Skip to main content

In Memoriam | Spring 2024

In Memoriam: 1960s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Hagop Boyajian (Engr ’62 CM) of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, died Oct. 2, 2023. He immigrated to the U.S. from Greece when he was 17 and then earned a mechanical engineering degree from UVA. After earning a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he went on to work for Monsanto Co. for 30 years, both in Massachusetts and in Belgium. He received the prestigious Edgar M. Queeny Award for science and technology. He loved America but was proud of his Armenian heritage. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Sylvia; two children; a brother; and four grandchildren.

Kenneth W. Mauck (Educ ’62 CM) of Hohenwald, Tennessee, died Oct. 20, 2023. He attended UVA on a football scholarship due to his standout athletic achievements at his high school in West Virginia. Back-to-back season injuries with the Cavaliers during his first and second years led to his withdrawal from the University. A few years later, he joined the U.S. Air Force in order to return to UVA in 1960. During his second enrollment, he worked at Sears to put himself through school. The company offered him a position in the Sears management program after graduating, which he accepted, marking the beginning of a 30-year career. He retired in 1993 and spent his time playing golf. Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Sybil; two children; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Mary Jo Lacy Littlefield (Educ ’64) of Martinsville, Virginia, died Oct. 29, 2023. She earned her master’s degree in education from UVA and embarked on a 32-year career in education. She spent the last 22 of those years at Stafford County High School. She was a proud UVA alumna and had a lifelong passion for gardening, bird-watching, pets, and all the woodland creatures enjoying her daily backyard buffet. She was predeceased by her husband, Edward “Ward” Hastings Littlefield (Com ’66 CM). Survivors include twin sons, including Keith Littlefield (Arch ’81); a daughter; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Barbara R. Beitch (Grad ’68) of Hamden, Connecticut, died Nov. 24, 2023. After receiving a doctorate in biology from UVA, she forged a career as a biology teacher at Hamden Hall Country Day School from 1970 to 2004. Her contributions included creating and teaching a program on human sexuality and initiating a student LGBTQ group. The school’s biology lab is named after her. After retirement, she continued to teach biology as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University. A lover of music, she was an accomplished pianist and enjoyed ballroom dancing. She traveled widely and enjoyed scuba diving around the world. She was a docent at the Yale Peabody Museum and active with the Sleeping Giant Park Association, a group dedicated to protecting and caring for Connecticut’s Sleeping Giant State Park. Survivors include her second husband, Richard; her brother; three grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Robert Beverley Herbert Jr. (Law ’68 CM) of Raleigh, North Carolina, died Dec. 7, 2023. He served in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He studied history at Princeton before earning his law degree at UVA. His first job took his family to Raleigh, where he practiced law at First American Title Insurance Company. Survivors include his partner of 32 years, Christopher; his ex-wife, Jennette Campbell Herbert (Grad ’67 CM); his daughter, Catherine Deming Herbert (Col ’90); three grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

William X. Parsons (Law ’69) of Roanoke, Virginia, died Oct. 23, 2023. A U.S. Army veteran, he was a proud VMI Keydet and alumnus of UVA Law School. Known as “X,” he grew up in Wytheville and lived most of his life in his beloved Southwestern Virginia. He served as an assistant city attorney for the city of Roanoke for nearly two decades. He was a St. Louis Cardinals superfan, an adventurous traveler, a skiing and outdoor enthusiast, and a semi-professional Pounce player. Survivors include his two children, two nephews and a grandniece.