In memoriam, summer 2024

 

Date range: Oct. 1, 2023-Jan. 15, 2024

1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Obituaries

1946  

Fred O. Shanks Jr., Danville, Va., 10/15/2023.

1947

Della Cochran Booth, Charlottesville, Va., 12/20/2023.
Freda Polansky Perrotta, Bradenton, Fla., 9/3/2023.

1949

Paul A. Cannaday Jr., Kalispell, Mont., 10/10/2023.
Robert G. Moore Sr., Lexington, Va., 9/15/2023.
Wesley Witcher, Clemson, S.C., 11/9/2023.

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1950

Benjamin F. Johnson Jr., Salem, Va., 12/10/2023.
Gilbert H. Piercy, Henrico, Va., 11/18/2023.
Samuel C. Redd, Bloomington, Ill., 9/23/2023.
Ira N. Schwarz, Denver, Colo., 9/22/2023.
Oliver P. “O.P.” Strawn Jr., Blacksburg, Va., 11/13/2023.
Leonard M. Wolin, Deerfield Beach, Fla., 9/21/2023.

1951

James O. “Sonny” Ash, Callao, Va., 11/12/2023.
Malcolm H. “Mac” Crump, Middleton, Wis., 12/2/2023.
William Robert Wisman, Roanoke, Va., 10/29/2023.

1952

Ira P. Cromer, Midlothian, Va., 11/28/2023.
Richard E. Harman Sr., Roanoke, Va., 10/19/2023.
Thomas M. Hudson Sr., Roanoke, Va., 10/31/2023.

1953

James R. Beaty, Baldwin, N.D., 11/25/2023.
Richard M. Dailey, Royston, Ga., 9/24/2023.
Pence Farrier Ellis, Linden, Va., 11/6/2023.
William M. Harrison, Williamsburg, Va., 9/11/2023.
Susan E. Shelor, Meadows of Dan, Va., 11/11/2023.

1954

John D. Philpott Sr., Bassett, Va., 11/4/2023.
Howard R. Beck, Deerfield, Va., 9/30/2023.
Eugene C. Moncrief, Akron, Ohio, 10/22/2023.

1955

Benjamin L. Abramowitz, Melbourne, Fla., 10/1/2023.
Robert H. Daley Jr., Charleston, W.Va., 1/2/2024.
Helen E. Jordan, Staunton, Va., 12/31/2023.
Ezra D. Quesenberry, Southern Pines, N.C., 9/5/2023.
Jerome M. Sandvig, Minneapolis, Minn., 11/8/2023.

1956

Leo P. Burke Jr., Riner, Va., 10/13/2023.
Thomas C. Johnson Jr., Narrows, Va., 11/16/2023.
Leslie P. Langley, Virginia Beach, Va., 10/13/2023.

1957

Jack S. Bonham, Hesperia, Mich., 10/9/2023.
Alan D. Fetterolf, Bethlehem, Pa., 10/25/2023.
Robert E. Hale, Richmond, Va., 12/8/2023.
William G. Hurt, Fernandina Beach, Fla., 10/2/2023.
William D. Kilgore Jr., Abingdon, Va., 9/21/2023.
Robert H. McDonald, Salem, Va., 11/26/2023.
Jack P. Orr, Troutville, Va., 1/9/2024.
Bertice E. Walker Jr., Williamsburg, Va., 9/15/2023.

1958

Sidney W. Cox, Crofton, Md., 11/8/2023.
J.E. Causey Davis, Richmond, Va., 10/11/2023.
Leland D. Eisenhower, Ocoee, Fla., 1/3/2024.
Ryland J.  “R.J.” Hall Jr., Danville, Va., 10/2/2023.
Laurie E. Haynes, Decatur, Ga., 11/1/2023.
Marvin F. Hogue, Powhatan, Va., 10/31/2023.
William E. “W.E.” Walls, Mechanicsville, Va., 12/8/2023. 

1959

James A. Brockwell Jr., Philippi, W.Va., 12/18/2023.
John L. Cahoon, Roanoke, Va., 10/11/2023.
Charles W. Fox, Manlius, N.Y., 11/6/2023.
Rosalind Harman Fralin, Bent Mountain, Va., 11/1/2023.
Donald R. Lawton, Hopewell, Va., 11/17/2023.
Sandra Warren MacGregor, Norco, Calif., 10/12/2023.
Patsy Carr Reese, Scottsburg, Va., 9/9/2023.
Billy J. Sexton, Parkersburg, W.Va., 10/17/2023.
Frederick J. Turner, West Chester, Pa., 8/28/2023.
Albert J. Winton, Flower Mound, Texas, 10/4/2023.
Nathaniel E. Wray Jr., Richmond, Va., 11/21/2023.

