In Memoriam: 1940s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Edward S. Orzac (Med ’41 L/M) of Hewlett Harbor, N.Y., died Dec. 9, 2012. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Bronze Star for his service. Dr. Orzac was a board-certified ear, nose and throat specialist who practiced medicine until he was 83 years old. He was a founder of the Franklin Medical Center in Valley Stream, N.Y., and donated the Orzac Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation to the center. In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Orzac taught medicine at the State University of New York and the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India, where he often lived for several months a year. He also taught Asian history at Hofstra University. In the 1970s, he volunteered with CARE Medico in Afghanistan. Dr. Orzac traveled the world with his wife, loved poetry and history and wrote two books about his journeys. Survivors include a daughter, Caroline O. Shoenberger (Grad ’73).

Maurice Fixel (Law ’42 L/M) of Weston, Fla., died Sept. 15, 2012. At the University, he was notes editor of the Virginia Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif and the Raven Society. Mr. Fixel served on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff from 1943 to 1946, prosecuting war crimes in Tokyo, and practiced law in New York from 1947 to 1960. He practiced law in Florida from 1960 to 1983, where he was a partner with the firm Meyer, Leben and Fixel and went on to serve as an associate municipal court judge for the city of Margate. He was a certified circuit court mediator and a founder and past president of the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association in Broward County, Fla.

Nathaniel W. Boyd III (Col ’43 L/M) of York, Pa., died Oct. 11, 2012. At the University, he was captain of the track and field team and formed the U.Va. chapter of Sigma Delta Psi, an athletic fraternity. He was the Middle Atlantic AAU champion in both the high hurdles and the long jump, and for four consecutive years placed in the National AAU Championships in the decathlon. Dr. Boyd was a practicing physician in York from 1948 to 1994. He enjoyed visiting doctors in various parts of the world, visiting China, Japan, Australia and Africa several times. Dr. Boyd owned a classic Chris Craft speedboat and enjoyed riding along the Susquehanna River with his friends and family. Survivors include a son, Nathaniel W. Boyd IV (Col ’73).

Leo Francis Waterman (Com ’43 L/M) of Roanoke, Va., died Jan. 19, 2013. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. At the University, Mr. Waterman was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and served as class treasurer from 1942 to 1943. He was one of the original partners in the C.A. Brown & Co. CPA firm and one of the senior partners of Brown Edwards CPA firm, from which he retired. Throughout his life, Mr. Waterman was active in numerous civic organizations, including the Kiwanis Club and the Elks. He was a supportive, wonderful husband, father and grandfather, able to fix all things physical, spiritual and emotional.

John Howard Coleman (Engr ’46 L/M) of Locust Valley, N.Y., died June 23, 2012. He served in the U.S. Navy. At the University, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Mr. Coleman was widely recognized for his work in plasma sciences. He was the founder and president of Solar Physics Corp., a research organization specializing in semiconductor fabrication; and Plasma Physics Corp., a research organization specializing in flat-panel displays. He also founded Radiation Research Corp., where he served as president and directed the research group responsible for the basic plasma deposition process now used worldwide by the electronics industry. Over the course of his lifetime, he was awarded more than 100 patents, some of them licensed by Intel, Toshiba, Canon, Samsung and Sony, among others. Survivors include a son, John W. Coleman (Col ’74).

Robert P. Stockwell (Col ’46, Grad ’52) of Los Angeles died Oct. 28, 2012. At the University, he wrote for Crust magazine and was a member of the marching band, the University Orchestra and Sigma Chi fraternity. He worked at the Foreign Service Institute developing materials for teaching Spanish before teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he became the first chair of the department of linguistics. He studied Chomskyan linguistics and the history of the English language, and wrote and edited many books and journals on the subject. Mr. Stockwell retired in 1994, but his love of teaching kept him in the classroom until 2004. He enjoyed a good tennis match and playing cello in classical music quartets.

William B. Hopkins Sr. (Law ’47) of Roanoke, Va., died Dec. 11, 2012. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and in the Korean War, and later wrote two books about his military experiences. He was an attorney at Martin, Hopkins and Lemon for most of his career and served in the Virginia Senate from 1960 to 1980. Mr. Hopkins was particularly proud of his work as chairman of the Commission on State Governmental Management (known as the Hopkins Commission), which reorganized and modernized Virginia state government in the 1970s. He helped strengthen arts and cultural programs in Roanoke and helped establish Center in the Square, which provides a free home for nonprofit arts and sciences organizations in Roanoke. Mr. Hopkins was an active member of the Democratic Party and enjoyed playing bridge at the Shenandoah Club.

Rosalie W. Miller (Nurs ’48) of Richmond, Va., died Nov. 11, 2012. She worked in the ear, nose and throat department at the University of Virginia Hospital before raising her family. Ms. Miller later renewed her nursing certificate and practiced private duty nursing until her retirement at age 70.

Frances Lee Harris Tavenner (Nurs ’48, ’49) of Richmond, Va., died Dec. 7, 2012. During her nursing career, she worked at the University of Virginia Hospital and at several Richmond-area institutions, including the Medical College of Virginia. Her husband, Robert T. Tavenner (Col ’50), died Dec. 8, 2012. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Purple Heart. At the University, he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He retired as senior vice president of Life of Virginia. The Tavenners were married at the University Chapel in 1950 and spent many Saturday afternoons at Scott Stadium and Alumni Hall. Survivors include a son, R. Gaines Tavenner (Col ’73).

Robert Kean Turner Jr. (Grad ’49, ’58) of Isle of Palms, S.C., died Oct. 16, 2012. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later in the Naval Reserve. At the University, Mr. Turner was a member of the Bibliographical Society. He taught English at Virginia Military Institute before joining the English department at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 1965, where he served as department chair from 1967 to 1970 and as general editor of the Modern Language Association’s New Variorum Shakespeare project. Mr. Turner edited a number of volumes of Shakespeare’s plays and was a driving force in the creation of the Shakespeare Research Collection at UMW’s Golda Meier Library. He was a Guggenheim Fellow and a grantee of the National Endowment for the Humanities, retiring from UMW as professor emeritus in 2001. Mr. Turner was also an accomplished sailor, racing Flying Scots at the Milwaukee Yacht Club for many years.