Don January (’53), 93, of Dallas, who played from 1950 to 1952 on the final three of UNT’s four consecutive NCAA Champion golf teams and then went on to a successful career in the PGA, died May 7.

Don was the last surviving member of the team that also included Billy Maxwell, Buster Reed and Joe Conrad -- considered one of the best collegiate golf lineups in history.

Don notched 10 PGA Tour victories, including the 1967 PGA Championship. He earned 23 victories on the Senior PGA Tour, including two PGA Seniors’ championships, and designed golf courses.

North Texas was part of his life ever since legendary golf coach Fred Cobb recruited him to the team. As part of his golf scholarship, he taught a beginning golf P.E. course where he met his wife, Patricia ‘Pat’ Rushing (’53), a student in his class. In addition to his star performance on the golf course, Don was president of Talons and a member of Kappa Alpha and the T Club.

He stayed true to his school. The annual Don January Golf Classic, which takes place in the spring, was established in 1980 in his honor to support Mean Green student-athletes. He was a member of the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame and received UNT’s Distinguished Alumnus and Outstanding Alumni Service awards. He also was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.

Don served in the U.S. Air Force before embarking on his PGA career.

Read more about Don January from the North Texan archives:

• 1980 profile

• 2011 Family Legacy article

Read Yucca articles about Don January and the golf team:

• https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61021/m1/229/

• https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61020/m1/217

• https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61022/m1/183/

Roy Lee Bass, Denison. He retired as a supervisor for Texas Instruments after working there for 39 years. He enjoyed the outdoors, especially fishing. He was active in his church and known for his friendliness toward strangers as well as family and friends. He attended North Texas from 1955 to 1958 and is survived by his wife Joy Mason Bass (’58).

Nancy McLeod Rogers ('68), Oxford, Mississippi. A respected staff member at the University of Mississippi from 1976 to 1999, she served as assistant director of international programs – and mentor and surrogate parent to thousands of international students. She built lasting relationships with the students and even fostered a son of a former student during the Yugoslav Wars. She was an elder for her church, an active member of the Rotary Club and an artist who frequently painted the landscapes of the Old River in Perdido Key, Florida.

Juanita “Lyane” Overall Willey (’54, ’62 M.A.), Mountain Home, Arkansas. She was a graduate of the campus Lab School before earning her degrees in art at North Texas. She also was a member of the Chilton Society. She enjoyed weaving and fiber work, which was frequently selected and exhibited in shows in Texas and around the country. Her passion for art led her to become a teacher in Texas for 32 years. She taught art at various levels, from elementary school students to university students as an instructor at UNT. Lyane also served as a member and officer for many different arts and education organizations. She met her husband, the late William Riley Willey III (’51, ’67 M.S.), while in college. He once served as assistant director of UNT Press, and they co-owned Penny Press Inc. in Denton, Fort Worth and Arlington.

Clarence 'Ras' Allen III (’67), Midlothian. He attended North Texas on a golf scholarship, serving as captain of the golf team from 1965 to 1967. Ras played in many amateur tournaments in Texas and was the lowest qualifying amateur golfer in the United States for the 1966 U.S. Open. He played on the PGA Tour from 1968 to 1974 – participating in four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and two Colonial National Invitations. He twice won the Northern Texas PGA tournament. He worked at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York and then served as head golf professional, director of golf and club manager at several prominent courses in the U.S. He was a big Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers fan, and he was always willing to help others.

Gary Paikowski (’73, ’74 M.L.S.), Dallas. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, until an injury ended his active duty. Gary worked for Grayson College for more than 40 years -- first as director of the library and later as dean and then vice president of information technology. He brought significant technological changes to Grayson College, from forming a regional library consortium to getting wireless internet on campus before other institutions and developing interactive learning systems.

Kenneth Wayne Murphy (’60), 84, of Dallas, died April 10. With his late wife Shirley (’71), he established the Murphy Enterprise Fund that created what is now the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and promotes education in entrepreneurial studies.

The center was established in 1999 as the Murphy Enterprise Center to foster relationships between businesses and UNT faculty and students. The Murphys also established the Kenneth W. and Shirley Murphy Scholarship in Entrepreneurship to support entrepreneurial-minded undergraduate students.

Ken was a life member of the UNT Alumni Association, as well as a McConnell Society member and recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Outstanding Alumni Service Award. He also served on the Murphy Enterprise Center Board, the Advisory Board, the Management Board of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business and on the Chief Executives Round Table.

A born entrepreneur, Ken owned and served as CEO of The Mail Box Inc. and Label Source Ltd., and co-owned Arken Tech. He also was an avid fan of horse racing, running horses under Ken Murphy Thoroughbreds Ltd., and enjoyed genealogy. He served as a tank commander in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1967.

Rick Herold ('84, '85 M.S.), 67, of Grand Prairie, who won the highest national recognition for his parks and recreation programs, died April 8.

He served as a parks and recreation director for 38 years, leading innovative projects for 16 years in Euless -- where he helped create a golf course, conference center and other facilities -- and for 16 ½ years in Grand Prairie. There he spearheaded The Epic, one of the nation’s biggest and most versatile recreation centers, and other facilities aimed at specific groups, such as a center for Baby Boomers and an inclusive playground. He retired in 2018 after a career in which he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Parks and Recreation Administration, won two National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medals, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Recreation and Parks Society.

He was a mentor to students and others in his field and had served as a guest speaker for many of UNT's recreation, event and sport management classes. A member of the board of directors for the North Texas Alumni Association for five years and a member of the President's Council, he received several awards for his service to UNT. He was named an Outstanding Alumnus by the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation, and he received the university’s Ulys Knight Spirit Award in 2002. He spoke at the 2006 and 2017 commencements. He also was a member of the Chilton Society and was a very devoted Mean Green basketball and football fan.

He was known for being a prankster and for years attended John Cougar Mellencamp concerts around the country. He was featured in the Summer 2016 issue of the North Texan.

Memorials may be made to the Rick Herold Parks and Recreation Endowed Scholarship, UNT Division of Advancement, 1115 Union Circle #311250, Denton, Texas 76203-5017. He also founded the Julia Wakeley Scholarship in the KHPR department.

Mildred Catherine “Katy” Dawson (’48, ’49 M.S.), 93, of Denton, who had served as an adjunct professor of Spanish and was a member of the President’s Council for her generous donations, died April 1.

She was a longtime member of the UNT Alumni Association and former president of the Women of UNT.

She met her husband, the late David Dawson ('47, '48 M.S.), during her first year as a student, and all six of their children earned degrees from UNT. In fact, she was part of five generations of her family with ties to campus, beginning with her grandfather W.N. Masters, founder of the chemistry department. Read more about the family in our 2017 article.

In addition to earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Katy took postgraduate classes at UNT, the University of Texas at Austin and Instituto de Filologia Española in Saltillo, Mexico.

Her husband served on the math faculty at North Texas for 27 years, and after all their children were in school, Katy taught Spanish as an adjunct. In 1986, she received the Honor Professor Award from the Meadows Foundation for helping to develop a Spanish program for the students in the Meadows Excellence in Teaching Program.

After David’s death in 2011, Katy established the David F. Dawson Endowment for Student Excellence in his memory, to provide scholarships to high-performing mathematics students.

She was passionate about philanthropy and volunteering. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church and its adult handbell ensemble, and she served as president of the Denton Benefit League and Ann’s Haven Hospice/VNA Auxiliary.

Simon Harrist (’22), Sunnyvale. He was a graduate student in the College of Education with the goal of becoming a college professor. Simon wrote songs and poetry, played chess and guitar, spoke fluent German and enjoyed visiting art museums.