In Memoriam: 1980s

Notices sorted by graduation date

Christopher John Richard (Col ’83 L/M) of Washington, D.C., died Jan. 14, 2015. At the University, he was a member of the Cavalier Daily staff. He worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Brasilia, Brazil, before entering the U.S. Foreign Service in 1986. He served tours in Tijuana, Singapore, Bangkok, Rome, Islamabad, Lisbon and Washington, D.C. Mr. Richard loved to travel and was an engaging conversationalist and published writer who pursued widespread and eclectic interests. He enjoyed music, especially forró, samba, fado, jazz, medieval chant and Philip Glass; and history, especially that of the American presidency and ancient Rome. He was also a longtime Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and A.S. Roma soccer fan. Survivors include his wife, his parents, two brothers and a sister.

R. Fern Spencer (Com ’83 L/M) of Midlothian, Virginia, died Feb. 4, 2015. She was the retired chief financial officer of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and treasurer of the VMFA Foundation. Before that, she served as vice president and CFO of the New York Private Bank & Trust and as principal and chief compliance officer of HPM Partners. She also served for 11 years as the founding chief financial and investment officer of the Virginia College Savings Plan, where she was responsible for all accounting, program operations, budgeting, investment management oversight and financial compliance and reporting functions. A certified government financial manager by the Association of Government Accountants, Ms. Spencer had a long career with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Survivors include her mother, a sister and a brother-in-law, two nephews and two nieces.

Jeanne Cavanaugh Brown (Grad ’86) of Charlottesville died May 23, 2015. She began her career working at U.Va.’s Tayloe Murphy Center for Public Service, now the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, calculating Virginia’s population estimates. She later worked at ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers, where she tended the nursery part time. Most recently, Ms. Brown was a kindergarten teaching assistant and worked in the preschool program at Johnson Elementary School in Charlottesville. She took great joy in preparing her students, who knew her as “Miss Jeanne,” for kindergarten. Survivors include her husband, Richard E. Brown (Col ’84); two daughters; her mother; a sister and a brother.