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In Memoriam | Winter 2020

In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Carleton C. Hoffner Jr. (Engr ’52) of Palo Alto, California, died April 21, 2020. In his youth, he competed nationally and internationally in ice skating pairs and ice dancing competitions. With his partner, he won the U.S. National Championship in 1946 and placed third in the 1949 World Championships in Paris. He spent one year at UVA before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, where he captained the varsity tennis and squash teams. Mr. Hoffner served a full career in the U.S. Navy that took him all over the world, including Hawaii, where he helped construct the USS Arizona Memorial. In 1968, the family moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where he served in the Pentagon as a civilian until 1971, when the family moved to California. There, Mr. Hoffner was director of the Western Division Naval Facilities Command, managing the public works for all naval facilities in the Western Hemisphere. In his “spare time,” he earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. After retiring from the Department of Defense in 1987, he remained active as a consultant. He also enjoyed studying businesses, investing in stocks, and attending stockholder meetings all over Silicon Valley. He was glad to share his knowledge and wisdom with acquaintances, friends and family as a financial coach on a pro bono basis. Survivors include his wife, Connie; children Carol, Heidi and Eric; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.


Gerald “Coach” Furst (Educ ’53, ’55) of Delray Beach, Florida, died July 9, 2020. He attended UVA on a football scholarship, and he played lacrosse for two years. Upon graduation, he was signed by the New York Giants. He lived an extraordinary life filled with diverse careers. A work opportunity led him and his family to Ocean City, Maryland, where he worked on the development of Mystic Harbor on Route 611. Passionate about fitness, he later opened a health club in what is now the Clarion Hotel in Ocean City. In 1983, he and his wife, Mary Ann, opened Ocean Health and Racquet Club. A year later, they opened O.C. Sneakers Restaurant, which later became Windows on the Bay. The Fursts provided fitness, wellness and recreation to the community for more than 30 years, during which time they also opened Coach’s Corner Diner, which is still operated by their son and his family. Survivors include children Mary Ann, Jerry, Beverly and Martin; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.


David Maybank Jr. (Col ’54) of Charleston, South Carolina, died Jan. 25, 2020. At UVA, he served on the Interfraternity Council and was a member of Beta Theta Pi, Eli Banana and ROTC. He served in the U.S. Navy for two years and, thereafter, in the U.S. Navy Reserve, from which he retired with the rank of commander. After his time with the Navy, he began a long career in business, first working at John F. Maybank Co., a cotton merchant firm founded by his grandfather. He later purchased Maybank Fertilizer Co. from his family, founded Commercial Bonded Warehouse, and acquired Palmetto Shipping and Stevedoring Co. An avid sailor, Mr. Maybank made two remarkable sailing expeditions. In 1992, he and a friend retraced Christopher Columbus’ voyage from Cadiz, Spain, to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the original voyage. He and a friend later sailed more than 27,500 miles around the world for more than a year in the Lisbon ’98 World Exposition Rally. Mr. Maybank was a committed conservationist and outdoorsman, an enthusiastic historian and genealogist, and a collector and expert restorer of vintage cars and other early mechanical devices. He was a member of many organizations and societies and also served on many boards, including those of Roper Hospital and the Historic Charleston Foundation. Survivors include his wife, Louise; sons David Maybank III (Darden 88), John II and Peter; and four grandchildren.


Isaac Mayo Read (Com ’57 CM) of Charleston, South Carolina, died Feb. 17, 2020. After graduation, he began his career working with his father’s firm, Frost, Read and Simons, as a stockbroker. He then became a certified public accountant and worked as CFO for several local businesses. For the last 15 years of his professional life, he and his wife owned and operated Palmetto Travel Service. Mr. Read was an active community leader, serving on the boards of the Historic Charleston Foundation, Spoleto Festival USA, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Board of Architectural Review. A passionate tennis player, he was instrumental in founding the Creekside Tennis Club in the early 1970s. He loved planting trees throughout the city and eventually helped form Charleston Trees, a committee first of the Charleston Horticultural Society and now of the Charleston Parks Conservancy. Over the past 40 years, he was the driving force in planting more than 1,000 trees across the peninsula. Survivors include his wife, Ellen; sons John and Isaac M. Read (Col ’84); a brother; and four grandchildren.


Charles Morton Riddle III (Col ’57 CM) of Norfolk, Virginia, died Aug. 25, 2020. At UVA, he was a captain of the cross-country team and a member of the track team, and he was editor of Corks & Curls. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After earning his master’s in divinity and doctorate in ministry from Episcopal Theological Seminary, Mr. Riddle was a parish priest for 50 years. He served as rector of Episcopal churches in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. He was a member of numerous diocesan committees and served as a delegate to the 1979 General Convention of the national church where he voted in favor of the New Book of Common Prayer and of the ordination of women. He hired the first female priest in the diocese of Southern Virginia. His soul was fed by the Anglican liturgy and classical music, and he was a faithful fan of Virginia athletics. A loyal Wahoo, he supported the Virginia Athletic Foundation for 50 years. He was predeceased by his first wife of 48 years, Erma Dance Riddle. Survivors include his wife, Patricia; children Evan, Jonathan and Lea; a stepdaughter, Hunter Benante; and nine grandchildren.


Cecil E. Underwood (Com ’57 CM) of Ormond Beach, Florida, died Aug. 13, 2020. While at UVA, Mr. Underwood played basketball and baseball and was an Air Force ROTC Wing Commander. He was a member of the “V” Club, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Eli Banana and the Interfraternity Council. He went on to earn his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1967. Mr. Underwood was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1957 and served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1983 as a colonel. He provided leadership for the acquisition and administration of base support services, including contract airlift services, research and development of munitions, and more. He received multiple awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit, with an Oak Leaf Cluster; the Meritorious Service Medal, with two Oak Leaf Clusters; and the Air Force Commendation Medal, with one Oak Leaf Cluster. Following retirement from the Air Force, Mr. Underwood enjoyed a 24-year career as a defense acquisition consultant, first as a managing partner of a small business and then as a sole proprietor. He is survived by his wife, Linda Fleming Underwood (Nurs ’56 CM), and sons Michael and David.


Ralph C. Bralley (Educ ’59, ’64 CM) of Charlottesville died Jan. 25, 2020. He was 94. The first person to receive a doctorate in speech pathology and audiology from UVA, he went on to serve on the faculty of UVA’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Program for 36 years. He served as program chair and director of the Speech-Language-Hearing Center, and he held a joint appointment in the Department of Otolaryngology. During his tenure at UVA, Bralley was instrumental in establishing the groundwork for speech and hearing screening programs in Virginia public school systems and instituting clinics in a number of underserved communities. He was known for his foresight and ability to perfect a broad range of high-quality clinical experiences for students. He also had notable clinical expertise working with individuals who had cleft palates and helped found the Cleft Palate Clinic at UVA. He was a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; president and fellow of the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia; and member and chair of the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing, gardening, yardwork, theater, real estate, Cajun food and redoing furniture. He was predeceased by his first wife, Dolly, and his daughter Marie-Jenee. Survivors include his wife, Jean Vidrine-Bralley (Educ ’76); children Clare, Eric, Deidra, Porter V. Bralley (SCPS ’11), and Jean Marie; eight grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.