Naomi Snyder (’65), Fort Worth. She married her husband, James Snyder (‘55, ’57 M.S.), in 1954 before graduating from North Texas with a degree in education. She taught at Worth Heights Elementary in Fort Worth and incorporated computers into her lessons early on. Naomi earned her master’s in education from Texas Wesleyan and taught in Bandera and Ingram before retiring in Colorado. An avid quilter, she was a charter member, treasurer and president of the Silver Threads Quilt Guild.

Roy Grisham (’81), 65, of Rhome, executive director of estate and planned giving at UNT, died April 16. He had worked in UNT Advancement since 2003.

A UNT business alum with a CPCU (chartered property casualty underwriter) designation, Roy had a successful career in insurance, risk management, finance and international business. In addition to his UNT work with estate gifts and planned gifts, he taught courses on estate planning and charitable giving at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNT. He’s remembered as an exceptional leader with a passion for his work and the university.

Survivors include his wife, Lisa Grisham.

A graveside service is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. May 11 at Thurmond-Fairview Cemetery, next to the Fairview Baptist Church, 969 Illinois St., Rhome.

Terry Barnett Davies ('74 M.S.), Ocala, Florida. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he served in the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1966. He spent 44 years in management positions at a pair of Fortune 500 companies. He was active in his local Masonic Lodge, church and community organizations and also was an avid sailor, reader and traveler. When visiting the Dallas area, he often stopped by the UNT campus to purchase T-shirts and was delighted whenever Mean Green football games were on television.

Dr. Andrew T. Armstrong II (’58, ’59 M.S.), Arlington, received his bachelor’s and master’s in chemistry from North Texas, where he met his wife, Kay Masters (’61). He later earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Louisiana State University, where he also taught before studying at University of California, Los Angeles. He went on to teach at University of Texas at Arlington. In the mid-1970s, the couple analyzed fire debris samples for the Arlington Fire Department Arson Investigative Unit and later established a business called Armstrong Forensic Laboratory, which completed more than 20,000 cases. He wrote one of the first papers on the recovery of ignitable liquids from fire debris and is one of two individuals ever to receive the Arlington Fire Department’s White Helmet award, its highest civilian honor. He was named UNT’s 1992 Outstanding Alumni of the Year for Excellence in Chemistry. Andrew had three rules for life: Tell the truth; facts are facts; and “I don’t know” is a good answer.

Frederic 'Fred' Coffey, Jr., Denton, was a member of the President’s Council and an establishing donor of The Fred Coffey Scholarship and The Mark Graham Endowed Scholarship for Piano and Organ Students at UNT. He attended North Texas from 1948 to 1950, studying in the College of Arts and Sciences and serving as class president both years. He went on to complete his bachelor’s in economics at The University of Texas – Austin and earned a master’s in economics at Louisiana State University. After serving in the U.S. Marines, he had a distinguished career as a U.S. Foreign Service diplomat, directed the Voice of America broadcasting service’s Indonesia division and taught courses at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Through the Organization of American States and Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, he served as an election monitor in a dozen nations before moving back to Denton in 2014. He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Frederic Coffey (‘25).

Adolph L. Labbé Sr. (’67, ’68 M.M.), Big Spring, was a music educator for more than 40 years and served as band director for schools in Canton and Athens before retiring from Howard County Junior College in Big Spring, where he directed the Nighthawk Jazz Band. While at UNT, where he met his wife, Carmen Delgado (’68), he earned a bachelor’s in music education and a master’s in music composition, was a member of the concert and marching bands, and composed and directed many campus theater productions. A scholarship for UNT College of Music oboe and saxophone students is being established.

Helen Leath (’56, ’58 M.A., ’79 Ph.D.), 92, Denton, who taught English at UNT for more than 40 years, died March 2. She earned three degrees in English from North Texas and joined the faculty after earning her master’s degree in 1958. In 1986, she was awarded a Fulbright and spent two years teaching English in Romania.

As a faculty member, she served as a sponsor of the Sigma Tau Delta English honor society and the Junior Mary Arden honorary literary society for freshman women, both organizations she had been a member of as a student. She also was the editor of Southwest American Literature and known for writing fiction.

Following her retirement in 2000, she created wearable quilted art and was a Bernina designer whose work was shown at various conferences and galleries. She enjoyed knitting, drawing, singing and learning languages including Greek, Hebrew, Spanish and Korean. She was finishing her last novel, which her children hope to publish.

A celebration of life is scheduled at 2 p.m. March 22 at the Denton Good Samaritan Village chapel, 2500 Hinkle Drive.

Dan Haerle (’66 M.M.), 86, Denton, a Professor Emeritus who taught for 35 years in the College of Music’s jazz studies division and brought great innovations to the jazz program, died March 2.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1961. He had been teaching instrumental music at the elementary and secondary levels when he came to North Texas as a graduate student in 1963 — attracted by the jazz program he had heard about by word of mouth. While earning his master’s in music composition, he became a teaching assistant for jazz studies director Leon Breeden, directing a lab band and teaching arranging and improvisation.

After graduating, he taught, wrote music and performed in Kansas, California, Florida, New York and Arizona before returning to join the North Texas jazz faculty in 1977. He taught jazz piano, fundamentals and advanced improvisation and went on to supervise the jazz chamber music program and direct the Jazz Strings. Pioneering the concept of electronic keyboard ensembles at universities, he also formed and directed The Zebras. Among other innovations, he developed weekly meetings called jazz forums for the small jazz groups, created several jazz fundamentals courses, wrote textbooks that became widely used in other universities, established a Jazz MIDI Performance Lab and created the first online course in the college.

He received the ’Fessor Graham award, the highest award given by the student body, in 1990, and was named a Regents Professor in 1992. He retired from full-time teaching in 2002 and served as an adjunct for another 10 years. He was inducted into the International Association of Jazz Education Hall of Fame and received the Jazz Education Network’s LeJENd of Jazz Education award and the Dallas Jazz Appreciation Month Jazz Educator of the Year award.

Also a performer, he toured with the Stan Kenton Band and the Clark Terry Quintet and played with Mel Torme, Al Jarreau and Pat Metheny, among others. He was active as a jazz clinician and guest artist nationally and internationally. In 2015, he received the Sammons Jazz Artist of the Year award.

David W. Hayes (’61, ’63 M.S.), Aiken, South Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s in chemistry at UNT and a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from Texas A&M, where he began research in measurement, modeling and transport of obscure radionuclide signatures in the environment. He patented an ocean tidal sampling device and co-patented a device that built on GPS technology. A senior fellow scientist at the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina, he was appointed to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and served as a national technical expert and nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq from 1990 through 2002. He was a technical lead in performing nuclear inspections and a chief nuclear inspector with the organization Savannah River Site. An emeritus member of the American Chemical Society and a member of the American Geophysical Union, he served the American Nuclear Society as chairman of the Environmental Sciences division.

Scott Gibson (’96), Ponder. Since 2009, he served as principal of Argyle Middle School. The son of educators who inspired his career in public education, he is remembered as a dedicated and engaging leader who inspired his staff and created a positive learning environment for students.