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1960

Charles L. Dunn Sr., Glen Allen, Va., 9/26/2023.
Jack H. Humphries Jr., Virginia Beach, Va., 11/17/2023.
Eldon E. “E.E.” Kordes, Tehachapi, Calif., 10/3/2023.
Lewis E. Taylor, Pfafftown, N.C., 11/22/2023.
Douglas L. Testerman, Harrington, Del., 10/3/2023.
John C. Waddell Jr., Richmond, Va., 11/11/2023.

Ronald B. Wiles, Pinehurst, N.C., 10/16/2023.

1961

Raymond L. Beale Jr., Rocky Mount, N.C., 10/3/2023.
Eugene W. Carson Jr., Blacksburg, Va., 11/24/2023.
Larry G. Conner Sr., Roanoke, Va., 9/26/2023.
Lawrence E. Dye, Cincinnati, Ohio, 11/28/2023.
W. E. “Ed” Owens, Norfolk, Va., 7/24/2023.
George R. Robinson, Winchester, Va., 11/4/2023.
Patrick A. Robinson Jr., Carmel, Ind., 9/28/2023.

1962

Rudolph M. Albert Jr., Saint Johns, Fla., 10/18/2023.
Robert L. Clark Jr., Virginia Beach, Va., 11/19/2023.
James B. Gautier, Burke, Va., 10/6/2023.
Charles Vince Hardwick Jr., Tappahannock, Va., 2/2/2023.
William B. Hoffler, Manakin Sabot, Va., 10/29/2023.
Dennis R. Luck, Westminster, Md., 10/26/2023.
Robert van Luyn, Richmond, Va., 10/30/2023.
Fuller “Elijah” Moore Jr., Edgewater, Md., 11/1/2023.
Thomas Davis Sydnor, Columbus, Ohio, 10/12/2023.

1963

Thala D. Adams, Salem, Va., 12/5/2023.
William E. Clark, Roanoke, Va., 11/19/2023.&
Henry J. Colavita, Haymarket, Va., 12/25/2023.
Andrew J. Dubovsky Jr., Social Circle, Ga., 11/19/2023.
Douglas O. Hubbell, Spartanburg, S.C., 9/26/2023.
Robert L. Hume, Garner, N.C., 10/22/2023.
Robert Donald Meek, Culpeper, Va., 12/1/2023.
Conway B. Moncure, North Chesterfield, Va., 12/7/2023.
Roger E. Scott, Duluth, Ga., 11/25/2023.

1964

Landon Craig Campbell Jr., Merritt, N.C., 9/8/2023.
Gordon Wayne Collins, Dinwiddie, Va., 11/14/2023.
James E. Gardner Jr., Asheboro, N.C., 10/7/2023.
Justian A. Kelly, Long Valley, N.J., 9/2/2023.
Thomas P. Pettigrew, San Antonio, Texas, 9/13/2023.
Anthony G. Riley Jr., Levelland, Texas.

John W. Smith Jr., Davis, N.C., 11/28/2023.
Locke A. Taylor, Glen Allen, Va., 11/30/2023.

1965

Robert N. Allen Jr., Hampton, Va., 9/28/2023.
Jennie Stokes Howe, Gloucester Point, Va., 9/1/2023.
Arnie J. Riisen, Phoenixville, Pa., 10/16/2023.
Edwin W. Ruark, Deltaville, Va., 9/21/2023.
Paul L. Shepherd, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 11/7/2023.
David W. Speidell Jr., Richmond, Va., 10/29/2023.

1966

Michael J. Eunice, Henrico, Va., 10/30/2023.
E.F. “Frank” Hart, Salem, Va., 12/24/2023.
Wesley E. Hughes Jr., La Plata, Md., 10/19/2023.
Basil G. Jennings Jr., Tarboro, N.C., 10/30/2023.
William A. McClintic Sr., Salem, Va., 9/22/2023.
Dan A. Williams, Danville, Va., 11/1/2023.

1967

James F. Arnold, Salem, Va., 1/5/2024.
Glenn A. Baum, Newport News, Va., 11/28/2023.
Robert L. Griffith Sr., Statesboro, Ga., 10/2/2023.
Chi-Ming Li, Blacksburg, Va., 11/26/2023.
James Scheiman, Jacksonville, Fla., 11/21/2023.
Michael S. Smith, Peoria, Ariz., 10/22/2023.
Robert H. Wolfe, Morehead, Ky., 10/22/2023.

