In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Robert A. Black (Col ’50) of Sarasota, Fla., died Dec. 23, 2009. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a research chemist at Seagram’s for 28 years.

William Hurt Erickson (Law ’50 L/M) of Denver died Jan. 13, 2010. Mr. Erickson was a trial lawyer in Denver for 21 years. In 1971, Gov. John Love appointed him to the Colorado Supreme Court. He served on that court for 25 years, and as Chief Justice from 1983 to 1985. Mr. Erickson served on the board of governors of the American Bar Association, as a director at the National Judicial College, and as president of the Denver Bar Association. He was on the faculty of NYU Appellate Judges School, was Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Washington and Lee University, and chaired the Columbine Review Commission. Mr. Erickson was also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, fellow and president of the International Society of Barristers and on the council of the American Law Institute. He received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines.

Wilburn Eric Jarrell (Col ’50, Med ’54) of Mount Airy, N.C., died March 9, 2010. He served as a pharmacist mate 3rd class at Iwo Jima and Okinawa during World War II and with the First Marine Air Wing, Headquarters Squadron, in China. Dr. Jarrell was a family physician, retiring in 1998 after 43 years. He was a past member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a lifetime member of the North Carolina Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Surry-Yadkin Medical Society and the American Association of Medical Review Officers. He served as a member of the staff at Northern Hospital of Surry County, where he helped design the hospital’s first coronary care unit, initiated the establishment of the medical examiner’s system in Surry County and served the county as its first medical examiner. He was an original member of Surry Medical Ministries and, upon retirement, served as interim director of the Surry County health department. Dr. Jarrell also was adjunct professor at East Carolina Medical School. In 2004, he joined the Thomas Jefferson Society at U.Va. Dr. Jarrell was a past member of the Mount Airy Community Foundation Board, board of directors of First Citizens Bank, and the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, and was camp physician at Raven Knob. Survivors include his wife, Jewel Jarrell (Educ ’56). Memorial contributions can be made to the Dr. W. Eric and Jewel D. Jarrell Scholarship Fund, c/o Surry Community College Foundation, 630 South Main Street, Dobson, NC 27017.

Rutherford Cholmondeley Lake Jr. (Col ’50, Law ’57) of Anchorage, Ky., died Jan. 20, 2010. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Mr. Lake served in the reserves until 1988. He began his law career with the firm of Newman & Allaun, Newport News, Va. During the 1960s he was active with the Young Democrats and the Maxwell Civic League, and during the 1970s sat on the Newport News city planning commission.

Sydney S. Madison (Col ’50 A/M) of West Point, Va., died Dec. 3, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Purple Heart. Mr. Madison worked for the Chesapeake Corp. as a chemist for 42 years.

Louise Hanbury Bergmann (Nurs ’51 A/M) of Silver Spring, Md., died June 3, 2009.

Donald M. Dolan (Col ’51 A.M) of Lake City, Fla., died Jan. 12, 2010. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War and for many years in the Naval Reserve. Mr. Dolan worked as an auditor for the Florida National Bank for many years. He also worked for the State of Florida and Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Pauline E. Grainger (Nurs ’52) of Titusville, Fla., died Jan. 19, 2010. She enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II and served as a nurse in Europe. She worked as a nurse in the U.S. until she had children. She was a member of the local chapter of AARP for more than 30 years.

Harold Hubert Jeter (Med ’52 A/M) of Wilmington, N.C., died Feb. 15, 2010. He served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and received a distinguished Bronze Star. He was involved in the battle of Iwo Jima. Dr. Jeter then joined the Army, worked at Walter Reed Hospital and trained under Brig. Gen. William Mattingly, President Eisenhower’s cardiologist. In 1954, Dr. Jeter entered family medicine practice by establishing a clinic in Florence, S.C. He later formed Jeter-Skinner Clinic and moved to McLeod Hospital West Wing. Dr. Jeter delivered approximately 3,000 babies and had the first portable electrocardiogram machine in Florence. For 10 years, he was the editor of The South Carolina Family Practice Journal, for which he also contributed articles.

Alexander Morton Maish (Grad ’52 A/M) of Arlington, Va., died Dec. 25, 2009. In 1944, he was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers. Col. Maish served in Europe at the end of World War II and in Tokyo and Manila immediately thereafter. He later supervised the computer support provided to the National Bomb Damage Assessment Center and was appointed to integrate the multi-agency effort that produced the National Fallout Shelter Survey in 1962. He was an Army lieutenant colonel when he retired from the military in 1967, having served with the Automatic Data Field Systems Command at Fort Belvoir. After his military retirement, Col. Maish worked at Mitre Corporation, where he designed computer support systems to be used for emergency planning by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military’s Pacific Command and the United Nations command staff in Korea. He left Mitre in 1985 and worked for SRA International in Arlington, retiring in 1988.

