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In Memoriam | Summer 2018

In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Robert R. Fair (Engr ’50 L/M) of Charlottesville died Feb. 9, 2018. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and received his Combat Infantry Badge, a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Alsace region of France and two Bronze Stars. At the University, he was president of Sigma Chi fraternity and vice president of the senior class. He was also a member of the Raven Society, Tau Beta Pi engineering society and Omicron Delta Kappa. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1952. He worked for Westinghouse in western Pennsylvania and in 1964 returned to Charlottesville to direct management programs at the Darden School of Business. While at UVA, he served as president of the Colonnade Club, faculty adviser to the Sigma Chi fraternity and associate dean for MBA education at the Darden School. After his retirement in 1996, he served as president of the 100th Infantry Division Association, president of the Retired Faculty Association and a member of Sigma Chi’s house corporation. He was proudest to receive the Order of Constantine, awarded to Sigma Chi alumni for long and distinguished service to the fraternity. He enthusiastically supported the Cavaliers in football and basketball until his death. Survivors include his wife, Camilla; a daughter, Ann Rutherford Fair Burns (Arch ’82 L/M); a son; two granddaughters; and a great-grandson.


Evan H. “Doc” Ashby (Med ’51) of Fancy Gap, Virginia, died Feb. 14, 2018. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He attended Randolph Macon College before attending medical school at the University. Dr. Ashby then practiced family medicine in Remington, Virginia, where he attended the births of more than 1,600 babies. He also served on the Remington Town Council and as the town’s mayor, and he was elected to the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors. He served as chief of staff of the Fauquier Hospital in 1968 and as medical adviser for Fauquier High School athletic teams from 1963 to 1969. In 1969, Dr. Ashby was named director of medical services at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he never missed a football game. He remained a professor emeritus there after his retirement in 1991, then was a medical examiner in North Carolina and Virginia until his 85th birthday. He served on the rescue squads of several communities and, after retiring to Fancy Gap, became a member of the local volunteer fire department. Dr. Ashby was an avid photographer and a member of the N.C. HIV/AIDS task force. Survivors include three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.


Thomas C. Lewis (Col ’52 L/M) of Limerick, Pennsylvania, died Jan. 4, 2018. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and the Korean War. At the University, he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, and he later served for many years on the Jefferson Scholars Committee. Mr. Lewis often spoke of Seal, the unofficial mascot of the University’s football team, and of driving Seal to his final resting place in his antique hearse. He was a stockbroker for more than 50 years and lived in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, for 42. Mr. Lewis loved sailing on the Chesapeake and restoring antique cars and boats, and he was a founder and member of several antique automobile and boating clubs. Survivors include his wife, Nancy; and five children.


Marianna Howard Parrish (Educ ’52 L/M) of Fairfax, Virginia, died March 9, 2018. She earned her undergraduate degree from James Madison University before earning her master’s degree from the University. She had a distinguished teaching career with Fairfax County and Arlington County Public Schools.


John Richard Schmidhauser (Grad ’52, ’54 L/M) of Santa Barbara, California, died Feb. 21, 2018. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a member of the occupying force in Japan following V-J Day. He later attended the University of Delaware before earning his master’s and doctoral degrees from UVA, where he was a DuPont Fellow and served as a visiting professor of government in 1982-83. As a graduate student, he played the French horn in the University Symphony Orchestra and was a member of the Raven Society. He received the UVA Sesquicentennial Award for Public Service in 1969. After graduate school, Mr. Schmidhauser taught at the University of Iowa, where he produced scholarly work on the U.S. Supreme Court. While serving as Democratic county chair, he agreed to run for a seat in the U.S. Congress in the 1964 election and won in an upset victory. Mr. Schmidhauser was particularly proud of sponsoring bills to improve worker safety and for passage of Great Society legislation. He served in Congress until January 1967, when he returned to the University of Iowa. In 1973, he began a 19-year career as chair of the political science department at the University of Southern California, where he won several faculty and research awards. After retiring from USC in 1992, Mr. Schmidhauser taught political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He remained active in local causes, writing editorials for the local newspaper and working to preserve Carpinteria’s coastal bluffs. He also enjoyed gardening, swimming in the ocean, playing French horn in the community orchestra, volunteering for the town library and having family gatherings. Survivors include his wife, Thelma Ficker Schmidhauser (Grad ’54); seven children; five grandchildren; and one great- grandchild.


