Jessie 'Mack' Smith (’64), Hooks. At North Texas, he was president of Delta Sigma Phi. He joined the Naval Reserve, then attended Naval Officer Candidate School after graduation – beginning a 31-year military career in which he served in the Vietnam War and provided logistics support in the Gulf War. After being stationed around the world, he retired from the Pentagon as a commander. During retirement, he volunteered for local hospitals.

James E. Healer (’71), Greenville. He served as band director for schools in Forney, Malakoff, Waxahachie, Troup, Anson, Ingram and Roscoe. He also served as minister of music and youth for several churches and, after earning a master’s in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he was a full-time minister of music and education for churches in Centerville, Ohio, Midland and Kerrville. From 1996 to 2013, he worked as a corporate trainer and quality control analyst for Accenture. He enjoyed being creative, from writing and arranging music to woodworking and painting.

Hunter Scott Brown (’07 M.S.), Little Elm. His journey through higher education began in the late ’60s at Davidson College in North Carolina, where he played football for a short time. He transferred to Southern Methodist University, where both his parents were faculty members, but took a detour before finishing his bachelor’s degree. By the early 2000s, Hunter was a full-time caregiver to his parents. After they passed away, he decided he wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps and pursue a career in counseling. He returned to SMU to finish his undergraduate degree before earning his master's in counseling from UNT in 2007. Hunter spent the next 15 years helping people find healing, focusing his counseling practice on addiction recovery. He is survived by his children Leigh Ann, Kathy, Sarah, Scott and Stephanie.

Lindsey Moore Fields (’04, ’06 M.S., ’11 M.Ed.), who worked in various positions for 15 years at UNT, died April 24. Her allegiance to the Mean Green and college education began early. A trombone player, she played for the Green Brigade her freshman year – then went on to earn three degrees here. At UNT, she worked as an academic advisor and counselor; coordinator for academic initiatives and assessment; adjunct faculty; and assistant director for residence life. She also was a graduate teaching fellow while studying for her Ph.D. in higher education. In December 2020, she began working for Collin College as an advisor for their early college program – and even persuaded the carhops at Sonic to pursue college, according to her LinkedIn posts. Survivors include her husband, Matthew Fields, principal data warehouse architect for the Data, Analytics and Institutional Research (DAIR) team. Services are at 1:30 p.m. May 6 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 600 S. Jupiter in Richardson.

Jerome “Jerry” Farrington (’55, '58 M.B.A.), 87, who served as chairman of UNT’s Board of Regents from 1988 to 1999, died April 12 in Dallas. He created The Alfred and Johanna Hurley Military History Fund and The Farrington Fund for the information science department as a planned gift. He became a member of the President’s Council for his generosity and was a lifetime member of the Alumni Association. He began his career as a customer service representative of Texas Utilities Co. and climbed the ranks, becoming chief executive officer and president of TXU in the 1980s. He chaired the board of Texas Health Resources, served on the board of the Southwestern Medical Foundation and was active in many other organizations. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Public Service from UNT. He is preceded in death by his wife, Linda Young (’57).

Milly Marilyn Brack (’56), Gladewater. She met the love of her life, the late Albert Foster Brack (’57), while at North Texas. They lived in the Bryan/College Station area, where Al was a dentist and Milly was a sixth grade math teacher for Bryan ISD. After she retired, Milly continued to follow the growth of her alma mater while playing a mean game of bridge with her friends.

Forrest Watson (’57, ’61 M.Ed., ’72 Ed.D.), Keller. While at North Texas, he was a Geezle and worked his way through college by delivering Dr Pepper. He worked as a principal and superintendent while earning his master’s and doctoral degrees. He began teaching at Ferris ISD, then taught at Kopperl, Italy, Hamilton, Ennis, Pasadena, Alamo Heights, HEB and Keller ISDs. He earned several distinctions — including becoming the youngest superintendent in Texas schools when he was 27 years old and creating innovative practices in strategic planning and technology — and earned the nickname “father of modern school finance.”  

William 'Bill' Foxworth King, M.D. (’51), Denton. A biology major and pre-med student at North Texas, he earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 1955 and served in the U.S. Army. He was a radiologist and ran a general family practice in Pueblo, Colorado, before working in Oklahoma and North Texas. While a student at North Texas, he was on the debate team, a member of Phi Alpha Tau fraternity, the Gammadions, Alpha Chi, Blue Key, Beta Beta Beta, the W.N. Masters Chemical Society and the Religious Council. He met his wife, Eugenia Ruth McKinney (’52) on campus, when she saw him in English class then took his physiology class to help him wash equipment and grade papers. Two of their three children attended the university, son William David King (’81) and daughter Ann Catherine King Durick (’85), who met her husband, Dennis Durick (’85) when she attended UNT. Their grandson is Will King (’14). Read about their love story.

Mary Adella Stanton (’79 M.L.S.), Katy. She spent most of her career working in libraries in Houston. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston University in 1977. She also received a Learning Resources Endorsement from North Texas.

John Murphy (’84, ’86 M.M.), 60, Professor Emeritus of jazz history and former chair of the Division of Jazz Studies, died March 8.

He taught at UNT from 2001 to 2020, serving as chair of jazz studies for 11 years. He designed the jazz major for the D.M.A. in performance and taught jazz history, research methods, styles and analysis, as well as serving on thesis committees in the ethnomusicology area. He was chair of the Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology from 2006 to 2008.

An ethnomusicologist, he was an expert on Brazilian music and the author of Music in Brazil (Oxford University Press). He published many articles on jazz improvisation and Brazilian traditional and popular music and was awarded Fulbright and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships for research in Brazil.

It was as he finished his degrees in jazz performance studies and music theory at UNT that he discovered his love for teaching, and he went on to earn a master’s and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Columbia University, with a focus on Cuban and Brazilian music.

He taught at Western Illinois University before joining the faculty at UNT, and was known for his unwavering support of students and colleagues.

In 2019, he co-founded UNT’s Neurodiversity Initiative, which includes training, research, an employee resource group, and other programs and resources to support neurodivergent faculty, staff and students.

As a student at UNT, he was a member of the One O’Clock Lab Band, and he continued to perform in the DFW area, playing jazz on tenor saxophone and Irish traditional music on button accordion.

Survivors include his wife, Genene, also retired from UNT, and children Jack (TAMS '06), Peter and Gillian ('15, '18 M.Ed.).

A memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. May 7 at the First United Methodist Church in Denton, with a reception following off-site.

Memorials may be made to the John Murphy Scholarship Endowment for Jazz Studies online (in the "Area of Support," select "The John Murphy Scholarship Endowment for Jazz Studies") or by check — list "John Murphy Endowment" in the memo line and mail to University of North Texas; University Advancement, Gift Administration; 1155 Union Circle #311250; Denton, TX 76203.