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.

1930s [ top ]

• Lillian Terry Morrow Hager ('31), Dallas. She taught sciences, home economics and choral singing in Rotan and Hobbs schools in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. She was an accomplished pianist, vocal soprano, chef and seamstress and an avid world traveler. She attained the rank of the American Contract Bridge League's Life Master in 1972.
• Doris Webb Plumlee ('32), Dallas. A Highland Park history teacher from the 1940s through the 1970s, she originated the Asian studies curriculum at Highland Park High School after winning a summer Fulbright scholarship to study in India in 1964. She was awarded another travel scholarship in 1966 and traveled throughout the world each summer through the '70s, collecting study materials for her classes and lectures. She earned a master's degree at SMU.
• John Gordon Willard ('37), Pflugerville. He was employed for many years in the petrochemical industry and retired from the Texas Department of Health. He was a bird lover and enjoyed the outdoors and playing bridge.

1940s [ top ]

• Clara A. McSween Coates ('40), Denton. She taught art and penmanship for three years in the Burkburnett ISD. During World War II, she worked at North American Aviation in the art department. She was married for 65 years and was a longtime member of her church. She also served the community through the Lioness Club of Denton.
• Gerard 'Gerry' Martin Hoffman ('41), Shreveport, La. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served in World War II. In New Orleans, he worked for D.H. Holmes & Co., retiring as corporate vice president of operations in 1986. During his retirement, he was a counselor for the Senior Core of Retired Executives, served on the board of Goodwill Industries of New Orleans and was a member of the Executive Club of New Orleans. He also was chair of retail services for the Chamber of Commerce and the Material Management Society.
• Marie Egan McMath ('41), Burleson. She was married to the late James G. McMath ('42), who served as a B-17 pilot in the Army Air Corps. She taught in Odessa, where her husband was a high school principal for many years, and when he became superintendent of schools in Colorado City, Brownwood and Nacogdoches, she taught in those towns. They retired in Burleson, where they worked in real estate. They were married for almost 64 years before his death in 2007.
• Orval Browning ('44), Corsicana. He was a first lieutenant in the Army Airways Communications Service during World War II. He attended the Art Students League in New York City for three years and returned to Dallas as a partner in Browning Morhle Frances Advertising Agency. At North Texas, he was a member of the Pi Phi Pi fraternity.
• Wanda Louise Hughes Dulaney ('46), Sweetwater. She moved to Sweetwater in the fall of 1946 and taught at Philip Nolan and East Ridge schools there for many years before retiring. She loved to paint and sing and was a member of the Golden Chords Chorus and the Creative Art Club.
• Harold L. Davis ('47 M.S.), Big Spring. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and in the Korean War. He was wounded at Iwo Jima and received the Silver Star Medal for his actions there. At North Texas, he was president of the Talons fraternity and lettered in basketball. He attended from 1940 to 1943 and returned after the war to complete a master's degree. He built a winning program as the first basketball coach at Howard College and later became president of Gamco Industries Inc. After Gamco was purchased by Siboney Corp., he was executive vice president and chief operating officer, overseeing eight subsidiaries. He received the UNT Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000 and was a trustee on the Howard College board since 1971. The fitness center and basketball court there are named in his honor. Survivors include his wife, Janell Wood Davis ('47), whom he met at North Texas.
• Jack W. Hudgins Jr. ('48, '49 M.M.Ed.), Lufkin. He served in the Fourth Army Headquarters Band in San Antonio, playing oboe, clarinet and saxophone. After earning his doctorate, he worked at San Angelo College, the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board and Grayson County Junior College. In 1967, he became the founding president of Angelina County Junior College. Upon retiring in 1991, he was named President Emeritus, and he taught music appreciation classes for an additional 10 years. The Angelina College fine arts building was renamed Hudgins Hall in his honor. Survivors include his sister, retired music lecturer Mary Nan Mailman ('50, '56 M.M.), and nephew, Matthew Mailman ('95 D.M.A.).
• Philip W. Dibben ('49, '51 M.S.), Pasadena, Md. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and in the Korean War. He retired in 1979 as an executive mathematician at the National Security Agency after 30 years of service. He was a distinguished member of the Crypto Mathematics Society and the Cryptos Society. After retiring, he bred and raced thoroughbred horses. He has contributed annually to the Eugene Hanson Math Fund at UNT. Survivors include his wife, Alice Dibben ('51).
• Reva Sykes Friedsam ('49), Denton. During World War II, she worked for the government in Washington, D.C. She met her future husband and the future dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Hiram Friedsam, when both were looking for apartments in New York City. They were married for 59 years until his death in 2007. Reva was a real estate broker in Denton, managed rental properties and was active in the community. Memorials, made payable to the UNT Foundation, may be made to the Reva Sykes Friedsam Scholarship, the Friedsam Graduate Student Fund in Gerontology, the Friedsam Graduate Scholarship in Sociology or the Friends of the UNT Libraries and sent to the University of North Texas, Division of Advancement, 1155 Union Circle #311250, Denton, Texas 76203-5017. For more information, call (940) 565-2976 or e-mail paula.voyles@unt.edu.