Berryman Voss Neal (Med ’55, Res ’61) of Williamsburg, Virginia, died Jan. 4, 2018. He attended Washington and Lee University before earning his medical degree from the University and completing his internship at Cincinnati General Hospital. He served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and Charleston, South Carolina. Following his discharge, he served on the Grace Line as a ship’s surgeon. After completing his dermatology residency at UVA, he practiced as a board-certified dermatologist in Newport News, Virginia, for 34 years. Dr. Neal was a member of the American Academy of Dermatology, Medical Society of Virginia and Newport News Medical Society. In the community, he served on the boards of the Peninsula YMCA and the Virginia Living Museum. He was passionate about his medical practice, gardening, traveling, reading and taking long walks at the Outer Banks. A master gardener, he sowed the seeds of brilliant yellow coreopsis along the Noland Trail at the Mariners’ Museum and Park to brighten the walk for many years. He was known as a kind, patient and loving husband, father and grandfather. Survivors include his wife, Frances; two children, Georgeanna Jennett Neal (Col ’87 L/M) and Randolph Voss Neal (Col ’88 L/M); and five grandchildren, including Lillie Jennett Neal (Educ ’19) and Voss Marion Neal (Engr ’22).


Robert Pogue (Com ’56 L/M) of Richmond, Virginia, died Feb. 17, 2018. At the University, he played for the varsity football team and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Eli Banana. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Korea before spending 39 years with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. He was a general agent of Virginia and served as president of many professional associations and boards; he also co-founded a men’s support group within the industry. He purchased the Branch House for his offices and restored it, gaining a place on state and national historic registries. The building has since become the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design. Mr. Pogue enjoyed music, art, movies, reading, gardening, dancing and golf. In retirement, he and his wife, Jacquelyn, traveled worldwide. They provided college scholarships and funding for a Tibetan art school in Dharamsala, India, and supported independent and public television documentary films.


Marjorie Frame Sunflower Sargent (Educ ’58, ’63) of Charlottesville died March 14, 2018. One of the first few women at the University, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority. She became a defender of Native American rights early in her life, successfully suing the Canadian government at age 16 for the Baker Lake Indians to have complete rights to their artwork. Later in life, she was adopted by the late Mattaponi Chief Webster Little Eagle Custalow, who gave her the name Sunflower. She co-founded the Mattaponi Healing Eagle Clinic, a health clinic on the Mattaponi Reservation serving Native American families in Virginia. She served as the volunteer administrative director of the clinic for nearly 15 years. Survivors include her partner, Angela Silverstar Daniel; a nephew; and a niece.


St. George “Tucker” Grinnan III (Col ’59 L/M) of Boca Raton, Florida, died Sept. 2, 2017. At the University, he was elected to the judiciary committee and was a member of numerous clubs and societies, including the Z Society, T.I.L.K.A., Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Jefferson Society, ROTC and the varsity swim team. He was also class president in his fourth year, when he received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for his contributions to University life. After graduation, he served two years in the U.S. Army, stationed primarily in Germany, during which time he and his wife, Betty, traveled extensively. Upon release from Army active duty, Mr. Grinnan attended Harvard Business School before going on to hold positions with Chrysler Corp., McKinsey and Co., Transamerica Corp. and Commercial Credit Corp., primarily in the field of equipment leasing. He and his family moved to Boca Raton in 1977, where he became president of Commonwealth Leasing Corp. He later became involved in oil discovery and recovery in Russia. He enjoyed traveling with his family, both in the United States and abroad. He loved visiting museums and attending concerts and lifelong learning lectures, and he entertained many friends in his home. He was an avid reader and knowledgeable about many subjects. Survivors include his wife; four children, including Tucker Grinnan IV (Col ’88 L/M), Tom Grinnan (Col ’90 L/M) and Sarah Grinnan Ehlers (Col ’92, Grad ’99); and 12 grandchildren.