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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1930s [ top ]

• Frances McCormick (’30), Tyler. She served 47 years as a teacher and librarian at schools in Andrews, Bovina, Galveston and Tyler. She volunteered as the “coffee cart lady” at an East Texas hospital and was active in Delta Kappa Gamma. She was 101 years old.
• Mary Long Lipscomb (’33), Fort Worth. She taught at schools in Lueders, Keller and Granbury between 1930 and 1946 and later worked as a receptionist at the Dallas Morning News.
• Mary Frances Gardner Williams (’34, ’36 M.S.), Waterford, Conn. She taught first grade in Fort Worth schools, at the North Texas Demonstration School and in the laboratory school of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She was also active in her community, having served as chair of the Waterford Board of Education.
• H. Garland ‘June’ Read Jr. (’35, ’44 M.A.), Dallas. He was a teacher and administrator for more than 40 years at numerous Dallas-area schools and often was recognized and visited by his former students while out eating or shopping.
• Freda Yarbrough Underwood (’35), Austin. She taught typing and shorthand at schools in Richland Springs, Throckmorton and Midland before serving 28 years at Wichita Falls High School. She enjoyed the political process and helped her father, James L. Yarbrough, in his successful campaigns for Denton school superintendent, Denton mayor and Texas state representative.
• Gwene Alyne Giles Amex (’36), Dallas. She was a teacher in several school districts in Texas, retiring from DeSoto ISD in 1968.
• Mary Quisenberry McGilvray (’36), Plano. She earned her degree from North Texas in elementary education.
• Philip E. Morgette (’36), Round Rock. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He retired from the city of Austin, where he was personnel director and civil service director for 25 years. Survivors include his wife, Josephine Ferguson Morgette (’37).
• Isaac N. Adams (’37, ’49 M.S.), Tyler. He spent more than 55 years as a teacher, starting in one-room schools. Later, he taught at Gorman High School in Tyler and at Midwestern State University and Taft College in California.
• Helen Gilley Patterson (’37), Whitehouse. She was a public school teacher for 34 years, retiring from Floydada High School in 1978.
• Catherine Leach Gann (’38), Gatesville. She taught school in Gatesville for many years and was a member of the Retired Teachers Association and Delta Kappa Gamma.
• Vance Williams Stallcup (’38), Celina. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and practiced dentistry in Celina for 33 years.
• Frances Hamlett Wardlaw (’38), Denton. She retired from North Texas as a clerical secretary and librarian.
• Dorothy M. Smith Pullen (’39), Rockwall. She was an elementary school teacher for 40 years, including 32 years in Rockwall. She retired in 1981 and in 1983 was presented with a Texas PTA Honorary Life Membership. An elementary school in Rockwall is named in her honor.
• Jesse Earl Seal (’39), Tyler. He served in the U.S. Navy and retired as a rural mail carrier in Sanger.
• Mary Opal West (’39), Plano. She worked for 43 years in the education field. After she retired, she became a volunteer at the Hamilton Public Library and eventually worked there full time. She headed the committee that compiled the book A History of Hamilton County, Texas.

1940s [ top ]