1968

James W. Plowman, Chippewa Falls, Wis., 11/26/2023.
Larry A. Hollada, Selbyville, Del., 9/6/2023.
Wilhelm H. Horst, Sterling, Va., 9/21/2023.
Joseph D. Barkley II, Virginia Beach, Va., 12/28/2023.
James R. Hankins, Lebanon, Va., 11/22/2023.
George N. Canode Jr., Shawsville, Va., 11/21/2023.
Phyllis A. Hockman, Fairfield, Va., 11/14/2023.
John M. Friel, Herriman, Utah, 10/1/2023.

1969

Joseph E. Blair, Wilmington, N.C., 10/9/2023.
Carroll D. Bowman, Hillsville, Va., 6/11/2023.
Phyllis Forbush Kitchens, Polk City, Fla., 12/30/2023.
Robert C. Quillen, Kingsport, Tenn., 6/19/2023.
Lynn E. Smith, New York, N.Y., 10/12/2023.
Ronald E. Webb, Hardy, Va., 10/25/2023.

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1970

Woodrow W.  “W.W.” Ashby Jr., Churchville, Va., 10/20/2023.
Kirby D. Matlick, Glen Allen, Va., 10/12/2023.
Paul M. Morrison Jr., Lynchburg, Va., 10/29/2023.
Michael B. Todd, Mooresville, N.C., 10/15/2023.

1971

James Harper Alexander IV, Water View, Va., 12/24/2023.
Terry D. Babbitt, Lynchburg, Va., 9/26/2023.
Richard B. Theis, Williamsburg, Va., 10/12/2023.
Dennis W. Gaines, Elkton, Va., 10/31/2023.
Nancy Duggins Gloss, Fredericksburg, Va., 10/29/2023.
Tony A. Martin, Roanoke, Va., 11/5/2023.
Richard W. McCanna, Little Switzerland, N.C., 11/6/2023.
Ronald E. Musiak, Westfield, Mass., 1/4/2024.
John M. Turner, Warrenton, Va., 11/17/2023.
William T. Waller, Denton, Texas, 6/1/2023.

1972

Dennis K. Brown, Roanoke, Va., 12/13/2023.<
Hugh W. Dodson, Rock Spring, Ga., 9/18/2023.
James A. Stimmel Jr., Berryville, Va., 11/22/2023.

1973

Louis F. Atwell, Hampton, Va., 12/2/2023.
David C. Baron, Fairfax, Va., 11/26/2023.
Margaret Jane Carder, Bedford, Va., 11/28/2023.
Lemuel B. Battle Jr., Salem, Va., 10/3/2023.
Ronald W. Lane, Richmond, Va., 11/14/2023.
James L. Vogel, Leesburg, Va., 8/28/2023.

1974

Carl P. Absher, Blacksburg, Va., 9/23/2023.
Kenneth L. Black III, Sandy Hook, Va., 11/19/2023.
David P. Calvert, Roanoke, Va., 11/25/2023.
Melanie J. Retzke, Leicester, N.C., 11/1/2023.
William G. Snidow, Pembroke, Va., 11/5/2023.
Selby G. Venning III, Moneta, Va., 1/4/2024.

1975

James S. Riggs, Wise, Va., 10/6/2023.
Barbara Sanders Lucy, Abingdon, Va., 11/18/2023.
John R. Suter, Voorhees, N.J., 10/11/2023.

1976

Michael R. Cannon, South Bend, Ind., 11/14/2023.
John A. Coffey, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 11/15/2023.
Charles H. Gilliam, Auburn University, AL., 9/19/2023.
Robert M. Kelly, Smithfield, Va., 11/11/2023.
Bruce R. Keim, Bethlehem, Pa., 12/2/2023.
Michael E. Ohlson, Abingdon, Va., 11/13/2023.
Martha Trolinger Wallis, Wake Forest, N.C., 10/14/2023.

1977

Ted R. Bardinelli, Durham, N.C., 9/28/2023.
Darrell W. Brubaker, Rocky Mount, Va., 12/7/2023.
Terry L. Bursey, Richardsville, Va., 12/12/2023.
Sheryl A. Coury, McLean, Va., 11/2/2023.
William C. Jordan III, Virginia Beach, Va., 9/11/2023.
Paul T. Morgan, Newport News, Va., 9/8/2023.
Roger L. St. George, Spofford, N.H., 12/11/2023.
Larry L. Stabler, King George, Va., 12/6/2023.
Carmon S. White, Grundy, Va., 11/8/2023.

