In Memoriam: 1960s
Notices sorted by graduation date
William “Bill” Powell (Col ’62, Darden ’66 CM) of Camano Island, Washington, died April 18, 2024. He attended UVA as both an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences and a graduate student at the Darden School of Business. He was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity, the IMP Society, T.I.L.K.A. and the men’s lacrosse team. He was also a Lawn resident. After college, he served in France as a U.S. Army military police officer. He worked as a sales manager for several beverage companies and owned his own consulting firm. He enjoyed playing tennis, sailing and crabbing in Puget Sound, bargain-hunting at garage sales, and volunteering at the Center for Wooden Boats. Survivors include his wife, Signe; two daughters, including Molly Powell (Law class of ’04); and five grandchildren.
Robert Douglas “Doug” Wilburn Jr. (Engr class of ’62) of Asheville, North Carolina, died Jan. 23, 2024. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at UVA, where he was inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma and Tau Beta Pi honor societies. He was also a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the marching band. After graduating, he earned his master’s degree in engineering from UCLA. Upon completing his education, he worked for NASA on Apollo 16. Survivors include a sister-in-law, a niece and a nephew.
Peter Gayton Claymore (Col class of ’65) of Gainesville, Georgia, died Sept. 3, 2024. A native of Washington, D.C., he received his bachelor’s degree in history from UVA, attending on a Naval ROTC scholarship. He served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, earning the rank of lieutenant. After he left the Navy, he and his family settled in the Washington, D.C., area, where he worked for multiple defense contracting firms. He continued his education by earning master’s degrees from Southeastern University and George Mason University. He was a dedicated stamp collector who also loved model trains and served as a board member of the D.C. chapter of the National Railway Historical Society for many years. He was a Hunkpapa Sioux and was an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He enjoyed educating others about Native American history and was a regular visitor and donor to the reservation in the Dakotas. He retired to Gainesville, Georgia, where he taught classes at the local college and worked as a tax preparer. He enjoyed travel, reading, sports and politics. He remained a proud graduate of UVA, closely followed the sports teams, and loved any opportunity to return to Charlottesville and walk the Grounds. Survivors include his son and two grandchildren.
Clarence Joseph Sharrer Jr. (Col class of ’65) of Harrisonburg, Virginia, died Dec. 11, 2023. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from UVA, followed by a degree in educational counseling from James Madison University. He began his career in rehabilitation services in several offices before becoming the assistant director of Wilson Workforce Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville, Virginia. He held the position for 10 years before relocating to become the director of the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna, Tennessee. He next served as commissioner for rehabilitation services for Tennessee before moving back to Virginia to become the executive director of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board for 12 years. He retired in 2001 and pursued his interests in archaeology, wildflowers, gardening, reading, classical music, opera and British television. Survivors include his wife, Page; a daughter; a son; a stepdaughter; a sister; two grandchildren; and many nephews and cousins.
Ann Elizabeth “Beth” Moore (Nurs ’67 CM) of Jacksonville, Florida, and Highlands, North Carolina, died June 21, 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UVA. In 1978 she received a master’s degree in nursing from Ohio State University. She began her nursing career as a staff nurse in upstate New York and was always dedicated to providing excellent health care. One of her favorite positions was teaching nursing students. She was proud to have opened the endocrine unit when she was chief nursing officer at a Richmond, Virginia, hospital. She held various other management and consulting positions in the health care field throughout her nursing career. In 1998, she moved to Highlands and began a real estate career. With a downturn in the real estate market in 2008, she returned to the health care field, providing home health services. She cherished her time spent volunteering in the neonatal intensive care unit at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and serving on its volunteer board. She was an avid traveler and visited six continents. Survivors include her husband, Wally; a son; a stepdaughter; a brother; and five grandchildren.
Gary Dell Kessler (Col ’68, Grad ’71 CM) of Charlottesville died July 29, 2024. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in foreign affairs at UVA, where he was active at the Wesley Foundation and worked at Alderman Library (now Shannon Library). He also earned a master’s in governmental administration at George Washington University and a diploma from the U.S. Army War College. He worked for 32 years in editorial, analysis and management positions at the CIA in the government foreign news agency, with tours in Japan, Thailand and Cyprus. He rose to chief of the Middle East Bureau. In semi-retirement he ran an editorial and publishing consultancy service for 20 years, editing academic and trade books. More than 30 of his own nonfiction, fiction and short story works have been published in true or pen name, and he was the volume editor for 13 published multivolume anthologies. Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Cottman Kessler (Nurs ’67 CM); two children, including G. Drew Kessler (Engr ’92 CM); daughter-in-law Aimee R. (Newsom) Kessler (Col ’93 CM); three sisters; and two granddaughters.
Martin J. Wayne (Engr ’68 CM) of Gainesville, Florida, died May 10, 2023. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UVA and a master’s in business administration from the State University of New York, Albany. He began his career with General Electric and worked at plants in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, New York and, finally, Florida, where he spent the rest of his life. He received a patent in 1987 for designing a device to measure current in a printed circuit. He later worked for several engineering consulting firms, ending with CH2M Hill, from which he retired. When he wasn’t working or tinkering on his many computers and electronic devices, he was enjoying boating, cave diving, fishing and scuba diving in Florida’s waters. At age 67, he also took up skiing. Survivors include his wife, Lucy; two children; and four grandchildren.