In Memoriam: 1950s
Notices sorted by graduation date
Benjamin Franklin “B.F.” Griffin Jr. (Engr ’50 L/M) of Alexandria, Virginia, died Oct. 16, 2019. At UVA, he was a member of Theta Tau engineering fraternity. After graduation, he worked four years with IBM, followed by three years as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He attended night classes at George Washington University, receiving a law degree in 1959. Upon passing the bar, he opened an office in Washington, D.C., to practice intellectual property law. His practice moved to Virginia in 1968 with the move of the patent office. He was senior partner in a series of law firms for 40 years, retiring in 2000. Three children, Jeffrey M. Griffin (Darden ’86), Mary C. Griffin (Col ’80, Law ’83 L/M) and Stephanie Griffin, survive him.
William P. Perry (Com ’50 L/M) of Atlanta died Oct. 27, 2019. A native of Warsaw, Kentucky, he graduated from Virginia Episcopal School before attending UVA, where he was a member of Sigma Chi. He served in the U.S. Army for three years during the Korean War. Over the course of his career in the employee benefits field, he worked for Pacific Mutual Life and his own firm, Johnson & Higgins, before finishing his career with what is now Willis Towers Watson. He was a charter member of the Southern Pension Conference and president of the Louisiana Group Underwriters. Mr. Perry, the consummate Virginia gentleman, maintained long-standing friendships and was devoted to his family. A voracious reader and an accomplished woodworker, he also loved his cats, history and golf. Survivors include his wife, Nancy; children Cathy and Robert; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Benjamin F. Hoffman Jr. (Col ’51) of Bradford, Maine, died Dec. 28, 2019. After four years in the U.S. Navy, he earned his master’s degree in forestry from Yale University. He spent 12 years in government service and eight years in private industry, consulting and logging, before teaching forest management and timber harvesting at the University of Maine for 13 years. He completed his doctorate at Yale in 1982. In 1990, he retired as professor emeritus and spent the next 11 years in British Columbia and Alaska as a volunteer, teaching forest technology for Covenant Life College. When not teaching, Mr. Hoffman was a consultant for several church communities and the states of Alaska and Colorado. He wrote a logging handbook, “How to Improve Logging Profits,” and more than 300 published articles on topics including forestry, wood energy, cross-country skiing, U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers and the Ma & Pa Railroad. He returned to Maine in 2001 to dabble in consulting and writing and to play with trains. Survivors include his wife, Marjorie; and children Brett, Jonathan and Amanda Hoffman Melville (Nurs ’87).
James Joseph McNally Jr. (Col ’51, Grad ’52, ’54, ’61 L/M), of Norfolk, Virginia, died Feb. 19, 2020. As an undergraduate, he was a member of the Raven Society and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. He lived at 7 West Range and, as a graduate student, was elected mayor of Copeley Hill. His academic career took him from UVA to Penn State University, Morris Harvey College and, finally, Old Dominion University, where he taught English and literature for nearly 30 years before retiring and receiving emeritus status in 1992. He served as president of the Faculty Senate of Virginia, director of the 1980 ODU Literary Festival, and president of the Poetry Society of Virginia. His poems appeared in multiple anthologies, and he received awards for both his poetry and his plays. Mr. McNally wrote prolifically and traveled extensively, especially for presentations at literary conferences around the country and in Europe. A lifelong Washington baseball fan, he relished the way World Series triumphs formed the bookends of his life: the Senators shortly after his birth and the Nationals shortly after his 95th birthday. A dedicated UVA basketball fan, he was delighted at last year’s March Madness outcome. Survivors include his son, John J. McNally (Col ’80) and son-in-law, James A. Brown (Col ’72 L/M).
William Massie Meredith Sr. (Col ’51 L/M) of Loretto, Virginia, died Dec. 22, 2019. A graduate of the Staunton Military Academy, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in Germany during the final months of World War II. At UVA, he was a member of the football team for one season, T.I.L.K.A. and St. Anthony Hall (Delta Psi). He joined Wheat & Co., later Wheat First Butcher Singer, in 1954 and spent more than 40 years with the firm before retiring as executive vice president. The family moved to North Carolina and Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia, as the company expanded. While in Roanoke, he served as scoutmaster and youth football and basketball coach. Pursuing his boyhood dream of flying, Mr. Meredith earned his pilot’s license at 38. He was an avid fisherman and bird hunter, and he loved tennis and golf, shooting his age at 77 and repeating that feat frequently until the age of 90. He loved collecting World War II–era rifles and was an M1 Garand enthusiast. He also enjoyed creating carvings of wild birds, custom hunting knives and unique walking canes from materials gathered on frequent hikes in Essex County, where he lived for 13 years. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, the Garand Collectors Association, the Carbine Club and the Ruffed Grouse Society. He met his first wife, Eugenie Pieper, in Charlottesville in 1949; they were married for 54 years until her death in 2005. Survivors include his wife, Anna Paige Dickinson; four children, J. Christian Meredith (Col ’80), Claire, Molly and Massie; and four grandchildren.
