In Memoriam: 1940s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Lawrence T. Gordon Sr. (Col ’40) of Port Charlotte,  Fla., died June 11, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Col. Gordon was retired from the U.S. Air Force.

Aubrey L. Shelton (Med ’41 A/M) of Norfolk, Va., died Aug. 11, 2009. He served in the U.S. National Guard and the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Dr. Shelton had a family practice in Norfolk from 1946 until 1988. He served as president of the Tidewater Academy of Family Practice, the vice president of the Virginia Academy of Family Practice and president of the medical staff of DePaul Hospital. Dr. Shelton also served for many years as a member of the advisory board for the University of Virginia Medical School and as associate professor of family practice for the Medical College of Hampton Roads, which became Eastern Virginia Medical School. During his career he delivered more than 1,500 babies.

Albert L. Allen Jr. (Com ’42 L/M) of Enola, Pa., died July 20, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Mr. Allen was president and CEO of Albert L. Allen Co. and Allen Registry Bureau as well as founder and president of American Sentinel Insurance Co. He was past president of Keystone Council, Boy Scouts of America and was on the board of Harrisburg Hospital, currently Pinnacle Health. Mr. Allen went on wildlife expeditions in Africa, the Amazon River, India and Asia.

Virginia Doris Costello (Nurs ’42 A/M) of Cypress,  Calif., died May 7, 2009.

Mano R. Golden (Col ’42) of Fort Washington, Pa.,  died July 21, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity. Dr. Golden was a physician.

John Chilton Mott (Col ’42 A/M) of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., died July 7, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The Rev. Mott was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1943.  His first parish was in Chatham, Va.; he also served as rector of parishes in Henderson, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Chapel Hill, N.C.;  and Wilmington, N.C.

Richard N. Westbrook (Com ’42 A/M) of Cincinnati died Aug. 7, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and received the Air Medal and 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. Mr. Westbrook worked as a securities analyst and mutual fund portfolio manager at the National Securities and Research Corp.  in New York City.

Virginia Eloise Gouldin Goodyear (Nurs ’43) of Richmond, Va., died July 12, 2009. She worked as a nurse at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VA Medical Center for more than 20 years.

Lester Nelson May Sr. (Arch ’43 L/M) of Gainesville,  Fla., died on Aug. 1, 2009. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Mr. May served in the Korean War as a construction engineer and continued in the reserves for more than 20 years. In 1949, he joined Campbell and O’Kelly, an architecture and engineering firm. Mr. May associated with Goin and Moore Architects, later Moore and May Architects. Mr. May served on the Gainesville adjustment board in the 1950s and its beautification board in the 1960s.

  George A. Stewart Jr. (Col ’43 L/M) of Baltimore died Aug. 16, 2009. At the University, he was a member of the Seven Society, IMP,  T.I.L.K.A. and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He also lettered in tennis and basketball. Mr. Stewart served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and Korea. Between 1946 and 1986, he worked at USF&G, an insurance company. Mr.  Stewart managed offices in Richmond and New Orleans before moving back to Baltimore to head the southeast region of the company. He was active in the U.Va. Alumni Club of Maryland. Survivors include his wife, a stepson and three sons, including William G. Stewart (GSBA ’73 A/M); and a daughter-in-law, Caroline Rinehart Stewart (Educ ’71 A/M).

Kenneth M. Beaver (Law ’44) of Providence, R.I., died Aug. 29, 2009. He was a self-employed attorney who practiced law for more than 40 years. Mr. Beaver served as a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association House of Delegates.

Mary Katherine Pappandreou Davis (Nurs ’44 L/M) of Birmingham, Ala., died Sept. 14, 2009. She raised a family of five children. A dancer, Ms. Davis was a past member of Gaieties, Ballerinas and Comida-Encore dance clubs. Survivors include her husband, James A. Davis Jr. (Med ’45 A/M).

Richard Merritt O’Connell (Col ’44) of Birmingham,  Ala., died June 7, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, for which he was awarded two Bronze Stars. Mr.  O’Connell worked at Bell Telephone System and became vice president of marketing for the state of Kentucky. He was president of the Arthritis Foundation in Alabama and Kentucky and served on the local boards of the United Way, YMCA and Red Cross.

