Skip to main content

In Memoriam | Summer/Fall 2022

In Memoriam: 1940s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Norma Harner Rush (Nurs ’45) of Wimauma, Florida, died Feb. 20, 2022. She was a loving wife, had a full and long career as a nurse manager in Tampa, Florida, raised four children and volunteered at Moffitt Cancer Center after retirement. Born in 1925 in Ceres, Virginia, to original settler families of Wythe, Bland and Grayson counties, she lived a life that exemplified the best values of the greatest generation. Survivors include three of her children.


Milton F. Anton (Col ’47) of Brandon, Mississippi, died Nov. 3, 2021. He served as a pharmacy aide in the U.S. Navy during World War II before enrolling at UVA in 1944, with plans to attend medical school at Tulane University after graduation. With no slots available in medical school because of the postwar influx of students, he instead enrolled in law school and received his J.D. degree from Tulane in 1950. He returned to his hometown of McComb, Mississippi, to practice law and help with his father’s clothing business. When the business was destroyed by a fire in 1957, he went to work for State Farm, where he enjoyed a 30-year career as an attorney in the claims department. He stayed active in retirement, volunteering in his community and at his church. Survivors include his wife of 71 years, Mary; a son; two daughters; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.


Robert B. Harvey (Engr ’47 CM) of Voorhees, New Jersey, died Dec. 15, 2021. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and was selected for the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which allowed him to study engineering at UVA. After graduation, he began a 37-year career at the engineering firm Ebasco Services, where he rose from draftsman to vice president of projects. A longtime resident of Wantagh, New York, he helped secure funding for construction of Wantagh Middle School and Wantagh Public Library. At Glenmeadow retirement community in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, he was instrumental in bringing about improvements such as Wi-Fi and an on-site store. Mr. Harvey was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Geraldine Lesser. He is survived by his children, Brad and Frances Harvey; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.


George Walton Williams (Grad ’49, ’57) of Durham, North Carolina, died Feb. 22, 2022. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, he left Yale University after his junior year to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. He deployed with the 95th Infantry Division, Third Army, in France and Germany before transferring to the 3rd Tank Destroyer Group. He finished his degree at Yale after the war, and after completing his Ph.D. in Shakespeare studies at UVA in 1957, took a position at Duke University as an assistant professor of English. During a 36-year career, he served the University in many capacities: chairman of the Department of English, chair of the undergraduate council and secretary of the faculty council, and other positions. His specialty was textual criticism, and he published many editions of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays and scholarly articles on literary topics. He also produced five children’s books, one for each child and grandchild. Students and colleagues remarked on his wit, charm and inspirational encouragement in classes, at conferences or simply at the dinner table. A founding member of The Durham Savoyards, he directed four shows over the years, played several principal parts and sang in the chorus. He is survived by his wife, Harriet Williams (Grad ’57); three children; and two grandchildren.