In Memoriam: 1950s
Notices sorted by graduation date
Ian MacConochie (Engr ’50) of Charlottesville died June 20, 2019. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He also attended the University of London. During his early engineering career, he taught at Duke University and the University of South Carolina, where he met his wife, Sissy. From 1962 to 1990, he worked for the NASA Langley Research Center as an aerospace engineer. After retirement, he continued at NASA under contract well into his 70s. Mr. MacConochie was a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Langley Skywatchers Club, and the Society of Allied Weight Engineers, which presented him with the Richard Boynton Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions in aerospace engineering. He raised his family in Yorktown, Virginia, where he spent more than 40 years serving his community. Survivors include children Keith MacConochie (Col ’86) and Corinne; three grandchildren; a great-grandson; a brother, Francis MacConochie (Col ’53); and a sister.
Marion Edwyn Harrison (Col ’51 L/M) of Arlington, Virginia, died July 3, 2019. After graduating at age 19 from UVA, where he was a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and Alpha Phi Omega, he earned two law degrees from George Washington University. He served in the U.S. Army as a judge advocate officer. Mr. Harrison practiced law in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Zurich. His clients over the years included private mints and political committees, including a 1988 presidential committee. He worked with both the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations and lectured abroad with Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia and William H. Rehnquist. Active in cultural affairs, Mr. Harrison was a member of the Smithsonian National Board from 1991 to 1997. He also incorporated and worked as general counsel for two anti-abortion organizations, American Life League and Human Life International. His work with educational institutions included his service as president of the George Washington Law Alumni Association for several years in the 1970s. Mr. Harrison was a Knight of Malta, a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and, until retirement, a member of the Council for National Policy, the Federalist Society and the Supreme Court Historical Society. Survivors include his wife, Carmelita; children Henry, Angelique Harrison Bounds (Educ ’80 L/M) and M. Edwyn Harrison III (Med ’85 L/M); and four grandchildren, including Katherine Bounds Rock (Col ’08).
Max Klotz (Col ’52 L/M) of Richmond, Virginia, died July 30, 2019. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He loved his time at UVA, where he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi, and he was truly a ’Hoo for life. He owned and operated the family business, Klotz’s Scrap Yard in Fredericksburg, which was founded in 1926. A well-groomed man miscast in the scrap business, he later professed that he would have been an attorney if given the chance to do it over again. His sons’ work at the scrap yard in the summers became a rite of passage, where they forged strong work ethics and were told colorful stories that were not to be repeated at home. A kind, gentle man who loved his family, Mr. Klotz especially loved summer vacations in Virginia Beach and at the Wintergreen Resort. Survivors include his wife, Jeanne Carole; children Steve, Stan, Gary, Portia, Tracy, Diana, Robert and David; 15 grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
John B. McKinney Sr. (Col ’54 L/M) of St. Louis; Ocean Ridge, Florida; and Charlevoix, Michigan, died Dec. 27, 2019. At UVA, he studied history, played football, lettered in soccer, joined the ROTC and pledged Beta Theta Pi with his brother, the late Clifford P. McKinney Jr. (Col ’52 L/M). Mr. McKinney served in the U.S. Army in post-war Germany for two years as a first lieutenant before joining St. Louis-based Laclede Steel Co. as a sales trainee in 1956. He spent his entire 42-year career with Laclede, becoming its chairman, president and chief executive officer in 1982. The St. Louis Business Journal named him St. Louis Businessman of the Year for his innovation and transformation of Laclede Steel. Mr. McKinney conceived of and was an original investor in St. Louis Cold Drawn, now part of Nucor. He served on the boards of many companies, nonprofits and schools, including AAA of Missouri and California, St. Louis University, and the John Allan Love Charitable Foundation. He was warm, funny and a dignified family leader. He loved travel, hunting, tennis and golf; he shot his age at 82 and made his second hole-in-one at 85. He enjoyed many close friendships from UVA, St. Louis, and his retirement in Florida and Northern Michigan. Survivors include his wife, Margie; three children; six grandchildren, including Adeline “Addie” McKinney Clarke (Col ’07 L/M) and her husband, T. Henry Clarke V (Col ’07 L/M); and four great-grandsons.
Sidney Anderson Jr. (Com ’56) of Louisville, Kentucky, died Oct. 6, 2019. After college, he returned to Louisville to become the third generation to run Anderson Wood Products. He and his wife spent many happy years in Crested Butte and Gunnison, Colorado, where they found a community of beloved friends in addition to their wonderful friends in Louisville. A lifelong fisherman, he enjoyed trips with family and friends to his beloved Juniper Club in Florida. Survivors include his wife, Anne; children Sidney, David, Rob and Laurie; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his sister.
Fletcher Bangs Watson IV (Law ’57) of Chatham, Virginia, died Sept. 18, 2019. He served in the U.S. Navy. After attending Yale University and Randolph Macon College, Mr. Watson served as an attorney, as a juvenile and domestic relations court judge, and, for 30 years, as an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration. He was active in his church and a member of Pittsylvania Masonic Lodge No. 24. Survivors include sons Fletcher, James, Page and Stephen Watson (Col ’82); seven grandchildren, including Katie Watson (Col ’16); a brother; and his former wife and the mother of his children, Mary H. Shea.
Nathaniel Holmes Morison III (Col ’58 L/M) of Middleburg, Virginia, died Oct. 10, 2019. At UVA, he lettered in soccer and boxed, and he was a member of T.I.L.K.A., the IMP society and Delta Kappa Epsilon, which honored him with the Saer Award, the fraternity’s top honor. In 1959, he returned to Middleburg to run the family farm, Welbourne, where he created a sanctuary for retired horses. He also served on the board of the Piedmont Fox Hounds, founded in 1840 by his great-great-grandfather. Passionate about the promotion of traditional jazz of the 1920s and earlier, Mr. Morison founded the Goose Creek Jass and Ragtime Society. An ardent advocate of conservation and preservation, he treasured history and tradition. Mr. Morison loved the cities of New Orleans and New York (where he was a member of the National Arts Club), and he established lasting relationships in each place. Known for his hospitality, he held court every evening at Welbourne with a walking stick and pipe. The consummate Virginia gentleman, he took pride in upholding the values of the past. Survivors include his wife, Sherry; children Nathaniel, Rebecca Morison Schaefer (Col ’89 L/M) and Joshua Morison (Col ’01); three grandchildren; and his brother.