1950s [ top ]

• Jimmie Dale Presswood Wilkins ('51), Dallas. She was the high school librarian in Arlington and later taught in Richardson for 24 years before retiring. She was an accredited national flower show judge, served as president of the Richardson Flower Show Club and taught flower arranging for several years. She received her master's degree from Texas A&M. Survivors include her husband, Dan Wilkins ('50).
• Mary Frances Childress ('52 M.Ed.), Jacksonville. She taught English and music at Jacksonville High School for 44 years. She also played piano for church, civic and social functions. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Phi Mu Society, Delta Kappa Gamma Society and the Pink Lady Auxiliary.
• Eunice Bradshaw Garverick ('52), Las Cruces, N.M. She taught in public schools in Pleasant Hills and was a librarian at high schools in McCamey and Cisco. She began her civil service career as a librarian at the Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma in 1959 and was a technical librarian at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. She served as medical librarian at the Brooks School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio from 1963 to 1983.
• Carol Lynn Graham Addington ('59), Denton. She and her college sweetheart, Jim Addington ('59), were active in the Air Force ROTC. They married in 1959, and she taught in Farmers Branch before following Jim in his Air Force assignments. After they returned to Texas, she held leadership roles in the Federated Women's clubs, the local library and public schools.

1960s [ top ]

• Fred Bilderback ('61), Kilgore. He was a band director for more than 30 years and had a passion for teaching music. He held a master of music education degree.
• Jerry Wayne Miller (’62, ’66 M.Ed.), Dallas. At North Texas, he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity.  He served in the Richardson ISD for 41 years, beginning as a student teacher at Lake Highlands Junior High and continuing as a science teacher and coach. In 1965, he was named an assistant football coach and the first varsity baseball coach at Lake Highlands High School, where he led his team to three district championships. He also served as assistant principal at Richardson High School; district coordinator of health, P.E. and drug education; principal at Westwood Jr. High and Richardson High School; assistant superintendent for personnel; and area superintendent for the Lake Highlands, Richardson and Pearce attendance areas. He also was involved in youth sports organizations as his sons' coach. He was past president of the Richardson Rotary Club, where he was named a Paul Harris Fellow, and received the Richardson Jaycees Distinguished Service Award.  Survivors include his wife, Jo Ann Landers Miller (’65, ’68 M.Ed.).
• Ocie Hammond Jr. ('66), Cincinnati, Ohio. He served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War and was awarded a Purple Heart. He worked at Proctor and Gamble for more than 25 years and owned Mail Boxes Etc. Most recently, he was a co-op coordinator in the engineering technology division at Cincinnati State University.
• Cecil Truman Minshew ('66), Perrin. He joined the National Guard in 1940 as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, 36th Division. He was captured on Java and spent 3 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in various Japanese camps. He later graduated from North Texas with his education degree and taught sixth grade in the Birdville ISD for 17 years. His story of his war and POW experiences is in the UNT Oral History Collection.
• Alice Elaine Peterson Bonar ('67), Jackson, Miss. She retired in 2001 after a 27-year career in sales and sales management with Park Davis Pharmaceutical Co. (now Pfizer Pharmaceuticals). She was the first female sales manager for the company and received numerous sales awards. She was a certified Mississippi Master Gardener and an avid Cowboys fan.
• Charles Reagan Smith ('68), Harlingen. He was a retired educator, teaching biology for 25 years in Harlingen and Lyford.