Albert S. Bacon III (Col ’54 L/M) of Tacoma, Washington, died Jan. 10, 2020. At UVA, he was a member of Delta Upsilon and, after graduation, served in the U.S. Army for two years. A native of Lewiston, New York, he began his career in New York City with Niagara Alkali Co., later Hooker Chemical. Always one who enjoyed adventure, Mr. Bacon moved with the company to a remote operation in Tacoma. There he stayed, and his later work focused on the computer industry, installing his first sale at The Boeing Co. He and a friend established a small company, Computer Services Inc., and later sold it to become involved in computer installations. His last job was for the Department of Defense, where he was deputy adjutant general at what is now Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Active in the community, he served as president of the Lakewold Gardens Board, as a trustee of Charles Wright Academy and as a board member of Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. He was an early supporter of Junior Achievement and enjoyed helping young children through Werlin Reading. Survivors include his wife, Connie; children Helen, Ginny and Albert Bacon IV (Col ’85 L/M); five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Elizabeth “Betty” Greear Cauthen (Grad ’55 L/M) of Charlottesville died April 9, 2020. After graduating in 1952 from Hollins College, where she later served on the alumnae board and received the Rath Award for her contributions, she earned her master’s in English from UVA. In 1954, she married Irby Bruce Cauthen Jr., later UVA emeritus professor of English and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Ms. Cauthen was active in University and community organizations, developing many wonderful friendships along the way. She was an emeritus trustee of the College of Arts and Sciences Foundation and a member of the Raven Society. Ms. Cauthen taught first grade at St. Anne’s-Belfield School for 23 years. A native of Southwest Virginia, she was an ardent advocate of the region; her father was a founder of what became UVA Wise, and she served two terms on its board. Ms. Cauthen was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and was active in organizations including the University Women’s Club, the Charlottesville Symphony, the University Arts Council and the Charlottesville Democratic Party. Survivors include sons I. Bruce Cauthen III (Darden ’84 L/M) and James Cauthen (Law ’83 L/M); three grandchildren, including William Cauthen (Col ’15 L/M); a brother, Fred Greear Jr. (Med ’61 L/M); a stepbrother; and three stepsisters.
Keith Wood (Col ’57 L/M) of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, died Feb 7, 2020. At UVA, he served as chair of the Honor Committee and was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1957 to 1960 and retired as a captain in the reserves in 1968. Mr. Wood began his career in the financial industry with Scudder Stevens & Clark in 1960. After selling his seat on the New York Stock Exchange, which he bought in 1963, and spending time with other firms, he formed Jamison, Eaton & Wood in 1972. An affiliation with Ivory and Sime of Edinburgh, Scotland, then led to a jointly owned venture, Ivory & Sime International. In 2015, his firm partnered with Silvercrest Asset Management Group, where he stayed on as a senior financial consultant. Mr. Wood remained involved at UVA and also served on the boards of the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey and the Summit Speech School. He was an active member of many organizations, including the Black River Fish and Game Club and the General Society of Colonial Wars, and he was proud to serve his community and faith through his church. An avid fisherman, he enjoyed the outdoors and, along with his dedicated golden retrievers, made the most of his retreats in rural Pennsylvania and Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Survivors include his wife, Patti; children Kyle and Rebecca; five grandchildren; and his sister.
N. Thomas Connally Jr. (Col ’58, Med ’62, Res ’68 L/M) of Arlington, Virginia, died April 2, 2020. At UVA, he was Student Council President, president of Zeta Psi Fraternity, Grand Banana of Eli Banana, and a member of the Raven Society, IMP Society, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, Lambda Pi, and the P.K. Society. After an internship in Rochester, New York, he served in the U.S. Public Health Service at the NIH before completing his residency at UVA. An internist in private practice from 1968 to 2000, he was known for extraordinary diagnostic skills, a kind and thoughtful manner, and devotion to his patients. Dr. Connally cared for many prominent figures in Washington, D.C., including Supreme Court justices and members of Congress. After retiring from private practice, he volunteered at the Arlington Free Clinic until 2018, serving as medical director from 2005 to 2010. Named the American Society of Internal Medicine’s Young Internist of the Year for 1975-76, Dr. Connally served on the society’s board of trustees from 1978 to 1984. He also served a term as chief of medicine at Sibley Memorial Hospital and on the clinical faculty at the Georgetown University Medical School. In 2001, he published a book, The Third Third. Dr. Connally was elected a master of the American College of Physicians in 2006 and received its Claypoole Award in 2013. He was appointed by Govs. Gerald L. Baliles and L. Douglas Wilder to two terms on the UVA Board of Visitors. Grateful patients endowed a professorship at the UVA Medical School in his honor. He also served on the board of CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield and taught continuing education courses. In 2010, he and his wife, Judy, a community leader and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, shared the James B. Hunter Human Rights Award. Dr. Connally loved learning, history, travel, good stories, bad jokes, his country home, and his family. Survivors include his wife; children N. Thomas Connally III (Col ’90, Law ’93 L/M), Anne and Katherine; and five grandchildren.