• Catherine James Carl ('40, '41 M.S.), Goree. She taught at schools in Seymour and Goree.
• Mary Donald Roach ('40), Justin. She was a teacher with Arlington ISD before retiring.
• Naomi Gladys Tinsley Grubbs ('41), Fort Worth. She majored in home economics at North Texas and minored in chemistry and English.
• Mildred E. Smith Hoff ('41), The Woodlands. She taught for several years in Port Arthur. In 1952 she was initiated into the P.E.O. Sisterhood, which promotes educational opportunities for women, and remained active in the group throughout her life.
• Jessie Lee Wilkinson Richardson ('41), Jacksboro. She taught in schools at Elbert and Woodson and taught more than 20 years at Olney before retiring in 1978.
• Estes Catherine Weldon ('41), Mineral Wells. She taught high school English for 41 years at Pickwick and Graford, sponsoring 26 senior trips and helping publish 29 yearbooks. She also was a rancher and a member of the Palo Pinto County Historical Association.
• Walter Maxey Williams ('41, '47 M.B.A.), Midwest City, Okla. He taught in Batson before joining the U.S. Navy and serving in the Pacific during World War II. Later, he taught at Henderson State College and then served 23 years at Eastern Oklahoma State College as teacher, dean, vice president, business manager and interim president. He retired from the staff of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as vice chancellor for administrative services.
• Geraldine Elliott Patterson ('42), Hamilton. She earned her bachelor's degree in Spanish from North Texas.
• Cecil L. Redd Sr. ('42, '50 M.S.), Dallas. He served in the Navy during World War II. He taught in Texarkana and Ingleside and was a junior high principal in Beaumont and Highland Park. He retired in 1978 and spent some years in Alaska fishing, hunting and exploring.
• Billie Lyles Parker ('44), Humble. She earned her degree from North Texas in home economics and worked in the oil industry.
• Marilyn Moody ('45), Wimberley. She was a first-grade teacher for nearly 30 years, most of those in Houston. She wrote poems, prose and essays and enjoyed traveling.
• Joseph F. Specht ('46, '50 M.S.), Vashti. He served in World War II and then dedicated 35 years to teaching and administrative duties at Georgia College, where he became Dean Emeritus of the School of Business.
• Robert Alton Stanley ('46), Fort Worth. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He taught or served as an administrator at schools in Harmony, Cranfills Gap, White Settlement, Granbury, Cleburne and Blum. After retiring in 1978, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, gardening and raising bantam chickens.
• Elizabeth M. Rodgers Young ('46), Austin. She earned her bachelor's degree from North Texas in library science.
• Noble Masters ('47, '50 M.S.), Del Rio. He joined the U.S. Army before World War II and received injuries to his eyes from bomb shell fragments. After the war, he taugh American history and spent 39 years in the education field.
• Wayne E. 'Mickey' Swick ('47), Gainesville. He served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific and in Japan. He retired after more than 51 years at United Finance Co. and was an avid fisherman.
• Neeley R. 'Jack' Vaught ('48), Beeville. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and retired as a lieutenant colonel after 19 years in the reserves. At North Texas he was a member of Pi Phi Pi fraternity. He had served as a dean at colleges in Odessa, Victoria and Beeville and was a self-taught acrobatic pilot, an accomplished jitterbug dancer and a collector of big band music. Survivors include his sister, Virginia Vaught Randall ('42), of Houston.
• J. Stephen Cottrelle ('49, '49 M.A.), Malden, Mass. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He taught high school in Beaumont before moving in 1951 to Washington, D.C., where he was a systems analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency and then worked for the State Department.
• Rubie Lee Odom Dyess ('49, '55 M.Ed.), Waxahachie. She taught at schools in Waxahachie and Ellis County for 45 years. She never attended a long semester at North Texas, instead earning her degrees by taking summer school, night school and extension courses.
• Wilma J. Litton ('49, '69 M.Ed.), Krugerville. She was a counselor at Strickland Junior High.
• Grace Newman Bradshaw Ritter ('49), Houston. She taught many years in the Wichita Falls and Spring Branch school districts. She retired in 1975.
• Byford Gayle Sealy ('49, '50 M.M.), Andrews. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, joining at age 17, and left as a captain following the Korean War. He was a band director and tuba player and worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation before returning to Andrews to go into the abstract business. He also served as the mayor of Andrews and was a member of the school board.
• Floyd D. Shipley ('49, '51 M.S.), Arlington. He was a retired electrical engineer and licensed pilot who enjoyed traveling. He had served in the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps after graduating from the North Texas Demonstration School.
• Lena Mae Caruthers Watson ('49), Midland. She taught first-graders for 32 years, beginning in Cundiff, then later in Paradise before settling in Floydada.

1950s [ top ]

