In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Clifton Stanworth Brinkley (Engr ’50 L/M) of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Virginia, died May 29, 2016. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. At the University, he was a member of the football team, Trigon Engineering Society and the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall). After returning from the war, he worked for Coast Engineering Co. in 1948 and for Door Engineering Co. from 1949 to 1951, both in Norfolk. He designed fire protection and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard from 1950 to 1951, later doing similar work for DuPont in Kinston, North Carolina, and Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. In 1956, he moved to Spain to engineer new air and naval bases with Brown-Raymond-Walsh. He lived and worked in Seville and Madrid until he returned to Virginia in 1960. Mr. Brinkley spent the rest of his career working as a mechanical engineer for a number of companies, including his own firm, Brinkley Engineering, where he worked from 1980 to 1990. He last worked for R.G. Electric Co. from 2001 until his retirement in 2012. An avid sailor from an early age, he spent many weekends in the 1970s and 80s sailing around Hampton Roads. He was a member of the board of the Tidewater chapter of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers and served as president of the Ghent Neighborhood League. Watching the Cavaliers win a football game was a great joy for him, second only to helping others in need. Survivors include his wife; a son, Edward S. Brinkley (Col ’87 L/M); a daughter; two grandsons; a granddaughter; and a sister.

Robert Kingsley Borman (Com ’51) of Santa Rosa, California, died April 20, 2016. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and in the Air Force during the Korean War. At the University, he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. After returning from Korea, he moved to San Francisco, where he opened Clipper Ship Antiques, the first of four antique stores he eventually operated. He frequently traveled to London and Paris, returning with containers of 18th- and 19th-century treasures. In 1985, he closed his last showroom and retired to country life in Forestville, California. Mr. Borman was a consummate host and a skilled cook. He liked to travel, often spending the winter in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A true gentleman, he never allowed his successes to diminish his kindness, generosity and respect for all living things. Survivors include a sister.

Gardiner M. Haight (Col ’51, Law ’54 L/M) of Virginia Beach died May 6, 2016. He served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Navy. He served in a number of positions in the Navy, including commanding officer of the Naval Justice School, special counsel to the secretary of the Navy, and fleet judge advocate of the Pacific Fleet. His decorations and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. He retired with the rank of captain in 1981. Capt. Haight later practiced law with the firm of Fine, Fine, Legum & Fine in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He was also on the faculty of Commonwealth College, where he was professor and academic dean. He served as vice president of the Navy-Marine Corps Retired Judge Advocates Association and on the board of directors for The Retired Officers Association, now the Military Officers Association of America. Survivors include a daughter, a son, three grandchildren and a sister.

John M. Herr Jr. (Col ’51, Grad ’52 L/M) of Columbia, South Carolina, died June 19, 2016. He was a professor of biology at the University of South Carolina for 34 years, teaching courses in botany and performing research in flowering plant embryology. Mr. Herr published theoretical papers on the evolutionary origin of seeds and leaves. During his career, he served on many committees and chaired the USC faculty senate before retiring as distinguished professor emeritus in 1993. In 1996, he received the Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award from the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. He served as president of the Association of Southeastern Biologists and received the organization’s 1989 Meritorious Teaching Award, 1996 Service Award and 1998 Senior Research Award, in addition to the inaugural John Herr Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Survivors include his wife, two daughters, a stepson, six grandchildren and a sister.

Paul B. Barringer II (Col ’52 L/M) of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, died May 30, 2016. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. At the University, he was a member of the Honor Committee, T.I.L.K.A., IMP Society, P.K. Society, Skull and Keys, Naval ROTC, V Club and Zeta Psi fraternity. He was also a member of the football, wrestling, and track and field teams. In 1955, he joined his father’s company, Coastal Lumber Co., in Weldon, North Carolina. He purchased the company from his father in 1959, and the firm grew significantly under his leadership. He loved to play tennis, bird hunt and repeat stories that never got old. Survivors include his wife, two daughters, a son, a granddaughter, and four grandsons, including Paul Barringer Light (Com ’10 L/M) and Thomas G. Light (Com ’10, Darden ’17 L/M).