1970s [ top ]

• Margo Brashear Nelson ('70, '92 M.Ed.), Canton. She taught elementary school in Dallas and Carrollton-Farmers Branch for 29 years. Her family says she was a prototypical soccer mom who raised four boys on her own and was a tough teacher who knew how to get the best from her students. She loved to play bridge, travel the world and dote on her many grandchildren.
• Peggy Reed Powell ('70), Odessa. She enjoyed working in the yard and re-finishing antique furniture. She came down with a rare neurological disease, cortical-basal ganglionic degeneration, in 2002.
• Loren Llewellyn Reinema ('72), Boulder, Colo. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1972 until 1981. As an Air Force pilot, he trained on several types of aircraft, including the KC-135, used for in-flight refueling. He worked for more than 25 years with Continental and other airlines as a commercial pilot, retiring as a captain.

1980s [ top ]

• Marilynn Louise Pappas Leahy ('88), Austin. She served with the Magdalene Project and the Austin Women's Shelter and worked at Regents School of Austin before becoming a stay-at-home mom. At UNT, she was a member of Chi Omega.

1990s [ top ]

• Todd William Isern ('97,'’00 M.Ed.), Irving. He earned his bachelor's degree in English literature and master’s in educational administration at UNT. He taught at Hedrick Middle School in the Lewisville ISD, Denton High School in the Denton ISD and Barbara Bush Middle School in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. At UNT, he was a member of Delta Sigma Phi.

2000s [ top ]

• Priscilla Ombwayo ('08), Irving. She earned her degree in August with a major in emergency administration and planning and a minor in social science.
• Alexander G. Davis ('08), Denton. He worked as a student assistant in the UNT Center for Public Service and completed his degree in sociology. He had been scheduled to graduate in December.

University Community [ top ]

• Juanita Teal Peters ('51), Denton, lecturer in music, 1974-2007. She received her bachelor of music degree from North Texas, continued graduate study in voice here and at the University of Minnesota and studied at London's Royal Academy of Music. She was the first vocalist to win the G.B. Dealey Award, in 1954, and received numerous other awards. She was featured as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra and for more than a decade appeared with the Dallas Symphony, the Fort Worth Opera, Dallas Civic Music and other regional organizations. She and her husband, Dale Peters ('52, '53), retired professor of music, presented joint voice and organ or harpsichord concerts. Memorials for UNT voice scholarships, made payable to the UNT College of Music, may be sent to the University of North Texas, Division of Advancement, 1155 Union Circle #311250, Denton, Texas 76203-5017. For more information, call (940) 565-2243 or e-mail elida.tamez@unt.edu.
• Bill Richardson, Double Oak, professor of rehabilitation, social work and addictions, 1980-1999. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Des Moines in the Mediterranean. He earned his bachelor's degree from Berea College in Kentucky, a master's degree from the University of Illinois and his doctorate from the University of Iowa. He taught rehabilitation counseling and was a licensed psychologist, dedicated to serving the lives of individuals with disabilities. His research focused on enhancing job training and vocational development for people with disabilities and improving the academic success of university students with disabilities. He received numerous national research awards, co-wrote several books and published more than 50 articles in the field. After retiring, he overcame failing health to work on a book about his life.