• Bennie Arnwine ('50 M.S.), Gilmer. He served in the U.S. Navy before joining Mobil Oil Corp. for 39 years. At North Texas he was a teaching fellow in chemistry.
• Milford Ray Davis ('50, '50 M.S.), New Braunfels. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, receiving the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. After the war ended, he taught and coached in Laredo and Austin and served as a principal and director of pupil services. He was an avid gardener and like to fish off the Texas Gulf Coast.
• Carroll F. Herriott ('50), Plano. He served in the Army Air Corps in World War II and retired from E-Systems in 1991 after a 41-year career in aerospace engineering. His wife, Josephine Bridges Herriott ('48), was his college sweetheart.
• Thomas Charles 'T.C.' Miller ('50), Fort Worth. He was a longtime communications duty officer for the Federal Aviation Administration in North Texas. He also raised cattle and bred champion mules.
• Raymond Richard Nolen ('50), North Richland Hills. A Marine Corps veteran, he was executive vice president of the Texas Grain and Feed Association and a lobbyist for 25 years in Austin and Washington, D.C. He also was an election judge in North Richland Hills, a member of the Tarrant County College Senior Advisory Board and a representative on the Silver Haired Legislature.
• Rosamond Booth Hatch, Clovis, N.M. She was a music major at North Texas from 1949 to 1951 and worked as an executive secretary in the legal department of 20th Century Fox for 24 years.
• J.D. Railsback ('51 M.S.), Temple. He served in World War II and retired from the Lubbock ISD in 1972, where he had spent most of his teaching career.
• Marian C. Buell Moore ('52), Brownwood. She taught high school home economics in McAdoo and Sterling City and was a home demonstration agent.
• George Joseph Tocquigny ('53), Sherman. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II in France. He spent 40 years as director of maintenance at Sherman ISD and also served as a U.S. government envoy to improve school facilities in Nicaragua in 1968. He built his home and adjoining woodworking shop in Sherman.
• Ben A. Cates ('54), Dallas. He began his teaching career in Dimmitt in 1955 and retired from Balch Springs ISD in 1996, continuing to teach and helping people with their taxes through H&R Block.
• Gene A. Laster ('55), Richardson. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He was employed by Texas Instruments Inc. as a project administrator and retired in 1989 after more than 30 years of service.
• Martin McCarty ('55), Electra. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who retired after more than 30 years as manager of the Electra Telephone Co.
• Joe D. Seagraves ('55), Cromwell, Conn. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1952 and became a naval aviator. He worked more than 30 years as a flight operations engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, Conn., retiring in 1993.
• Thomas E. 'Buddy' Farris ('56, '58 M.Ed.), Fort Worth. He served in the U.S. Navy and spent more than 25 years in the pharmaceuticals field.
• Helen E. Peadro Jones ('56 M.Ed.), Tyler. She taught math in public schools in Texas and Illinois and had worked as a bookkeeper and co-owned and operated an animal clinic with her husband. She also wrote a newspaper column, "The Way It Was," about her early days in Tyler.
• William Richard 'Dick' Sligar ('56), Houston. He taught choir in Pampa and El Paso. At North Texas he and his wife, the late Yvonne Ward Sligar ('56), were students of Mary McCormic and participated in opera productions and the A Cappella Choir.
• Albert Lynn Weaver ('56), Pasadena. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and worked in sales and management for 32 years with Lederle Lab-oratories.
• Robert 'Bob' Hamilton ('57 M.B.A.), Houston. He worked for Mobil Oil Co. for 20 years. After his retirement, he built custom homes in the Houston area. At North Texas he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.
• Jimmy Matthews ('58), Canton. He served in the U.S. Army and later operated the Canton Insurance Agency for more than 30 years.
• Bryan Jackson McClintock ('59), Dallas. He served on the Board of Governors at the Dallas Market Center. At North Texas he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha.

1960s [ top ]

• Alma Vaughn Delley ('61 M.Ed.), Tyler. She earned her graduate degree in education from North Texas.
• Milton Glenn Rowell ('61), Burleson. He served as the first principal of Mound Elementary in Burleson from 1962 to 1968. He taught math in Dublin for three years and was a sixth-grade teacher in Breckenridge from 1975 to 1992.
• Gerald Ray Copp ('63), Krum. He worked for 50 years in the agricultural industry, operating the family-owned business Copp Custom Harvesting, and was a farmer in the Krum area.
• Virginia Walker Rivoire ('64), Gainesville. She taught second grade at Robert E. Lee School until she retired.
• Sherry G. Isbell Fox ('65, '68 M.L.S.), Mountain Springs. She was a librarian at Irving High School and Paschal High School in Fort Worth who assisted in researching and writing numerous books on genealogy.
• Linda Beth Raney ('65), Irving. She was the first librarian at Nimitz High School and was employed by Southwestern Medical School.
• Richard Warren Davis ('67), Longview. He was still a student when he began winning awards for his graphic designs and paintings, which were frequently recognized in Dallas-area shows.
• Charles 'Charlie' Key ('67), Arlington. He was on the football coaching staff at the University of Texas at Arlington from 1964 to 1985 and was the head golf coach for several seasons. He was inducted into UTA's Athletics Hall of Honor in 1993.
• Eva Meggs Stedman ('67), Dallas. She earned her bachelor's degree in Spanish at North Texas.
• Betty Shreffler Landrum ('68), Arlington. She earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from North Texas.
• Ella Louise Daniels Polk ('68 M.Ed.), Dallas. She had taught in schools in Garland, Plano and Richardson and retired from the Dallas ISD.
• Suzanne Baker Levisay ('69, '72 M.A.), Denton. She studied history and political science at North Texas and was self-employed as a counselor.
• Vicki L. Pendergrass ('69), Dallas. She worked for many years as a social worker and supervisor in Texas' Child Protective Services Department, retiring in 1994.

