Bob Burton Winborn, 83, former professor of counseling and education, died June 10. He taught at North Texas from 1960 to 1965, also serving in the guidance office, and went on to teach at Indiana University and Michigan State University. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State University and a doctorate from Indiana University. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship during the 1974-75 academic year to teach and consult at universities in Japan and the Netherlands. He also maintained a private practice as a psychologist in East Lansing, Mich., until 1992. After retiring, he moved to Sun City West, Ariz.

Warren Watson, 67, Regents Professor of management, died July 6 in Denton. He joined UNT in 1983. He was recognized nationally and internationally for his research in international business, entrepreneurship and organizational culture. He taught classes on organizational behavior and organizational design and change. He also was director of the UNT Group for Organizational Effectiveness, a business consulting service. In 2003, he developed a small business support center with the Universidad de Colima in Mexico, providing education and consulting for international small businesses. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, two master’s degrees from East Texas State University and his doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.

Robert Sherman LaForte, 80, Professor Emeritus of history, died July 11 in Galveston. LaForte joined the history faculty in 1968 and served as chair of the department, retiring in 1998. He established the UNT archives in 1975. LaForte co-wrote several books about World War II — Remembering Pearl Harbor: Eyewitness Accounts by U.S. Military Men and Women, Building the Death Railway: The Ordeal of American POWs in Burma, 1942-45 and With Only the Will to Live: Accounts of Americans in Japanese Prison Camps, 1941-45 — as well as an authorized history of UNT’s first 100 years, Down the Corridor of Years: A Centennial History of the University of North Texas in Photographs, 1890-1990. In 2002, he donated his collection of hundreds of books by and about World War II prisoners of war to UNT’s archives. In 1994, he received the ’Fessor Graham Award, which students give to outstanding faculty members. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Pittsburg State University and a doctorate from the University of Kansas and later added a master’s degree in library science from the University of Texas. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1956.

Hugh Ayer, 90, Professor Emeritus of history and former associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, died July 14 in Denton. Ayer taught American history at North Texas from 1958 to 1986. His duties included serving as chair of the division of social science and, in 2004, he received the Honorary Alumni Award, given to individuals who were never students at UNT but showed outstanding devotion to the university. A scholarship was set up in his name that supports entering freshmen. Ayer was active in many organizations outside UNT, serving on the Denton City Council and Planning and Zoning Board. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University and his master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University. He taught at Culver Military Academy before coming to North Texas. As a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1945, he served as a radio operator in the Pacific Theater, intercepting Japanese naval communications. He also served in the reserve from 1950 to 1959.

Tommy R. Koonce (’59, ’62 M.Ed.), 77, former assistant professor of industrial technology, later renamed engineering technology, died April 1 in Denton. He taught at UNT for 27 years, beginning in 1968 and retiring in 1995. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial arts and education at North Texas and taught in Dallas public schools before earning his doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He was a past president of the North Texas Industrial Arts Association and coordinated regional student competitions on campus. He helped construct the ceremonial mace for the 1971 inauguration of President C.C. Nolen, and he was named Texas Industrial Arts Association Distinguished Teacher of the Year in 1980.

After retiring, he enjoyed raising cattle on the family ranch, and fishing was a life-long love. He was a charter member of the Denton Area Woodcraftsmen and Artisans Guild, was a member of The Gideons, worked on and co-led Habitat for Humanity projects and was a member of the Associated General Contractors of America.

Daniel William Scott III, 82, former professor and first chair of the Department of Computer Science, died May 17, 2013, in Wayne, Okla. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory before earning his Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During the 1960s, he worked for General Electric in the U.S. and France and later for University Computing Co. in Dallas. In 1971, he was hired to establish UNT’s new Department of Computer Science. He served as chair for eight years and taught for 10, defining the policies for computer science education and the department’s courses and scope. He also developed microprocessor-based equipment for the chemistry and music departments and was an outside consultant in software development.

He went on to teach at Portland State University and worked for Teneron in Ponca City, Okla., before retiring in 2005. Throughout his life, he had a passion for science.

Daniel M. Stewart, 37, assistant professor of criminal justice who joined UNT in 2007, died April 12 in Denton. He served in the U.S. Air Force Security Forces from 1994 to 1998, performing policing duties and working in detention facilities. His research interests included police education, homeland security for policing and police behavior, and he was accepted as a 2013-14 academic fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, which featured a summer course on terrorism studies at Tel Aviv University.

His funded research included an examination of Texas police chiefs’ perceptions of agency collaboration and the role of local law enforcement in homeland security, and he taught classes on crime and justice in the United States, police systems and research methods. He also had served as the faculty advisor for Lambda Alpha Epsilon, the criminal justice preprofessional society. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College, a master’s from Eastern Kentucky University and a doctorate from Sam Houston State University.

Mary Elizabeth Evans (’39, ’50 M.S., ’54 Ed.D.), 94, Professor Emeritus of human resource management, died Jan. 17 in Denton. She was the first woman to earn a doctoral degree from UNT and later served as dean of the School of Home Economics, retiring after 30 years of service in education.

She earned her graduate degrees while working full-time as a teacher at Wylie High School. She also had five sisters who were alumni — their combined North Texas degree total reached 12 when she earned her doctorate in secondary education.

She joined the home economics faculty in 1958 and was named dean in 1969. Home economics later became human resource management, the precursor to today's College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism. She was a nutrition expert who had articles published in the Journal of Home Economics and U.S. News & World Report. In the early 1960s, she served as chair of the State Board of Examiners for Teacher Education.

She was known for the desserts she baked for faculty, staff and other friends. She once made an 85-pound cake in the shape of the Capitol Building for a U.S. congressman’s visit to campus.

Donald H. Kobe, 79, Professor Emeritus of physics, died Dec. 3 in Denton. He joined the physics faculty in 1968 and had been on modified service after retiring in 2008. He made significant contributions to quantum theory and to other areas of theoretical physics. He published papers concerned with quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, classical mechanics and electromagnetism. He had served as a research associate and visiting professor in Sweden and Denmark as well as at Ohio State University in Columbus and Northeastern University in Boston. He also lectured in China and Kenya and earned Fulbright fellowships to Taiwan and Brazil. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota.

Gerard A. O’Donovan, 76, professor of biological sciences, died Feb. 19. He had taught at UNT since 1984, serving as chair of the biology department from 1984 to 1999. He supported many students as a member of the Pre-Professional Advisory Committee and served as a mentor to more than 200 master’s and doctoral students during his career. He taught courses in microbiology and medical bacteriology and received numerous teaching awards.

A native of Ireland, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at University College Cork and his doctorate at the University of California, Davis. He began his lifelong study of pyrimidine metabolism in bacteria as a postdoctoral researcher at UC-Berkeley. His research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Welch Foundation and NATO, among other organizations. Prior to joining UNT, he served on the faculty at Texas A&M University. A celebration of his life was held at UNT’s Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building.