Judith B. McConnell (Nurs ’52) of Newport News, Va., died Oct. 31, 2009. She worked as a school nurse in Newport News and Gloucester.

William John Root (Col ’52 A/M) of Waynesboro, Va., died Nov. 30, 2009. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was a retired dentist.

Frederic Warrenbutler Jr. (Col ’52 L/M) of The Woodlands, Texas, died Nov. 26, 2009. At the University, he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. Mr. Warrenbutler worked at WTL consulting, the Petroleum Marketers Television Network and Exxon.

Joyce Mayo Cofer (Educ ’53 L/M) of Newport News, Va., died Feb. 18, 2010. Ms. Cofer dedicated more than 30 years of her life to primary education, teaching at Crozet Elementary in Albemarle County and at Hilton, Jackson, St. Andrew’s and Yates elementary schools in Newport News, Va. Ms. Cofer was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha international women’s fraternity and a supporter of the Junior League of Hampton Roads. She also served as a Sunday school teacher and church librarian. Survivors include her husband, Benjamin Russell Cofer (Engr ’58 L/M).

William MacKenzie Jenkins (Col ’53 L/M) of Norfolk, Va., died Jan. 18, 2010. He served in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Jenkins joined Dixie Manufacturing Corp., a longtime family business. He was president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and one of the founders of the Greater Norfolk Corp. as well as chairman of the board for WHRO-TV. In addition, Mr. Jenkins served as chairman of the board at Tidewater Health Care, board member of Sovran Bank and was on the board of the Norfolk Academy.

William Phillip Ladson (Educ ’53, ’58) of Sarasota, Fla., died March 2, 2010. At the University, he was a Lawn resident. Mr. Ladson served in the U.S. Army. He began his 28-year career in education as a secondary teacher at Northumberland High School in Heathsville, Va. In 1956, Mr. Ladson moved to Fairfax County, Va., and served as a secondary science teacher at Groveton and then at Woodson High School. He was appointed assistant principal of Woodson in 1965, then principal in 1968. His last educational assignment was principal of McLean High School from 1972 to 1983. Survivors include a nephew, Charles L. Ladson (Engr ’54).

Charles Edward Sherman Jr. (Educ ’53) of Richmond, Va., died Dec. 18, 2009. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Mr. Sherman was a retired educator for the City of Richmond public schools.

Frank Barham (Col ’54 A/M) of Greenbank, Wash., died Sept. 22, 2009.

John R. Henderson (Com ’54, Grad ’68 A/M) of Charlottesville died Jan. 20, 2010. He spent his professional life at U.Va. beginning in 1954, when he worked at the bursar’s office. He then worked as an internal auditor, a lecturer in the Commerce School, associate comptroller for medical affairs, assistant vice president for health affairs and finance, and finally associate vice president for health affairs, finance, where he remained until he retired in 1995. Memorial contributions can be made in memory of J. Robert and Shirley J. Henderson to the University of Virginia School of Nursing, Alumni and Development Office, P.O. Box 800826, Charlottesville, VA 22908. All donations will be used for teaching purposes, research and scholarships.

Robert William Wakefield (Law ’54 A/M) of New Castle, Del., died Feb. 4, 2010. He practiced law in Wilmington, Del., and served two years as assistant U.S. attorney for Delaware. Judge Wakefield was appointed to the newly constituted statewide Delaware Family Court by Gov. Russell Peterson in 1972, and served for 22 years, retiring in 1994. He was chairman of the Delaware Public Service Commission for several years.

James B. Bell Jr. (Col ’56, Med ’61, Grad ’61 A/M) of West Chester, Pa., died Nov. 17, 2009. At the University, he was a Lawn resident. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Dr. Bell was a physician on staff at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, Pa., for many years, where he served as chief of infectious diseases and president of the medical staff. He also had a medical practice in Media for 32 years. Survivors include a son, James B. Bell III (Com ’94 L/M).

William Joseph Bonney Jr. (Com ’56 A/M) of Myrtle Beach, Fla., died Feb. 18, 2010. At the University, he played football and was inducted into the University Hall of Fame. Mr. Bonney served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He worked as a marketing manager for the First Republic Corporation of America.