1978

Denise Davis Peterson, Richmond, Va., 9/24/2023.
Charles L. Thomas Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 11/5/2023.

1979

Russell D. Allison, Carrollton, Va., 11/9/2023.
Elizabeth C. Mills, Englewood, Colo., 9/4/2023.
Harold H. Scott III, Clarksville, Md., 12/27/2023.
Melinda P. Wilkins, State College, Pa., 9/7/2023.

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1980

Scott T. Boiles, Wirtz, Va., 10/3/2023.
Richard F. Cooper, Blacksburg, Va., 12/19/2023.
Joel B. Hardison, Hixson, Tenn., 9/30/2023.
JoAnn Harvill, Newport, Va., 10/20/2023.
Wallace Hodge Mann III, Spotsylvania, Va., 11/29/2023.
Virginia Layne, Ashland, Va., 9/1/2023.
Eric L. Wells, Massillon, Ohio, 9/18/2023.

1983

Cynthia A. Beaudet Blaha, North Dinwiddie, Va., 11/16/2023.
Stephen J. Giebel, Germantown, Md., 10/22/2023.
Susan Thomas Merrill, Orange Park, Fla., 7/29/2023.
Thomas B. Patterson, Bedford, Va., 11/6/2023.
Donna L. Short Phillips, Gainesville, Va., 10/18/2023.

1984

William W. Binzer, Lorton, Va., 9/8/2023.
Steven A. Coleman, Greensboro, N.C., 10/16/2023.
Kraig K. Kelican, Stephens City, Va., 9/21/2023.
Sara Ketron Poole, Lebanon, Va., 9/6/2023.
Maggie Munns Priest, Thorofare, N.J., 10/30/2023.
Vernon Randall Tinsley, Summerfield, N.C., 10/25/2023.
Benjamin J. Underwood, Williamsburg, Va., 10/29/2023.

1985

Joseph J. Ballato, Charlotte, N.C., 11/21/2023.
Linda Morrison Combs, Winston-Salem, N.C., 10/19/2023.
Vicki Fain Leonard, Check, Va., 10/6/2023.
Steven H. Miles, Chester, Va., 11/5/2023.

1986

Robert M. Bennett, Raleigh, N.C., 9/8/2023.
Preston L. Brockman, Bristol, Va., 9/9/2023.
Joseph L. Miller, Chevy Chase, Md., 10/18/2023.

1987

Kevin J. Brogan, Falls Church, Va., 11/13/2023.
Mildred L. Wiggert, Blacksburg, Va., 12/12/2023.

1988

Gregory D. McFall, Leesburg, Va., 10/6/2023.
Sally E. Woody, Rocky Mount, Va., 1/3/2024.

1989

Landon S. Ambler, Stella, N.C., 10/8/2023.
Barbara Coe Doss, Dublin, Va., 9/15/2023.
Ann K. Felker, Ellicott City, Md., 12/2/2023.

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1991

James J. Kupar, Evans, Ga., 9/14/2023.
Anne P. Langley Johnson, Blacksburg, Va., 10/25/2023.

1992

Tobie W. Blankenship Jr., Willis, Va., 10/30/2023.
Mary Oneil Credle, Suffolk, Va., 9/26/2023.
Dean H. Henderson, Richlands, Va., 11/26/2023.

1993

Geraldine Ella S. Martin, Ocean View, N.J., 10/28/2023.
Robert M. Mitchell, Manchester, Tenn., 11/8/2023.
James M. Yunker, Westport, Mass., 12/2/2023.

1994

Gregory D. Geisz, Mechanicsville, Va., 10/24/2023.
Dawit Teklu, Columbia, Md., 10/8/2023.
Jane Neely Wright, Woolwich, Maine, 12/5/2023.

1997

Kenneth K. Bieber, Berkeley Springs, W.Va., 10/4/2023.

1998

Julia B. Akers, Roanoke, Va., 10/19/2023.
Nell F. Doss, Christiansburg, Va., 1/1/2024.
Jane A. Wittmeyer, Boise, Idaho, 10/25/2023.

1999

Clare D. Klunk, Hanover, Pa., 12/5/2023.

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2000

Lewis H. Waters Jr., Sterling, Va., 11/2/2023.

2004

Michele E. Lill, Altoona, Pa., 12/20/2023.

2007

Kelly M. Roseberry, Readfield, Maine, 10/28/2023.

2008 

Craig K. Wilkes, Buchanan, Va., 10/24/2023.

