New Jersey; Oct. 17, 2007. Gill retired from
Mobil Oil Corp. as manager of international
banking and was the first employee to sign a
check for $1 billion. In civic activities, he was
an officer for Meals on Wheels and the
American Red Cross. In WWII, he was in
naval intelligence and served as a cryptographer in the Korean War. At UNC, he was on the
baseball team, interdormitory council and in
the student legislature. Doris Clark Gunn
(’ 44 AB), 84, of Portland, Ore.; Oct. 30, 2007.
Gunn retired as a real estate broker in
Oklahoma City, Okla., before moving to
Portland. She was involved in a number of
civic activities related to the environment and
improved services for citizens. She served with
the Sierra Club and on citizens groups to
improve public transportation and planning for
the school district. At UNC, she was a varsity
cheerleader and belonged to Pi Beta Phi.
James F. Hackler Jr. (’ 42), 87, of Myrtle
Beach, S.C.; Nov. 22, 2007. Hackler retired as a
major general in the Air Force after 26 years of
service, including as a fighter pilot in WWII.
For a number of years, he was a director of
operations at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. He
received numerous awards, including the Silver
Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and French
Croix de Guerre. In retirement, he was
involved in the motel, restaurant and golf
industries. He was named S.C. Man of the
Decade by the Air Force Association and
Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Pee
Dee Area Council of the Boy Scouts. At
UNC, he belonged to Sigma Alpha Epsilon
and Philanthropic Society and was on the golf
and wrestling teams. F. Cooper Hamilton
(’ 48 AB), 79, of Jacksonville; Nov. 30, 2007.
Hamilton was a lawyer, practicing for more
than 40 years. He served in the Army in the
Korean War. Dr. William Luther Hand
Jr. (’ 41), of New Bern; Nov. 7, 2007. Hand
retired as a New Bern dentist. Among his professional affiliations, he was a state delegate to
the American Dental Association for three
terms. He was an Eagle Scout and, while a
UNC student, was credited with using his
Scout training to save a child from drowning.
He served in both the Navy and Army. At
UNC, he belonged to Delta Kappa Epsilon
and Order of Gimghoul. L. Alexander
Harper (’ 45 AB), 82, of Norwalk, Conn.;
Nov. 13, 2007. Harper retired as a minister of
the United Church of Christ, serving a number of church communities in his career. He
marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma
and assisted in voter registration in Mississippi.
He also was a writer on religion and a musician, playing principal viola in several community orchestras. His degree from UNC was
granted in absentia because he was serving as a
tactical radar officer with the Navy in the
Pacific. In the Korean War, he was a Navy
WILLIAM C. FIELDS III ’ 38 1917–2007
First Graduate With Fine Arts Degree Made His Mark With Portraits
Portraits he painted hang in public and pri- in the growth of UNC. Among
vate collections throughout the U.S. and his subjects and the location of their portraits:
Europe. A number of his portraits of people ■ In Wilson Library: Robert D. W. Connor
important to UNC history hang in buildings (class of 1899), Kenan professor in history
across campus. William C. Fields III ’ 38, and government, first archivist of the U.S.
the first to receive a bachelor’s degree in fine and North Carolina; William Henry
arts at UNC, died Dec. 4, 2007, in his home- Holt, lawyer, benefactor of UNC
town of Fayetteville. He was 90. Libraries; James Welch Patton ’ 25 (MA,
After graduation, Fields worked as an ’ 29 PhD), professor of history, director of
administrator with the New Deal’s Federal the Southern Historical Collection;
Arts Project, spending his free time painting William S. Powell ’ 40 (’ 47 BSLS, ’ 47
portraits. He said that from the moment he MA), professor emeritus of history and
decided to make painting his career, he never Best known of the portraits by author of numerous books on N.C. his-
contemplated any other field. By 1945, he William C. Fields III ’ 38, left, tory; and Mary L. Thornton ’ 39 (’ 43
had established portrait studios in New York is that of Pope Pius XII, which MA), first librarian of the N.C. Collection.
he showed in 1952 in Rome to
and his home in Fayetteville, The Meadows. U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth ■ In Hamilton Hall: James L. Godfrey ’ 33
He spent part of each year in Europe, paint- Bunker, above. (MA), history professor, dean of faculty,
ing portraits of dukes and duchesses, barons Distinguished University Professor; Fletcher
and baronesses, and he was permitted to paint Green ’ 22 (MA, ’ 27 PhD), Kenan professor
a portrait of Pope Pius XII. Fields said he of history, chairman of the department;
couldn’t ask the pope to pose; instead, Fields and Carl H. Pegg ’ 27 (’ 27 MA, ’ 30 PhD)
was given access to the pope and sketched as chairman of the history department.
he conducted his daily activities. He also ■ In Carmichael Residence Hall: Katherine
painted Vittorio Orlando, who had been Carmichael, dean of women.
Italian prime minister in World War I. Fields ■ In Dey Hall: Ruth Warwick Hay, first
said each day Orlando appeared for a sitting, head of the department of public health
he would have on a different suit, requiring nursing.
the artist to paint his clothing from memory. A Fields portrait of Dudley De Witt
By the late 1950s, Fields was ready to Carroll is out for conservation but will be
spend more time at The Meadows, where he returned to the McColl Building. Carroll was
continued his portrait painting. He became a dean of the School of Commerce, later the
steadfast advocate of the arts in the state, serv- School of Business Administration, Kenan
ing as president of the N.C. State Ballet, professor of economics and chairman of the
trustee of the N.C. Symphony and president faculty.
of the Associated Arts of North Carolina. He
GAA FILES GAA FILES
in
memoriam
was honored by the
governor in 1974 with
the N.C. Award in Fine
Arts. He also was hon-
ored with international recognition, including
being named a Life Fellow of the Royal
Society of Arts in London.
Another interest was history and genealogy, especially of the Fayetteville area. In a column written in the Fayetteville Observer just
after Fields’ death, Roy Parker Jr. ’ 52, retired
contributing editor of the Observer and former member of the GAA Board of Directors,
described him as the “crown prince of local
history in Cumberland County.”
His alma mater called on him frequently to
paint portraits of men and women important