Patricia Murphy “Patt” Derian (Nurs ’52 L/M) of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, died May 20, 2016. She was an active supporter of public school desegregation and volunteered with Head Start in Mississippi. In the late 1960s, she helped organize the Loyalist Democrats, which, along with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, challenged the Mississippi Democratic Party’s official, all-white delegation to the 1968 Democratic Convention. She herself was elected as a delegate to that convention. In the 1970s, she was president of the Southern Regional Council and a member of the executive committee of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was deputy director of Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign, and in 1977, President Carter appointed her coordinator for human rights and humanitarian affairs, a title later raised to assistant secretary of state for human rights and humanitarian affairs. In that post, she traveled to countries that received American aid to assess their record on human rights. She advocated for U.S. involvement in the protection of human rights around the world and confronted the leaders of repressive regimes in Latin America—including Argentina—and Asia until she left the post in 1981. She remained committed to the cause of human rights until she died. Survivors include her husband, two sons, a daughter, four stepchildren, 12 grandchildren and a sister.

Stuart Hanford Henderson (Col ’56) of Charlottesville died May 6, 2016. At the University, he was a member of Eli Banana and Delta Phi fraternity (St. Elmo Hall). After working in New York for the Guaranty Trust Co., which later merged with J. P. Morgan & Co., and Sherwin-Williams, he entered the Virginia Theological Seminary. During his 35 years in the ministry, Rev. Henderson served churches in Oregon, Vermont and Virginia. In Charlottesville, he served as chaplain for Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge and Martha Jefferson Hospital, where he also founded the lay chaplaincy program and the hospital ethics committee. He served on the board of directors for the Bloomfield School, now the Bloomfield Foundation, in Ivy, Virginia, and Stuart Hall School in Staunton, Virginia. He retired to Carolina Shores, North Carolina, in 1996. Survivors include his wife, two daughters, two sons and ten grandchildren.

Frederick Field Ritsch Jr. (Col ’56, Grad ’59, ’62) of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, died May 4, 2016. At the University, he was a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, the Raven Society and the History Club, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. From 1959 to 1983, he taught European history at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he was eventually named head of the division of social sciences. He was also founder and director of the college’s Center of Contemporary Humanities and the director of the Milliken Scholar program. In 1983, Mr. Ritsch became dean of the faculty at Elizabethtown College. He was named provost and dean of faculty in 1985, a position he held until 1996. He retired as professor emeritus and provost emeritus in 2002. Over the course of his career, he wrote several books and many articles on European history and the humanities. In retirement, he served on the Elizabethtown School Board and Planning Commission. He enjoyed reading, being a house husband and playing golf with his wife. Survivors include his wife, two daughters, a son and two grandchildren.

Edward Dale Appleton Randolph (Col ’56) of Gilmer, Texas, died June 29, 2016. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. At the University, he was president of the Spanish Club and received the Z Society Award for Excellence in Major Field. After the war, he held many teaching positions. He taught Spanish language and literature at Tulane University from 1957 to 1960. In 1958, he also worked as an interpreter for the New Orleans Police Department and was named an honorary captain for his service. From 1960 to 1963, he taught at the University of Virginia. He later taught at Arizona State University from 1963 to 1968 and at Newberry College from 1968 to 1973. He served as chairman of the department of foreign languages at Ambassador College, where he was a faculty member off and on from 1973 until 1997. While at Ambassador College, Mr. Randolph established study programs in France, Germany, Israel, Costa Rica and Mexico, in addition to summer internships and student work programs in Guatemala. He also taught at Camden Military Academy from 1983 to 1990. A member of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, he had training in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Russian and published articles in several scholarly and literary journals. He traveled to and lived in South America, Central America and Scandinavia, spending a total of 12 years abroad. Survivors include a son, Duval K. Randolph (Col ’78); a daughter, Paige Winslow Randolph White (Law ’79); and three grandchildren.

Joseph Thomas Ratchford (Grad ’59, ’61) of Davidson, North Carolina, died June 16, 2016. During his career in science and technology policy, he held a number of academic and government positions. Early in his career, he taught physics at Washington and Lee University. He also conducted research at the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. He later worked as a science consultant to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, and from 1977 to 1989, he served as associate executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served as associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993. In 1993, he joined the faculty of George Mason University. Mr. Ratchford was a member of many professional organizations, including the American Physical Society and the Council on Foreign Relations. Survivors include his wife, two sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.