In Memoriam: 1940s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Ralph Frederick Thompson Jr. (Engr ’44 L/M) of Fairfax, Virginia; and Pittsburgh, died May 10, 2015. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. At the University, he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and Trigon Engineering Society. He began his career as a market manager with the former Reynolds Metals Co. of Richmond, Virginia, and the U.S. Steel Corp. of Pittsburgh. For several years, he worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., and retired in 1989 as director of the department’s iron and steel group. Mr. Thompson was a member of the Army-Navy Club of Washington, D.C., the Fox Chapel Racquet Club and the Fox Chapel Episcopal Church (now Christ Church Fox Chapel). From these organizations, he recruited a group of men dubbed the “Fox Chapel Navy,” and they cruised the Chesapeake Bay in sloops each spring for more than 30 consecutive years. Survivors include two daughters; two sons, including Douglas A. Thompson (Col ’77 L/M); and three grandchildren.

Burton A. Fleming (Col ’47 L/M) of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, died May 11, 2015. At the University, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order; served as editor of College Topics, now the Cavalier Daily; and formed a jazz band. Dr. Fleming was a board-certified psychiatrist and neurologist who founded and served as president and medical director of the Horsham Clinic, a private behavioral health care facility in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He was also past president of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society Philadelphia Chapter, officer and director of the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, and a member of many other societies. Dr. Fleming was an active water and snow skier, hockey player and ice dancer. A twin-engine pilot, he was also a woodworker and award-winning bird carver. Survivors include his wife, six children, eight grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

Harry Robert Yates Jr. (Col ’47, Med ’51, Res ’53, ’56 L/M) of Roanoke, Virginia, died June 2, 2015. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. At the University, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order, Calconon Club, P.K. Society, German Club, Interfraternity Council, the football team and the wrestling team. He also lived on the Lawn. Dr. Yates was a physician and family practitioner with a specialty in gastroenterology. He was a fellow in the American College of Physicians, a member of the Medical Society of Virginia and a member of the Roanoke Academy of Medicine. He retired from private practice in 1997 and spent time at his beloved retreat at Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County, Virginia. An avid golfer, he was a member of the Roanoke Country Club and the Shenandoah Club. He was passionate about quail hunting and trout fishing and often provided free medical care to his patients in exchange for hunting and fishing rights in the counties surrounding Roanoke. Survivors include two daughters; a son, Harry Robert “Bob” Yates III (Col ’81, Law ’93 L/M); and nine grandchildren, including Katharine “Katie” Claytor Duni (Nurs ’09 L/M) and Emily S. Yates (Col ’16 L/M).

John Hanson Boyden (Engr ’48) of Chestertown, Maryland, died July 18, 2015. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. At the University, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Mr. Boyden began his career as an engineer with Davison Chemical Co., later W.R. Grace and Co., and retired from AMAX Engineering Corp. in the early 1980s. Soon after retiring, he built a home on Kinnairds Point near Worton, Maryland, where he lived for many years and enjoyed gardening, sailing and photography. A loving husband, father and grandfather, he was known to his family as “Practical Jack.” Survivors include his wife, four daughters, six grandchildren and a sister.

Aaron J. Marcus (Col ’48) of New York City died May 6, 2015. At the University, he was a member of the debating team. A hematologist, Dr. Marcus worked for more than 50 years at the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System, where he spent many hours running experiments in his lab. He was also a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. A kind, funny and quirky man whose passion for science was matched by his love for culture and the arts, Dr. Marcus especially enjoyed opera, Thomas Mann, fountain pens, fine leather shoes, audio equipment, photography, the Beatles, chocolate and the Chrysler Building. Survivors include his wife, two sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and a sister.

Edward Patterson “Pat” Perrin (Com ’48) of Spartanburg, South Carolina, died May 21, 2015. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. At the University, Mr. Perrin was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the University Union. He practiced corporate, banking and contract law and estate planning with Perrin Perrin Mann & Patterson, now Perrin Mann Patterson Pressley, in Spartanburg until he retired in 1999. In addition to practicing law, Mr. Perrin was a founder, director and chairman of the board of the Spartanburg Bank and Trust Co.; a director and chairman of the board of the First State Savings and Loan Association; a director of Fiske-Carter Construction Co.; and a director of Moreland Chemical Co. Inc. He also served as city attorney for Spartanburg. Mr. Perrin was active in many civic and philanthropic endeavors, including serving as a member of the board of visitors of Converse College; trustee and chairman of the board of the Spartanburg County Foundation; director and chairman of the board of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce; director of the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; and as president and general campaign chairman of the United Way of Spartanburg County. In recognition of his many contributions to the Spartanburg community, Mr. Perrin received numerous awards throughout his life, including the Morgan Award from the General Daniel Morgan Society of the United Way of the Piedmont, the Neville Holcombe Distinguished Citizenship Award from the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Chief Justice Claude Ambrose Taylor Distinguished Service Award from the Spartanburg County Bar Association. He was a compassionate man who was committed to his family and friends and had a zest for life and a fondness for bourbon. Survivors include his wife; two daughters; a son, Edward P. Perrin Jr. (Col ’79 L/M); seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

John Martin Gallagher (Col ’49) of Charleston, South Carolina, died June 27, 2015. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and in the Naval Reserve during the Korean War. At the University, he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Mr. Gallagher began his career in insurance risk management with Lukens Savage & Washburn in Philadelphia and in 1971 moved to London as proprietor of Gallagher and Associates Insurance Consultants. He later served as managing director of Fenchurch Risk Management at Lloyd’s of London. A skilled sailor, Mr. Gallagher spent every available moment on the seas in Europe, the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. In 1980 he purchased a plantation in Dominica, where he grew grapefruit and bananas and improved the plantation’s irrigation system while continuing his risk-management career. Mr. Gallagher was instrumental in the revival of the Campobello Yacht Club, now the Passamaquoddy Yacht Club, with members from Campobello and those from Eastport and Lubec, Maine. He led the club’s sponsorship of the Roosevelt Cup, a two-day regatta that draws sailors from the Passamaquoddy Bay and the surrounding region. Survivors include his companion and many cousins.