In Memoriam: 1970s
Notices sorted by graduation date
Cabell Luck Jr. (Educ ’70) of Richmond, Va., died May 16, 2008. Mr. Luck was the director of the hospital education program at Children’s Hospital and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond from 1974 until his retirement in 2005. Prior to that, he was the director of the hospital education program at the University of Virginia Medical Center and the Children’s Rehabilitation Center in Charlottesville. Survivors include his wife, Georgia Hardy Luck (Educ ’68).
Robert P. Wingard (Arch ’70 L/M) of Cockeysville, Md., died July 30, 2008. Mr. Wingard was an employee of RTKL and, for the last six years, was a partner in the architectural firm of Underwood Pratt. He was also active in the preservation of Historic Lutherville.
James R. Baker (Col ’72) of Fluvanna County, Va., died Jan. 28, 2008. He previously served on the Fluvanna County School Board and was known for his craftsmanship as a custom homebuilder.
Melinda L. Nimmer (Nurs ’72) of Norfolk, Va., died June 6, 2008. She served for several years as a U.S. Navy nurse, became a family nurse practitioner and practiced medicine at the Boone Clinic. She later earned her real estate license. She was active in the Norfolk Republican Party and served as past president of the Norfolk Republican Women’s Club.
Dale F. Rollins (Engr ’72) of Rochelle, Va., died May 17, 2008. He served in the U.S. Navy as a guided missile technician before serving at the Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, and aboard the USS Proteus. Mr. Rollins was employed by General Electric of Waynesboro; Woodbrook Electronics; Wyse Electronics and Comdial, both in Charlottesville; and by Madison County Schools as a computer technician. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and of the Virginia Reelers and the Albemarle Allemandes square dance clubs.
Thomas M. Whiteman (Law ’72 L/M) of Roanoke, Va., died May 16, 2008. A Vietnam veteran, he served in the U.S. Army. He enjoyed photography and technology.
George Douglas Hohein (Col ’73, Law ’76 L/M) of Alexandria, Va., died Nov. 1, 2008. He was admitted to the Virginia State Bar and went to work in 1977 for the examining section of the Patent and Trademark Office; he was promoted in 1990 to the position of administrative trademark judge. He was a member of the trade association for trademark attorneys and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, where he served until his death.
John R. Rawling (Law ’73) of Phoenix died June 25, 2008. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society and later served in the U.S. Army Reserve. Mr. Rawling worked in Phoenix for the law firm of Fennemore Craig starting in 1973. In 1994, he became the president and general manager of Robertson Aviation and retired in 2007. He received the Honorable Order of St. Michael Bronze Award from the Army Aviation Association of America in 2005. Survivors include a son, Zachary Rawling (Col ’04 L/M).
Marcia Brouns McWreath (Col ’74) of Arlington, Va., died Dec. 26, 2007. She was a senior analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, her career spanning 33 years. Survivors include her husband, Harry C. McWreath (Col ’71 L/M).
Patricia J. Saunders (Col ’74) of Woodbine, Ga., died April 10, 2008. Ms. Saunders worked for more than 20 years at the Navy Federal Credit Union, retiring as a branch manager.
John M. Cornachio (Col ’75 L/M) of Charlottesville died May 26, 2008. Survivors include daughters Laura Cornachio Aldred (Col ’04) and Joan M. Cornachio (Nurs ’04), and a son, John M. Cornachio Jr. (Col ’03).
Catherine Howe Grant (Grad ’75) of Potomac, Md., died May 17, 2008. An adjunct professor of speech at Montgomery College for 10 years, Ms. Grant also volunteered at St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Rockville, Md., where she served on the board.
Elsie Goodwyn Holland (Educ ’75) of Richmond, Va., died Nov. 30, 2008. Ms. Holland began her active role in politics as a Republican in the late 1970s. She served as director of equal opportunity and employment practices in Virginia’s Department of Personnel and Training and was the first minority woman to serve on the U.Va. Board of Visitors, where she served a total of nine years. Ms. Holland was appointed principal of Stony Point Elementary School in Albemarle County in 1974. She also worked as a reading specialist and English teacher in the Powhatan County and Petersburg school systems. She taught in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Chesterfield County and was an assistant supervisor for the state’s Department of Education. She was a founding member of Womensbank in Richmond, the first modern Southern bank founded by women and the first women’s bank in the U.S. to have a branch facility. She was on the board of the Richmond chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a leader in the Capital City Republican Women’s Club. In 1996, she ran for eastern Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District seat. Survivors include a nephew, John A. Harvell (Col ’99 L/M).
