D. Ray Langford (’44), Dallas :: He was president of his senior class at North Texas, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation, serving in the Pacific during World War II. He worked for Sun Oil Co. for 40 years, beginning in Starr County and moving to Dallas to work in the purchasing department. He retired in 1986.

Shirley Cognard Ottman (’79, ’82 M.A.), Denton :: She was an adjunct in the Department of English, a lifetime member of the President’s Council and active with the College of Music. She co-founded The Bereaved Parents of North Texas and served as vice president of the national board of The Compassionate Friends and as president of the national board of The Bereaved Parents of the U.S.A. Her husband was the late Robert Ottman (’56 Ph.D.), Professor Emeritus of music. Memorials may be made to the Robert W. Ottman graduate music theory scholarship at UNT.

Mark B. DeLoach (’87 M.A.), Vashon, Wash., former director of debate and associate professor of communication studies, died July 24. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, his master’s in communication and public address at UNT and his doctorate from the University of Southern California. He joined the UNT faculty in 1991 and was known as an advocate and mentor for his students. An expert in debate and campaign communication, he had served as a political debate analyst and was a member of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation. He left UNT in 2000 to become a principal with Leadership Research Institute. A debate scholarship is being set up in his name at UNT.

Betty Berkeley (’80 Ph.D.), Dallas :: Her career included teaching at the elementary school and college levels. She was an adjunct professor in retirement planning at UNT and a program development specialist and instructor at Richland College. She also was a consultant on pre-retirement planning to businesses. She had served as director of the Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas, Friends of the North Texas Library, Fine Arts Society of Texas, Dallas Municipal Library Board and Friends of the Dallas Public Library; as vice president of the Women’s Council of Dallas County; as president of the Dallas branch of the American Association of University Women; and on the Dallas Commission on the Status of Women. She was a life member of the UNT President’s Council, and she and her late husband, Marvin Berkeley, former dean of the College of Business, established a fellowship at UNT in 2003 for interdisciplinary studies at the master’s level. Memorials may be made to the Dean Marvin Berkeley Scholarship Fund at UNT.

Viola George Sample (’39), Houston :: She majored in history and education and taught elementary school in Weirgate, Port Arthur and Houston. She earned her master’s in education from the University of Houston in 1959 and was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma. After leaving her teaching job to be a full-time mother, she continued to teach Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and WIN, an English program for wives of international students. Survivors include her brother, Ralph George (’42).

Herb Ellis, Los Angeles, Calif. :: He played jazz guitar for such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Stan Getz and was a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio. In a recording, touring and performing career that spanned six decades, he was regarded as one of the finest jazz guitar soloists, with deals from Verve, Concord and Columbia record companies. He also was a studio musician and played in several television bands, including those on the Steve Allen and Merv Griffin shows. He studied from 1940 to 1942 at North Texas, where his roommate was reed player Jimmy Giuffre (’42). UNT awarded Ellis an honorary doctorate in 1997.

Virah Freeman Niemann, Austin :: She attended North Texas from 1941 to 1943 and worked during World War II as a draftsman, helping design airplanes. She later worked in the oil and gas industry and was a real estate investor.

Mary Elizabeth Carlisle McCreight (’44), Houston :: She lived in Winters for 48 years before moving to Houston to be closer to her son. She worked with her husband in his medical practice until his death and was active in the beginning of the Candy-Stripers at the Winters Hospital.

Ruth Margaret Walters (’45), Tyler :: After graduating from North Texas, she continued her study of music at Indiana University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Utah as well as in New York City. She was an instructor in the University of Texas piano department before returning to her hometown of Tyler, where she taught private piano lessons for many years. 

Marian Alice Rawlings Bird (’46), Pasadena :: She received her degree in physical education from North Texas, where she was the sports manager for the Women’s Recreation Association and a member of the House Presidents Club.