Joseph A. Weinberg (Com ’44 L/M) of Richmond, Va.,  died Sept. 20, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.  After the war, he served as one of Virginia’s first recruiters for the Air Force Academy and retired from the Air Force Reserve with the rank of major.  Mr. Weinberg owned and operated a number of retail businesses, including The Hub, Esther May Shoppe and The Squire Shop in Farmville, Va., and was a board member of Central Fidelity Bank. Survivors include his wife, Charlotte Bloom Weinberg (Educ ’47).

Grant Lester Blankin Jr. (Com ’45 L/M) of Philadelphia died July 31, 2009. At the University, he was vice president of the student body, captain of the basketball team, a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Seven Society. Mr. Blankin served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was president of Blankin Yarn, served on the board of the Merchants Fund and was a member of the Philadelphia Wool and Textile Association. He also served as a member of the Alumni Association’s Board of Managers and was president of the U.Va. Club of Philadelphia. Survivors include a son, John Hutson Blankin (Col ’80 A/M).

George L. Dischinger Jr. (Col ’45 L/M) of Fort Collins and Rochester, N.Y., died Sept. 1, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Mr.  Dischinger worked at the University of Rochester as the director of admissions and student aid. Later, he worked in alumni relations, and in corporate and foundation relations for the university until he retired in 1990. Mr.  Dischinger continued to work as a teacher’s aide for children with learning challenges.

David M. Giltinan Jr. (Arch ’45 A/M) of Charleston,  W.Va., died Sept. 25, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Mr. Giltinan was the longtime president and chief executive officer of Eskew Smith &  Cannon, a carpet company founded by his grandfather, and served as director for several companies, including Carbon Fuel Co., Kanawha Banking and Trust Co.,  C.A.M.C. Foundation, Roxalana Land Co. and The Cabell Co. He was president of the board of the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority when the agency oversaw much of downtown Charleston’s revitalization in the 1980s and ’90s. In addition, Mr. Giltinan was a painter; he illustrated the book Write Me a Verbal Contract by W. Robert Abbot. Survivors include a son, David M.  Giltinan III (Col ’72 A/M); and a granddaughter, Katherine A. Giltinan (Col ’00, Grad ’03).

Robert John Titzel Jr. (Col ’45) of Berwyn, Pa. and Boca Raton, Fla., died April 4, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War, and then retired from the military at the rank of lieutenant commander after 21 years. Mr. Titzel worked with his father operating Delchester Oil Co.

Marion S. “Bugs” Battle Jr. (Col ’46 L/M) of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., died Aug. 7, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Mr. Battle served in the U.S. military during World War II. In 1958, he moved to Lexington, Va., where he was an investor in commercial real estate. His wife, Karolyn Battle, competed in the NBC quiz show, Jeopardy,  becoming the show’s 77th undefeated champion. Mr. and Mrs. Battle retired to Florida in 1982. Survivors include a daughter, Dorothea Battle Merritt (Col ’81).
  George Worthington IV (Col ’46 A/M) of Charlottesville died Aug. 29, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mr. Worthington worked for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. He purchased a farm in central Virginia, where he lived intermittently for 60 years. In 1991, Mr. Worthington placed the property in a conservation easement with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to preserve it.

Paul H. Connair (Engr ’47 L/M) of Dayton, Ohio, and Pinehurst, N.C., died on Sept. 5, 2009. At the University, he played football and was a member of the Raven Society and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Mr.  Connair served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After graduation and commissioning, he also served during the Korean War. Mr. Connair began his career as an electrical engineer for the U.S. Navy and Westinghouse, followed by a career in engineering sales for manufacturing firms.

Austin Taber Hyde Jr. (Col ’47, Grad ’48, Med ’51) of Rutherfordton, N.C., died July 10, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1955, Dr. Hyde started work at the Norris-Biggs Clinic at Rutherford Hospital, where he retired as an associate in internal medicine. He held teaching appointments at the University of Virginia and Duke University,  where he became a fellow in pulmonary diseases. Dr. Hyde was a member of the Southeastern Allergy Society and a fellow of the American College of Allergy,  Asthma and Immunology. During his professional career in Rutherford County, he participated in numerous programs in the areas of the arts and the humanities,  including the Rutherford County Arts Council.

Marshall Johnson (Com ’47) of Richmond, Va., died Sept. 19, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Mr. Johnson worked with his father and brothers at W.P. Johnson and Sons Real Estate in Petersburg, Va., then began to build houses in the Tri-Cities area. He was past president of the Home Builders Association of Southside Virginia and honored as a member of its Hall of Fame. In 1960, he was president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia.

