In Memoriam: 1940s
Notices sorted by graduation date
Joseph S. Cragwall Jr. (Engr ’40 L/M) of Charlottesville died June 24, 2008. He served with the U.S. Geological Survey as a hydraulic engineer at the agency’s Charlottesville district office and later in Marion, Va.; Baton Rouge, La.; Washington, D.C.; and Reston, Va. He headed the agency’s Water Resources Division as chief hydrologist before retiring in 1980 as associate director. After retiring, he served as consultant and adviser to the agency and to other organizations in the field of water resources management, including a four-year term as a member of Virginia’s State Water Control Board. He was active in a number of professional and scientific organizations. Mr. Cragwall attended the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville and was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Julian Hinds Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Engineer of the Year Award from the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers.
Thomas B. Noland (Com ’40 A/M) of Martinsville, Va., died Dec. 4, 2008. Mr. Noland served with the U.S. Army’s Amphibian Engineers, participating in D-Day assault landings. He also spent time in Costa Rica with the U.S. engineers who were planning for construction of the Inter-American Highway, a Defense Department project. His personal papers concerning his Costa Rican and World War II experiences were accepted for permanent housing in the Library of the University of Virginia. During his 35-year career in municipal government administration, he served as town or city manager in Altavista, Franklin, Pulaski and Martinsville, where he was city manager for 14 years; served on the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce; and co-founded the Martinsville-Henry County Family YMCA. Mr. Noland served on boards and commissions on water resources, education and criminal justice training standards. He also served as president of the Virginia Local Government Management Association.
Roland L. Banks Jr. (Col ’41, Law ’48) of Roxbury Mills, Md., died Nov. 16, 2008. He served as a second lieutenant and base quartermaster in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Mr. Banks worked as a trial attorney with the Federal Trade Commission and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War to serve in the Office of the Air Force Inspector General at the Pentagon. He continued to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force until 1968, when he became a civilian attorney with COMSAT. In his later years, he continued to sit in on courses at U.Va.
Clarence T. Callahan (Com ’41 L/M) of Haines City, Fla., died July 10, 2008. As a member of U.Va.’s boxing team, Mr. Callahan was undefeated as a freshman, was an intercollegiate finalist in 1941 and represented the University at the national event held at Penn State. He was a member of the V Club, the Raven Society and Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. He worked for more than 30 years for the International Harvester Company, retiring from its Chicago headquarters as a group manufacturing operations comptroller for the North American plants. He created a scholarship for students from Dan River High School in Danville, Va., to attend the McIntire School of Commerce. He also made substantial contributions to the McIntire Building Fund.
Warner O. Chapman (Col ’41, Grad ’50 L/M) of Virginia Beach died June 11, 2008. A retired colonel of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and a decorated World War II fighter pilot, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Mr. Chapman was professor emeritus at Indiana University, having spent 39 years on the faculty there, advancing to full professor in the Department of Political Science, where he taught constitutional law. He also founded the university’s Honors Division, now the Hutton Honors College, and directed it for 20 years as associate dean for undergraduate development. In 1991, he received a Sagamore of the Wabash award from Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh and, in 1999, was honored by the endowed Warner O. Chapman Professorship in the Indiana University Department of Political Science. An avid competitive racing sailor, at the age of 61 he and his son won the 1980 Mobjack National Championship. Survivors include a son, Warner Davies Chapman (Col ’75, Law ’79).
Roy N. Bowman (Col ’42) of Charlestown, R.I., died June 28, 2008. He was a member of the gymnastics organization at U.Va. and later worked as a chemist and engineer for the Merck pharmaceutical company for many years.
H. Norman Grieb II (Col ’42) of Chestertown, Md., died June 11, 2008. He served in the U.S. armed forces.
Morton B. Spero (Col ’42, Law ’46) of Petersburg, Va., died July 19, 2008. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mr. Spero was counsel to the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board and was in private practice in Petersburg, retiring in 2001 after 55 years of service. He was a member of numerous bar associations and was a fellow of the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers. Mr. Spero was a past president of various organizations and served on many boards, receiving numerous awards. Mr. Spero is survived by a son, Donald S. Spero (Com ’68).
Martha O. Doner (Nurs ’43 A/M) of Charlottesville died June 4, 2008. She retired from nursing at the University of Virginia Medical Center as a manager in the surgery clinic in 1979 and remained in Charlottesville until she moved to Roswell, Ga., in 2000 to be closer to her family.
