70s
leader and involved in historic re-enactment of
both Revolutionary and Civil War events. At
UNC, he was a member of the Marching
Band, Arnold Air Society, AFROTC, and
Scabbard and Blade.
’ 77 Dr. J. Thomas Newton Sr. (’ 77
AB, ’ 81 MD) of Clinton has been
named 2007 Family Physician of
the Year by the N.C. Academy of Family Practices. Newton is in private practice. Kenneth
Wayne Wells (’ 77 ABEd) of Manteo has been
re-elected chairman of the board of trustees
for the N.C. Center for the Advancement of
Teaching. Wells is a retired superintendent of
the Perquimans County Schools. Teresa
Holland Williams (’ 77 AB) of Huntersville
has been appointed to the board of trustees for
Western Carolina University.
■ obituaries
Susan Strickland Locke (’ 77 AB), 51, of
Conover; Jan. 30, 2007. Locke was office manager for a medical practice. Previously, she was
center director of the Newton Recreation
Department and was active in the Hickory
Community Theatre. Virginia Hill
Mickey (’ 77 MEd), 83, of Albany, N. Y.; Dec.
9, 2007. Mickey lived most of her life in
Winston-Salem and spent 31 years in the
Forsyth County school system. She began as a
history teacher and retired as one of the first
female high school principals in the state. She
served on the N.C. Textbook Commission.
’ 78 Katie Belk Morris (’ 78 MBA)
of Southern Pines has been
named Woman of the Year by the
Moore County Community Foundation. Morris, formerly a buyer and sales promotion
director for Hudson Belk Stores, serves as a
screener for the Sandhills Coalition for Human
Care and on the boards of Davidson College,
Sandhills Community College Foundation, the
Union Theological Seminary and School of
Christian Education, Scotia Village and The
Belk Foundation.
■ obituaries
Robert Merle deVoursney (’ 78, ’ 77 PhD),
65, of Charlottesville, Va.; Oct. 26, 2007. At the
University of Virginia, deVoursney taught government, planning and futures research. He
held a position with the Weldon Cooper
Center at the University of Virginia, where he
was executive director of the Virginia
Association of Planning District Commissions.
Reginald Michael Harding (’ 78 JD), 54,
of Virginia Beach, Va.; Sept. 11, 2007. Harding
was a family, criminal and traffic law lawyer.
He was active in community theater, particularly the Hurrah Players.
’ 79 Kenneth Lee Burgess (’ 79
ABJO) of Raleigh has been
appointed to the ethical and judicial
affairs committee of the N.C. Medical Society.
Burgess is a partner in Poyner & Spruill, practicing in the area of long-term care. Charles
Weeks “Todd” Johnson (’ 79 AB) of Charlotte
has been voted Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur
of the Year for 2007. Johnson founded and serves
as president and CEO of Hospital Partners of
America, which was ranked third in the INC
500 list of fastest-growing private companies in
America. Blair Donald Shwedo Sr. (’ 79
BSBA) of Charlotte has been elected vice
president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute
for 2008. Shwedo is president of SouthEastern
Petroleum Systems Inc. and serves as chairman
of the Electrical Continuity Testing Committee.
Dr. Randall Watts Williams (’ 79 AB; ’ 85,
’ 84 MD) of Raleigh has joined with British
and U.S. physicians traveling to work with
health care professionals in Iraq as part of the
Medical Alliance for Iraq. In 2007, the International Medical Corps was awarded a $3 million
grant from the U.S. State Department to provide logistical support in Iraq for this program.
■ marriage
Gary Kelton Joyner (’ 79 AB) and Wendy
Goff Burrus (’ 82 AB) of Raleigh.
