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In Memoriam | Summer 2016

In Memoriam: 1970s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Virginia Wayne Talbot Harbaugh (Arch ’71) of Charlottesville died Feb. 10, 2016. Her career began in 1952, when she moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a research analyst for the National Security Agency. She moved with her husband to Connecticut and later to Pennsylvania before the family settled in Charlottesville in 1966. After graduating from the School of Architecture, Ms. Harbaugh joined the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, eventually becoming executive director. She was the first woman to lead a planning district commission in Virginia. She also served as president of the Virginia Citizens Planning Association from 1976 to 1978. The Virginia Women’s Forum named her Woman of the Year in 1982. After retiring in 1986, she taught transportation planning for two years at the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. She loved to spend summers in Chaplin, Connecticut, where she taught her children and later her grandchildren where to find the best blueberries, how to get the last bit of meat out of a lobster claw and the theory and practice of canoeing and sailing. She seemed to know the Latin name for every plant she saw, always wanted to know what her grandchildren were learning and cheered for the New York Yankees and the UVA women’s basketball team. Survivors include two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters.

Freddie W. Nicholas Sr. (Educ ’73 L/M) of Ettrick, Virginia, died Jan. 28, 2016. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was the first graduate assistant in the Curry School of Education’s higher education program. From 1951 to 1966, he was head teacher of vocational agriculture and later assistant principal at George Washington Carver Regional High School in Culpeper, Virginia. In 1966, Mr. Nicholas and his family moved to Ettrick, where he accepted a position as assistant professor at Virginia State University. He worked there until 1970, when he left to pursue his doctorate. After graduation, he worked as dean of curriculum and student development and as provost of the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College’s downtown campus in Richmond, Virginia. He served as executive vice president of Virginia State University before becoming president of John Tyler Community College in Chester, Virginia, the first African American to be president of a school in the Virginia Community College System. He held that position until his retirement in 1990. He briefly served as interim chancellor of the VCCS until his full retirement in 1991. He also served on a number of boards and commissions, including the University of Virginia Board of Visitors and the Chesterfield County board of supervisors. Mr. Nicholas received numerous awards over the course of his career, including the Curry School’s Alumnus of the Year Award and the Chesterfield board of supervisors’ Distinguished Service Award. The student services building at John Tyler Community College is named in his honor. Survivors include his wife; two daughters, including Pamela Yvette Nicholas-Stokes (Educ ’81, ’92 L/M); a son; eight grandchildren, including Lauren Y. Stokes (Col ’10 L/M), Jordan A. Stokes (Col ’15 L/M) and Madeleine Y. Stokes (Col ’15 L/M); and two brothers.

David L. Reese (Col ’74, Grad ’78, Arch ’81 L/M) of New York City died Feb. 3, 2016. At the University, he volunteered with Madison House and was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Raven Society. After his graduation from the School of Architecture, Mr. Reese began a career devoted to historic sites, serving as curator of Gracie Mansion, the historic residence of mayors of New York City, from 1987 to 2002 and as resident director of George Mason’s Gunston Hall from 2003 to 2012. He was curator of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York City from 2012 until his death. He loved history, decorative arts and music. Survivors include his mother, a sister and a brother.

Judith McDaniel Wood (Darden ’75) of Kennewick, Washington, died March 7, 2016. She worked at the Fifth Planning District Commission in Roanoke, Virginia, and the Model Cities program in Richmond, Virginia, before enrolling in the School of Business Administration, now the Darden School of Business. After graduation, she worked for Mead Corp., Hewlett-Packard Corp. and Bendix Corp. as a human resources and training manager. In 1980, she moved with her husband to Davenport, Iowa. She later moved Kansas City and Washington, D.C. with her family. In 1990, the family moved to Kennewick, where Ms. Wood worked for Columbia Industries and Cogema Engineering Corp. She also taught mathematics in the Kennewick school system. Throughout her career, she was a firm advocate for women in the workplace. She also loved live rock music and traveled to many concerts with her sister and her friends. Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Katherine R. Wood (Arch ’04); and a stepson.

Thomas Michael Melo (Law ’77 L/M) of Houston died Dec. 7, 2015. At the University, he was a member of the Raven Society, and he and his future law partner Jim Flegle (Law ’77 L/M) won the William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition. He worked as a labor and employment lawyer at Bracewell & Patterson from 1977 to 2004 and at Ogletree Deakins from 2004 to 2006. Survivors include his wife, Tina Lundy Melo (Law ’81 L/M), and two daughters.