Joseph G. Schaffner Jr. (Grad ’75 L/M) of Vienna, Va., died May 31, 2008. Mr. Schaffner’s work in the FBI’s Directorate of Intelligence ranged from assessing foreign electronics and information technology to identifying emerging technologies that would enhance U.S. national reconnaissance. He worked for Computer Sciences Corp. at Goddard Space Flight Center before he joined the CIA in 1977, where he was runner-up for the CIA’s Scientist of the Year award in 1987 and received its Career Commendation Medal and the National Reconnaissance Office’s Meritorious Service Medal. He was on loan to the NRO when he retired in 2006. He then became a corporate senior scientist at Areté Associates, a defense contractor in Arlington. Mr. Schaffner coached and officiated youth sports in the Vienna Little League, CYO basketball, the Northern Virginia Swimming League and Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Potomac Valley swimming. Survivors include his wife, Anne E. Schaffner (Grad ’78 L/M) and children, Rachael A. Schaffner (Com ’04) and Joseph M. Schaffner (Col ’09).
Ray W. Barlow (Educ ’76) of Virginia Beach died Dec. 7, 2007.
Thomas K. Brotherton Jr. (GSBA ’76, Law ’76) of Richmond, Va., died June 10, 2008. He worked for Reynolds Metals for 21 years, first as general manager of the solar group, and later in business development for the mills production group. In 1984, Mr. Brotherton was the delegation leader for the People to People Alternative Energy Technology delegation to the People’s Republic of China. In 1998, he left to pursue opportunities in business consulting, computer training and Internet services. A Big Brother, he also mentored several classes at the Lee School and served on the board of Family Lifeline. Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Reynolds Brotherton (Col ’75).
John Antony Doumlele Jr. (GSBA ’76) of Greenwich, Conn., died Nov. 28, 2008. Most recently employed at BearingPoint Management & Technology Consultants in Manhattan, Mr. Doumlele previously served as corporate economist and director of corporate relations at Moore-McCormack Resources, director of investor relations at Reader’s Digest and at Rayonier and senior director of investor relations at Loral Space & Communications. He was co-founder and past president of the Fairfield/Westchester chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute, former president of the board of the Child Care Center of Stamford and a former director of the New York Investor Relations Institute. Mr. Doumlele served on the boards of the Norwalk Association of Silvermine Homeowners and the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations.
Martin Shelby Ochs (Grad ’76) of Charlottesville died Jan. 21, 2008. Mr. Ochs served in World War II in the U.S. Army. A former editor of the Chattanooga Times at the height of the civil rights movement, he was a sports writer, copy editor, assistant city editor and assistant managing editor and, in 1950, was a correspondent for the New York Times based in London, Berlin and Paris. In 1952, he returned as an associate editor and became editor of the Chattanooga Times. Mr. Ochs traveled the world writing for International Wildlife Magazine. He came to Charlottesville in 1971, first as a speechwriter for the president of the University of Virginia and then as information director for the University’s Health Center. He also taught at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville. In 1979, Ochs was appointed professor of mass communications at American University in Cairo and was chairman of the department for much of the decade he resided there. He was the author of The African Press, the product of research in seven African countries. He was named the Edward J. Meeman Distinguished Professor of Journalism at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn., in 1984.
Thyre McMains (Grad ’78) of Baton Rouge, La., died June 5, 2008. While at the University, she wrote, directed and acted in several productions. She volunteered in several capacities for the Junior League of Baton Rouge and Trinity Episcopal Day School before returning to work as education director for Playmakers of Baton Rouge. Ms. McMains was also a drama teacher for the Talented Arts Program of the East Baton Rouge Parish public school system, where she wrote and directed several plays and mentored students at many area public schools. She also directed several productions of plays by William Shakespeare at the Old State Capitol. In 2002, she was an instructor in the Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, teaching classes on interpersonal communication and public speaking. Survivors include her husband, Julius Greer “Jay” McMains (Law ’76).
Diana Akers Rhoads (Grad ’79) of Earlysville, Va., died June 9, 2008. Her doctoral dissertation became a book, Shakespeare’s Defense of Poetry: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest. For 23 years, Ms. Rhoads taught English and rhetoric at Hampden-Sydney College. After undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 1994, she used aerobics to rebuild her strength and, together with her friend and trainer, Suzanne Hope, formed Getting Stronger, an exercise class designed for breast cancer survivors, which they later produced as an exercise video. In 2000, Diana was co-founder of the Hope Fund, an organization that provides emergency in-kind assistance to cancer patients in need. She served as president of the fund from its founding until February 2008. Survivors include her husband, Steven E. Rhoads, a professor in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at U.Va.; and her son, John M. Rhoads (Engr ’03).