Robert B. Gahagan (Col ’44, Med ’46) of Morganton, N.C., died July 3, 2008.
A. Dudley Johnson (Col ’44) of Palm Springs, Calif., died Sept. 23, 2008. A World War II veteran, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a first lieutenant. He finished his long business career as international marketing director for Pitney Bowes in Stamford, Conn. His position with Pitney Bowes required Mr. Johnson and his family to move to London and allowed them to travel extensively.
James G. Snead (Med ’44 L/M) of Roanoke, Va., died Nov. 29, 2008. Dr. Snead served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps during World War II and in the Department of Radiology at Bethesda Naval Hospital during the Korean War. In 1953, he joined Radiology Associates. He was chairman of the Department of Radiology at Community Hospital in Roanoke, was active on the medical staff at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, served as president of the medical staff at Community Hospital and was chairman of the board of trustees of Ferrum College. He received many honors and the James G. Snead Community Health Award was established in his name by the Roanoke City Health Department for his commitment to volunteering. His professional affiliations included the Roanoke Academy of Medicine; he was also a fellow of the American College of Radiology and a counselor in the Radiological Society of North America.
Jack H. Arnold (Col ’45) of Hampton, Va., died May 9, 2008. Retiring with 40 years of service with the Virginia Conference of United Methodist Churches, Rev. Arnold was a member of Central United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Men; he also sang in the church choir.
Robert L. Germain (Col ’45) of Naples, Fla., died June 27, 2008. A World War II veteran, Mr. Germain served with the U.S. Navy and received the American Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal and the U.S. Navy Unit Commendation Award. After graduation, he joined his father at Bexley Lincoln-Mercury in Columbus, Ohio, where he had a 58-year career as an automobile dealer. He founded what would later become the Germain Motor Company. In 1979, he moved to Naples, where he worked at Germain Lincoln-Mercury.
Edmund Cape Payne (Med ’46) of Orinda, Calif., died June 14, 2008. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Dr. Payne was a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. At Beth Israel Hospital, he was assistant clinical professor of psychiatry from 1958 to 1995. His writings contributed to the understanding of abortion, homosexuality, bipolar illness and end-of-life issues. Dr. Payne was a fellow of the American College of Psychiatry and was active in peer review for professional journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry. He also served numerous societies and committees, including the Boston Society for Gerontological Psychiatry and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society.
Ruth Bardin (Nurs ’47) of Jones, Okla., died June 13, 2008. She served in the U.S. Army Cadet Nurse Corps, where she attained the rank of second lieutenant.
Richard F. Barney (Col ’47 A/M) of Richmond, Va., died Feb. 9, 2008.
Henry H. Galusha Jr. (Com ’47) of Richmond, Va., died May 13, 2008. He served in the U.S. Army. His division was part of General Patton’s 3rd Army that engaged the German Army in France and Belgium, including the Battle of the Bulge. For his service, he received three Battle Stars, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star. After working for three years with the Virginia Department of Highways, as it was known at the time, he worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Georgia-Pacific Corporation in Arkansas, Louisiana and Virginia from 1953 until he retired in 1981.
John E. Jenkins Jr. (Col ’47, Law ’50) of Huntington, W.Va., died July 4, 2008. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and Theta Chi fraternity. A World War II veteran, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. An attorney for more than five decades, he joined his father in the practice of law in 1950 and helped grow the firm of Jenkins Fenstermaker. For 15 years, he shared his legal experience with the students at the West Virginia College of Law. He received the Justitia Officium Award, recognizing his contribution and service to the legal profession. He was also involved in membership and charitable organizations.
Joseph H. Vaamonde (Col ’47 L/M) of Seattle died Oct. 30, 2008. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was an advertising executive for Young & Rubicam, where he opened the Puerto Rico office in 1956 and became vice president and general manager of the Mexico City branch. He later became vice president of marketing for General Cigar Company. In 1979, Mr. Vaamonde co-founded the Hispanic advertising agency Font & Vaamonde Associates. Survivors include a son, Jose Vaamonde (Col ’82 L/M).