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2010

Larry A. Massie, Henrico, Va., 12/9/2023.
Jason E. Salyers, Seattle, Wash., 9/15/2023. 

2011

Melissa M. Bandeff, Hagerstown, Md., 9/17/2023.

2014

Dillon P. McCarvill, Blacksburg, Va., 10/5/2023.

2015  

Moira E. Dilks, Blacksburg, Va., 9/11/2023.

2018  

Daniel G. Bartels, Mechanicsville, Va., 9/6/2023.

2020

Alexander L. Hahn, Charlottesville, Va., 10/9/2023.

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Obituaries

Notable alumni

Irving L. Peddrew III of Hampton, Virginia, who integrated Virginia Tech’s classrooms in 1953, died May 11.

While enrolled, Peddrew was forced to live and eat off campus. Decades later, he became a namesake of a residence hall that now houses more than 200 students and a Black culture-themed living-learning community.

Peddrew was the first Black student admitted to a historically white, four-year public institution in any of the 11 former states of the confederacy. He arrived in Blacksburg more than half a year before the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision and during his first year was the only African American among the university’s 3,322 students.

Although Peddrew chose to withdraw from the university before the start of his senior year, his academic performance and character impressed many, helping pave the way for other Black students, including three in 1954. In 2003, Virginia Tech named Peddrew-Yates Hall for him and Charlie L. Yates, who became the university’s first Black graduate in 1958.

In 2016, Peddrew became just the ninth person to receive an honorary degree from Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech President Tim Sands conferred a bachelor’s degree in engineering to Peddrew during that year’s University Commencement.

 

Matthew Maurice Winston Sr., one of the first Black students to attend Virginia Tech and the second Black student to graduate, died May 14.

A Norfolk, Virginia, native, Winston graduated as his class valedictorian from Booker T. Washington High School in 1955. He enrolled at Virginia Tech, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering in 1959. Winston later earned a master’s degree in engineering administration from George Washington University.

Winston retired in 1994 after 35 years as an engineer, researcher, and administrator at NASA-Langley. He was recognized with many agency awards, including a medal for his contributions to equal opportunity employment and a special recognition award for service to and management of NASA’s High-Speed Research team. Winston also was recognized with Booker T. Washington High School’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Winston’s legacy and voice lives on at Virginia Tech. In 1991, Winston and his son, Matthew Winston Jr. ’90, dedicated the mural entitled “Legacy” that sits outside of the Black Cultural Center in Squires Student Center.His story also has a place in the University Libraries’ oral history archives.

Faculty/staff

Arvid Myklebust, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, died April 10. Myklebust joined Virginia Tech in 1983. He was an early advocate of computer-aided design (CAD), establishing the Virginia Tech CAD Lab in Randolph Hall with a grant from IBM as a hub for integrating education and sponsored research. He served as principal investigator for the Great Horned Owl Unmanned Air Vehicle Program, and he led the principal design team for the Future Combat Systems Organic Air Vehicle. Myklebust’s accomplishments earned him a spot in the inaugural class of the Virginia Tech Faculty Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2012.

John M. Pinkerton, the SunTrust Professor Emeritus in the Department of Finance, Insurance, and Business Law in the Pamplin College of Business, died May 19. A member of the university community since 1977, Pinkerton retired in 2017. During his 40 years at Virginia Tech, Pinkerton served as chair of the finance department’s undergraduate curriculum committee as well as Pamplin’s research committee and was the director of the finance department’s Ph.D. program for five years. He led many academic initiatives and was the co-advisor of the SEED program, a student-run investment group, for several years.

Barbara Jane Reeves, a retired Virginia Tech instructor, died Jan. 22. Reeves taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses from 1993-2019 in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

David P. Roselle, a former Virginia Tech mathematics professor, died April 15. Roselle was named dean of Virginia Tech's Graduate School in 1979 and served as provost from 1983-87. He left Virginia Tech to become the president of the University of Kentucky and was appointed president of the University of Delaware in 1990, a position he held for 17 years. He retired in 2007.

James P. “Jim” Wightman, professor emeritus of chemistry at Virginia Tech, died Nov. 20, 2023. His research focused on surface chemistry and adhesion science. He was one of the first scientists to study the impact of space on materials through vacuum chamber studies. Wightman was named an Alumni Distinguished Professor by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors in 1987. He also earned the 1995 Virginia Tech University Sporn Teaching Award for excellence in teaching introductory subjects, the 1972 William E. Wine Award for Faculty Achievement, the 2001 SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Clifford Department of Chemistry Award for service.

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