1970s [ top ]

• Randall H. 'Randy' Cassidy ('70), Stephenville. He earned his degree from North Texas in marketing and worked for 30 years as a food broker.
• Jacqueline Fournier Benning ('71, '76 M.A.), Dallas. She was a native of France who came to the United States during World War II and became fluent in English within a year. She taught French for 12 years at the Greenhill School in Dallas.
• Michael Hopkins ('71), Dallas. He was an extra class amateur radio operator, AB5L, and was known worldwide among other low-power radio advocates as a collector, fixer and purveyor of antique radio receivers and transmitters.
• Susan Mathews ('71 M.L.S.), League City. She was the first and only head librarian of the Helen Hall Library in League City, a job she held for 32 years. She had reportedly read almost every book on its shelves.
• Pam Mace Turner ('71, '75 M.Ed.), Hurst. She was a retired school teacher and an adviser for the Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
• Kay D. Cosper Davis ('72), Clifton. She was a licensed vocational nurse who worked at Clifton Care Center and Clifton Lutheran Sunset Home before retiring.
• Daniel Joseph Dennehy ('73), Dallas. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and played baseball for the Air Force and several semi-pro teams.
• Gwendolyn 'Gwynda' Laine Nelson ('74), Texarkana. She worked for many years as a registered medical technologist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texarkana, and was a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. At North Texas she was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Survivors include her sister, Katheryn Nelson Houston ('76).
• Paula B. Garrett ('76), Santa Fe, N.M. She was a studio artist for more than 30 years, specializing in metalwork and painting and exhibiting nationally and internationally. She lived in many states and loved the landscape and culture of the American West.
• Richard Byars ('77 Ph.D.), Dallas. He served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer. He was an accounting professor at the University of Florida and a certified public accountant for the Dallas firm of Isham P. Nelson and Co.

1980s [ top ]

• Joyce M. Woods Lewis ('80), Dallas. She retired from IBM after 10 years of service. At North Texas she was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.
• William Rentzell ('80), Fort Worth. He served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 20 years and was an associate professor at Tarrant County Junior College for 19 years. He also taught Sunday school for many years and worked with church youth groups.
• Marion Whorton ('80), Richardson. She was a volunteer at Vickery Meadow Learning Center and earned her degree in art from North Texas.
• David A. Tayloe ('81), Houston. After graduating from North Texas, he joined his father in the family business, the W.A. Tayloe Co. in Dallas. He managed the San Antonio and Houston branches before returning to the main Dallas office after his father's death.
• Carl Willingham ('82), Fort Worth. He worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in the 1980s and as a computer technician at John Peter Smith Hospital for more than a decade.
• Nannette Jibben ('84 M.S.), Denton. She worked at the Denton State School for 23 years. She also taught golf at UNT and gave private lessons.
• Gretchen Lee Theis Koch ('84), Flower Mound. She taught fifth grade at Davis Elementary in Carrollton and completed her master's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington.
• Melissa Leigh Mitchell ('86, '90 M.Ed.), Dallas. She was a licensed psychotherapist for 20 years, most recently practicing with Horizon Health.

1990s [ top ]

• Brenda Lynn McClure Hudgins ('90), Frisco. She was a financial professional for Brinker International, EDS and Johnson Controls, among other organizations, during her career. She and her family also cared for neglected animals.
• Melissa Lyn 'Missy' Smith Evans ('91, '94 M.Ed.), Pilot Point. She was the director of finance at the North Texas Human Resource Group.
• Peter Franco ('94, '02), Denton. He graduated from North Texas with bachelor's degrees in journalism and English. He was the son of Mignon Wendover, administrative assistant in the College of Music.
• Steven M. Perry ('99), Denton. He was a dispatcher for the Hulcher Corp.

2000s [ top ]

• Frank Leon Macias ('01), Fort Worth. He was a Vietnam veteran who graduated with a sociology degree from UNT.
• Colby Monroe Garrison, Carrollton. He was a junior studying business at UNT.

University Community [ top ]

• Edward Carl Bonk, Buffalo, Minn., Professor Emeritus of education, 1955-1979. Bonk, who served in the U.S. Air Corps during World War II, earned his bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State College, his master's from Macalester College and his doctorate from Indiana University. At North Texas he served as director of guidance and was a professor in counselor education. In 1981 he was appointed by Gov. Bill Clements to the newly created Texas Board of Professional Counselors, which set up criteria and procedures for the licensing of professional counselors.
• Irma J. Patterson Jones, Grand Rapids, Mich., substance abuse prevention coordinator, 1995-2002. Jones was director of the Bridges Poverty Initiative mentoring program and associate pastor at the First Community African Methodist Episcopal Church of Grand Rapids. She was a former senior pastor of Knight Chapel AME Church of Dallas. At UNT she was the coordinator for NT Challenge, a program providing workshops and counseling to eliminate drug and alcohol abuse.
• John Wall, Denton, assistant professor of education, 1956-1981. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Wall earned a bachelor's degree in social science from Arkansas State Teachers College in 1947 and earned a master's degree from George Peabody College in 1950. Before he joined the faculty at North Texas, he taught and was an administrator at public schools in Ola and Gillett, Ark., and Kennett, Mo. He was a member of numerous organizations, including the International Reading Association and the Association for Childhood Education International.