical education and recreation, 1968-1970. Cragin earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University and taught at the University of Mississippi and LSU before joining the faculty at North Texas. She was a co-director of the Beter-Cragin Private School of Perceptual Motor Development in Fort Worth.
• Janet Margaret Bean Pacatte (’90 M.S.), Fort Worth, adjunct faculty in applied gerontology, 2001-2005. She was a former director of the Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County and spent more than three decades as a crusader for the aging. She was working on her doctorate in applied gerontology at UNT and served as a teaching fellow last fall.
• Sandras Stone, Little Elm, administrative assistant in the College of Music, 1990-2002. A native of Logansport, Ind., Stone served on the music staff for 12 years, most recently coordinating concerts and programs.