Louis C. Shell (Law ’47) of Petersburg, Va., died Aug. 14, 2009. He began his practice of law in Petersburg in 1947. For nearly 50 years, Mr. Shell was a member of the law firm of White, Hamilton, Wyche and Shell. He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Virginia Law Foundation, served on the council of the Virginia State Bar, was past president of the Petersburg Bar Association. Mr. Shell served on the city council of Petersburg and as its vice mayor.

Christine H. Cates (Nurs ’48) of Fairfax City, Va.,  died Sept. 22, 2009. She served in the Cadet Nurse Corps at the University of Virginia from 1945 to 1948. Ms. Cates worked for George Washington Hospital in the department of neurosurgery, alongside renowned surgeon Dr. James Watts.  After raising a family, she was a nurse at Fairfax Pediatrics for 18 years.

William Faulkner Minor (Col ’48 A/M) of Charlottesville died Aug. 13, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mr. Minor worked for Bristol Laboratories (later Bristol-Meyers) in East Syracuse, N.Y., from 1948 to 1987, first as a chemist and later as a research laboratory administrator. He was a charter member of the Turkey Sag Bird Club of Charlottesville in the 1940s, wrote a nature column for a local paper in Onondaga County, N.Y., and was for many years the chairman of the Manlius (N.Y.) Environmental Council. After his retirement, he and his wife returned to Charlottesville. Survivors include a daughter, Margaret Minor Wood (Arch ’80 L/M); and a son, Richard Hugh Minor (Grad ’86 A/M).

Harvey A. Mitchell (Col ’48 L/M) of Springfield, Va.,  died Aug. 21, 2009. He served in the U.S. military during World War II. After his plane was shot down, Mr. Mitchell was a prisoner of war, receiving the Purple Heart. In the 1950s, Mr. Mitchell served as assistant to Fairfax County executive Carlton C. Massey. In 1961, he became the first county administrator of Campbell County, Va. Mr. Mitchell returned to Fairfax County government in 1972 and served there until his retirement in 1989.

Martin Amorous Palmer (Col ’48 A/M) of Charlottesville died Sept. 15, 2009. At the University, he was president of Zeta Psi fraternity, president of the Inter-Fraternity Council and lettered on the varsity football team. Mr. Palmer served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He worked for People’s National Bank, which became Virginia National Bank, and later Sovran Bank, from which he retired as a senior vice president in 1986.

Marvin S. Sapiro (Col ’48 L/M) of Chandler, Ariz.,  died July 5, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day. At the University, he was a Lawn resident. Mr. Sapiro worked for Louis Frank and Sons, branching off to found Tri-County Welding Supplies in 1953.

Lilburn Trigg Talley (Com ’48, Med ’54 L/M) of Millwood, Va., died Sept. 17, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and in the U.S. Naval Reserve. At the University, he was president of the student body, a manager of the football team and a member of the 13 Society,  Omicron Delta Kappa honor society and Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Dr. Talley entered the practice of radiology in 1959 at the Medical College of Virginia, and subsequently joined his father’s Richmond radiology group, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006. He helped formalize the work of the Tumor Board and provided cobalt-source radiation for patients with cancer. Dr. Talley was president of the Virginia Chapter, American College of Radiology. During his retirement, he was a member of the board of directors of the Foundation of the State Arboretum at Blandy Experimental Farm. Survivors include sons Lilburn T. Talley Jr. (Col ’83 L/M) and Edmund M. Talley (Col ’88, Grad ’01 L/M); a brother, Edmund M. Talley (Col ’51 L/M); and a niece, Frances T. Herrington (Col ’87 L/M).

Charles F. Farnsworth Jr. (Col ’49) of Knoxville,  Tenn., died July 21, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Mr.  Farnsworth worked as hospital administrator for Humphreys Memorial Hospital in Fernandina Beach, Fla., before working in South Florida, and finally moving to the Knoxville area, where he worked at Bedford County Hospital in Shelbyville as administrator. He then became an inspector for the State Survey Board of Nursing Homes and Hospital Quality Assurance.

Deward M. Martin (Engr ’49) of Holly Hill, Fla., died July 8, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy and had a career in both the design and construction engineering industries.

Bonnie M. Wells (Nurs ’49) of Waynesboro, Va., died Sept. 19, 2009. She served in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War II.  Ms. Wells held nursing-related positions with the American Red Cross and General Electric.Survivors include grandsons, Henry L. Waller (Col’ 90 L/M) and Hal L. Waller (Grad ’98).