Gilbert J. “Gilly” Sullivan (Com ’48 L/M) of Charlottesville died Jan. 5, 2009. He served nearly 40 years in the military, including in the U.S. Navy Reserve, the U.S. Marine Reserve and the Virginia Army National Guard. Mr. Sullivan rose to the rank of major general and received numerous citations and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Legion of Honor twice. Mr. Sullivan served the University of Virginia for more than 50 years, devoting 45 years to the Alumni Association, including 35 years as its director before retiring in 1993. In 1992, he received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for excellence of character and service to the University community. Survivors include two sons and two daughters, including Michael L. Sullivan (Col ’79 L/M), V.G. Sullivan (Com ’79 L/M) and Sarah S. Schimmels (Col ’81 L/M); and nine grandchildren, including Lucy G. Sullivan (Col ’11 L/M), Charlotte M. Sullivan (Col ’12 L/M) and Kristi A. Finley (Col ’09). Memorial contributions can be made to the Gilbert J. and Ann Vernon Sullivan Alumni Association Endowment, the Gilbert J. and Ann Vernon Sullivan Jefferson Scholars Scholarship, the Gilbert J. and Ann Vernon Sullivan Parents Program Scholarship or the Gilbert J. Sullivan Z Society Student Internship, all addressed to P.O. Box 400314, Charlottesville, VA 22904. See more about Mr. Sullivan on page 10.
Cornelia S. Terry (Grad ’48) of Virginia Beach died Dec. 9, 2008. A professional educator, she taught in the Virginia Beach public school system for 30 years, finishing her career teaching second grade at Linkhorn Park Elementary School.
William C. Herold (Com ’49) of Tucson, Ariz., died June 29, 2008. A decorated World War II combat veteran, Mr. Herold served in the U.S. Army. He was a government employee and a retired night auditor.
William R. Keyser Jr. (Engr ’49) of Deltaville, Va., died Dec. 6, 2008. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II as a navigator. As an engineer with Sperry Corporation, Mr. Keyser worked on the Apollo 13 moon mission. He was the co-founder of Associated Steel Products of Charlottesville.
Ernest H. O’Bannon (Col ’49 A/M) of Miami died May 21, 2008. He served in the U.S. Army as a bandsman bassoonist in World War II, traveling with the U.S. Army Band and the USO. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, the Raven Society and the Glee Club. He had a banking career in New York and Havana, Cuba. In Cuba, he enjoyed performing in musicals with the Little Theater of Havana. He left Cuba in 1959 and returned to New York City, then went to Miami. He retired from SunTrust in 1987 as a senior vice president with the holding company and launched a new career with the Community Bank of Florida in Homestead as a consultant, where he worked until a month before his death.
Maggie J. Pennington (Grad ’49, ’53) of Charleston, S.C., died June 27, 2008. She was a Jefferson Fellow at U.Va. and later taught biology at Hollins College; was a professor and chairman of the biology department at Converse College in Spartanburg; and, for 35 years until her retirement in 1997, taught biology and botany at the College of Charleston, where she was also the first female professor and the college’s first and only dean of women from 1967 to 1972. Ms. Pennington oversaw the design and construction of the college’s greenhouse and was the president of the South Carolina Academy of Sciences. In 1985, Ms. Pennington received the College of Charleston’s Distinguished Service Award for her service to the administration of the college, the Founder’s Medal and, when she retired, an honorary degree.
John F. Rixey (Col ’49, Law ’51 L/M) of Virginia Beach died May 31, 2008. He was a member of the Seven Society. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, then practiced law in Norfolk and Virginia Beach for more than 50 years. Mr. Rixey was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served from 1954 to 1959. He was president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and a former vice president of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of and held positions on many boards. A seven-time Norfolk city tennis champion and former Virginia tennis doubles champion, Mr. Rixey was also instrumental in the organization of the Norfolk Neptunes professional football team and Virginia Squires professional basketball team of the former ABA. Survivors include son J. Barbour Rixey (Col ’72 L/M) and grandchildren Catherine Gamper (Col ’12), Richard Gamper (Col ’10) and Charles Gamper (Col ’10), a Jefferson and Echols Scholar. He was preceded in death by son Thomas C. Rixey (Col ’84 L/M).
Allan L. Segal (Col ’49 L/M) of Virginia Beach died July 4, 2008. Mr. Segal retired as a lieutenant from the U.S. Navy after three tours of duty, including during World War II and the Korean War.