George Nick Cavros (Med ’56) of Norfolk, Va., died Jan. 9, 2010. At the University, he was a Lawn resident. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard and at the U.S. Public Health Hospital in Norfolk before serving his community as a family practice physician. At DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, Dr. Cavros served as president of the Medical Society of Physicians and on many medical committee groups, and was part of the community teaching staff of Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Daniel Eugene French (Com ’56 L/M) of Richmond, Va., died Jan. 26, 2010. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Mr. French was the former president of the ChapStick Co. and former senior vice president of A.H. Robins. He served as chairman of the boards of Seven Hills School and the Speech and Hearing Clinic, both in Lynchburg, Va., and served on the boards of Mary Baldwin College, First & Merchants Bank and Junior Achievement, also in Lynchburg. Survivors include a brother, James M. French (Com ’58 A/M).

Frank M. Johnson (Med ’56) of Roanoke, Va., died Jan. 29, 2010. He served in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. Dr. Johnson established Starmount Clinic, where he was a general practitioner for 35 years. For several decades, Dr. Johnson served the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Roanoke County medical examiner. After retirement, he worked at Disability Determination Services. Survivors include a son, Brent M. Johnson (Med ’84 L/M); and a grandson, Evan M. Johnson (Col ’06).

Morton McDonald Jones Jr. (Grad ’56 A/M) of Austin, Texas, died Feb. 19, 2010. He served in the U.S. Army between 1943 and 1970 and retired a brigadier general.

Stephen Barclay Wilson (Law ’56 L/M) of Rockbridge County, Va., died Jan. 17, 2010. He began his legal career in Manhattan with the firm Thacher Proffitt & Wood (then known as Thacher, Proffitt, Prizer, Crawley & Wood), became a partner in 1963 and remained at the firm until his retirement in 2000. Mr. Wilson was one of the leaders in the development of the firm’s banking and mortgage practices. He was instrumental in opening Thacher, Proffitt & Wood offices in Washington, D.C., and in White Plains, N.Y. Mr. Wilson became licensed and practiced as a personal financial adviser with American Express in the Florida Keys in the mid-1990s.
Nancy Sherrie Douglas Armbrister (Nurs ’57) of Marion, Va., died March 13, 2010.

James P. Burke (Engr ’58 A/M) of Dayton, Ohio, died March 28, 2010. At the University, he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. Mr. Burke served in the U.S. Air Force and was an engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for 23 years. He was a volunteer at the U.S. Air Force Hall of Fame. Mr. Burke received many letters of commendation for his work on automatic landing systems and drones. Survivors include his wife, Sonya Calhoun Burke (Nurs ’57).

Robert E. Dye (Med ’58 L/M) of Hershey, Pa., died March 3, 2010. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. From 1964 to 1970, Dr. Dye practiced internal medicine and gastroenterology in New York City. In 1970, he was recruited during the formative phase of the department of medicine at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where he maintained a solo practice in internal medicine and gastroenterology for 18 years. In 1994, Dr. Dye joined the staff at the VA Medical Center in Lebanon, Pa., where he assisted part-time until his 80th birthday. In 1999, he was awarded emeritus status by the president of Penn State University. In recognition of his endeavors, the Robert E. Dye M.D. Professorship in Medicine was established in his honor in 2006.

Robert M. Foster (Col ’58 L/M) of Delaware died Jan. 12, 2010. He was in the Columbus, Ohio, radio and television sales business for his entire career and retired as general sales manager at WBNS-10TV.

Thomas Edward Sheets (Engr ’58) of Charlottesville died Jan. 20, 2010. He served in the U.S. Navy and was a retired electrical engineer. Mr. Sheets had a lifelong love of flying and was a private pilot.

Virginia Edwards (Nurs ’59, Educ ’63 L/M) of McMurray, Pa., died Feb. 10, 2010. For 40 years, she worked as a nurse at the University of Virginia.

David Stewart Summers (Med ’59 L/M) of Erie, Pa., died Jan. 13, 2010. At the University, he was a Lawn resident. He served in the U.S. Army. Dr. Summers was assistant chief and chief of neurology between 1964 and 1967 at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany. He had academic appointments at the University of Rochester School of Medicine from 1967 to 1972 and the University of Utah Medical Center from 1972 to 1976, and had a private practice of neurology in northwest Pennsylvania from 1976 to 2000. Dr. Summers was a neurologist at St. Vincent Health Center and retired from Warren State Hospital.