Bryan Roy Galloway, 82, of Denton, who worked with UNT System IT Shared Services in the telecommunications department from 1996 to 2013, died May 1. He served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s. Before joining UNT, he worked as a central office equipment installer for Verizon (formerly GTE) for 30 years and traveled to Mexico City for a two-year project to convert the city’s telecommunications equipment from analog to digital. He was active in his church.

Roxana Bejarano Hughes (’97 M.S.), 57, an instructional lab supervisor in UNT's biology department, died April 25 in Denton. A native of Bolivia, she earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil. She then trained as a medical microbiologist in Argentina and worked in Bolivia. She earned her master’s under the late G. Roland Vela at UNT, where she researched the distribution of the bacterium Vela discovered. She remembered fondly how he and other professors came to her house so she could defend her thesis while pregnant and on bed rest. She was certified as a medical laboratory scientist in microbiology at Tarleton State University and maintained her certification over the years. She also worked for the Centers for Disease Control. She had worked in UNT’s biology department since 2002, where she loved working with her students and teaching assistants. She co-wrote the book Microorganisms: A Laboratory Manual with her husband, Lee Hughes (’87, ’93 M.S., ’98 Ph.D.), associate professor of biological sciences, and attended or presented at the American Society for Microbiology conference each year. She loved good food, good company and traveling. Her greatest joys were her two sons, Drake (’20) and Diego, a student at UNT.

Burlyce Logan (’11), Denton. She was one of the first Black students who attended North Texas when it desegregated in 1956, and then dropped out – but returned and earned her bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences at age 73. When she first attended North Texas, Logan enjoyed her music classes but left after two years because of the harsh prejudice from other students. She moved to California and Oregon, where she worked as a banker and secretary, before returning to Denton in 1996. She worked in various places, including as an administrative assistant in the internal audit department at UNT from 2001 to 2002. Read more about her life in these 2011 articles from The New York Times and the North Texan. A funeral service will take place at Peoples Funeral Home at 2:30 p.m. April 30 in Denton.

Nelson Haggerty, 47, the director of basketball strategy and operations who helped steer the Mean Green men’s basketball team to two Conference USA championships and its first victory in the NCAA Tournament, died April 16.

“Our hearts hurt for Nelson's family, our men's basketball family, the UNT community and everyone Nelson positively impacted during his life and career,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. “Nelson had many special gifts and talents. He was full of positive energy and encouragement, and he will be missed dearly.”

Nelson joined the Mean Green in 2019 after serving as head coach for Midwestern State for eight seasons, becoming the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year twice after leading the team to five NCAA Tournaments and a No. 1 national ranking.

He previously served as associate head coach at MSU and coached at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas; North Shore Senior High School in Houston; Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas; and the University of Central Missouri.

He graduated from Baylor University, where he was an all-conference point guard and had a program-record 699 career assists.

UNT Athletics is organizing support for his wife and children. A public memorial service is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 24, at First Denton, 1100 Malone St.

Lillian Linebarger (’57), 84, of Denton, who worked at UNT from 1972 to 2000, died Feb. 21. She had served on the occupational and vocational education faculty and as a program administrator and project director for grant writing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics from North Texas, then received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas Woman’s University. She taught in Georgia, Fort Worth and other Texas cities, and her skills as a grant writer helped earn millions of dollars for UNT and other universities. She also was involved with Women in New Roles, an academic excellence literacy program for families learning English, and assisted many female doctoral students in developing academic skills for the American higher education system. Survivors include her husband, Professor Emeritus of English James Linebarger.

Dorothy Deane Sills (‘45), 95, who worked in the UNT libraries for many years, died Feb. 5 in Denton. As a UNT undergraduate, she earned her degree in home economics and taught high school in Hearne before returning to Denton. She also earned a master's degree from Texas Woman's University. She worked as a library assistant at UNT in the 1970s in what was then the Library Science Library. That library was transferred into the main collection at Willis, where Dorothy worked until her retirement in 2003. She's remembered as a quiet person who was known to put her home economics skills to good use for a co-worker — baking birthday cakes.

Lt. Col. Gus Myers, 83, who served as the director of risk management services until his retirement in 2005, died Jan. 25 in Denton. He served in the U.S. Navy, graduated with his bachelor’s degree in physics from Eastern Illinois University and then served in the Vietnam War as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. In 1966, Gus attended the University of Arizona for his master’s in nuclear engineering and then taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy. After retiring from the Air Force in 1982, he came to UNT in the 1980s.

Constance “Connie” Williams, 57, accounting specialist in the financial aid department, died Jan. 21 in Denton. She had worked at UNT since 2005. After raising her three children, she continued her education and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Texas Woman’s University in 2003. She enjoyed making and giving quilts as gifts — to people she loved and to people she didn't know who were in need — and was devoted to her grandson. She and her husband, Alan, would have celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary this year. Visitation is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, and the funeral is at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 29, at Bill DeBerry Funeral Directors at 2025 W. University Dr. in Denton. In honoring her wishes, the family will be wearing bright and vibrant colors and would love for attendees to do the same. Due to COVID protocols, please wear a mask at the services and practice social distancing.

Maydell Lillard, 76, of Denton, who worked in UNT’s financial aid department for nearly 20 years, died Dec. 11 in Aubrey. As a pastor’s wife, she had lived in many different cities throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. She was a homemaker and an independent consultant for Home Interior and Gifts, then took night classes to pursue a career. After working as a medical secretary for the Denton State School, she worked at UNT from the 1990s until 2009. She loved being a grandmother and talking about her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Michael Abernethy, 63, of Little Elm, who had served as senior director of procurement services for the UNT System since 2016, died Dec. 9 in Grandview. He worked for universities as a director of purchasing and procurement for 27 years and served in the U.S. Air Force, including a stint during Desert Storm, for 12 years. He enjoyed biking, hiking and jogging and served as a church elder and teacher for many years.