bachelor’s degree in public administration with
a major in city management and, as a municipal and regional government manager and a
consultant, went on to become a national
authority on urban affairs and public administration. He became the youngest city manager
in the country when he took the job in
Asheboro in 1946. A biography, Keeper of the
Flame, was published in 2001, taking its name
from the award given in 2000 by the National
Academy of Public Administration and the
Armin John “Red” Altemueller (’ 48
BSCOM), 82, of Chapel Hill; March 31,
2008. Altemueller was a fiscal officer with the
UNC Physical Plant for 22 years. Details, ’40s
Class Notes. Maurice Alexander Biggs
Jr., 80, of Rocky Mount; March 19, 2008. A
lawyer, Biggs began his career at UNC’s
Institute of Government. He was assistant
director and taught the law of arrest, search
and seizure. He later moved to Rocky Mount
to work as a trial lawyer. He was appointed to
the 7th Judicial District Court bench in 1991,
retiring in 1999. He was an Eagle Scout.
Before completing college, Biggs served in
the Navy in WWII. Cora Paul Bomar
(’ 50 MA), 94, of Greensboro; March 18, 2008.
Bomar, a librarian, spent most of her career at
UNC-Greensboro and taught at UNC during summer school. Details, ’50s Class Notes.
Dr. Robert C. Cefalo, 74, of Chapel
Hill;April 22, 2008. Cefalo was a leader in
graduate medical education and professor
emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at the
UNC School of Medicine. For 25 years, he
was director of the medical residency and fellowship programs at the hospital. During that
time, UNC earned national recognition for the
development of “best practices” in residency
and fellowship programs. He served as president and chairman of the American Board of
Obstetrics and Gynecology and president of
the N.C. Obstetrical and Gynecological
Society. He was honored by the N.C.
Governor’s Commission on Reduction of
Infant Mortality for his contribution to
improving health of mothers and infants. In
2007, the year following his retirement, he
received the Courage to Lead Award from the
American Council on Graduate Medical
Education. He served in several capacities at
the hospital during his tenure, including
director of the Division of Maternal and Fetal
Medicine and served as assistant dean for
graduate medical education. He served in the
Navy Medical Corps before joining the UNC
faculty in 1979. Jane Dicks Connelly
(’ 58 AB), 95, of Chapel Hill;April 22, 2008.
Connelly worked in the political science
department at UNC. Details, ’50s Class Notes.
American Society for Public Administration
for his lifetime of achievement. He was a charter member of the ASPA and the first member
of the Intergovernmental Hall of Fame of the
National Association of Regional Councils, a
form of regional governmental cooperation he
pioneered while a city manager in Oregon in
the 1950s. Mathewson also had been an
adjunct professor at the University of Texas at
Austin. At UNC, he was a member of Sigma
Nu. He was a former leader of the Danville-
Charles William “Billy” Couch, 80, of
Wake Forest; Feb. 12, 2008. Couch was a police
officer at UNC Hospitals for 16 years. He
served in the Navy for 21 years as a chief
petty officer in WWII and the Korean War and
was a police officer at Duke University before
joining UNC. Dr. Harry Emerson
Dascomb, 91, of New Orleans; Feb. 18, 2008.
Dascomb joined the UNC medical school
faculty after a 35-year career at Louisiana
State University Medical School. He specialized in infectious disease, hospital infections
control and tropical disease and was a member
of numerous medical societies. He taught
physical diagnosis at UNC until he was 81
and was a concert violinist, performing with
civic symphonies. Paul Debreczeny, 76,
of Chapel Hill; March 18, 2008. Debreczeny
was chairman of the department of Slavic
languages and literatures and was founding
director of the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and
East European Studies. He retired in 1999 as
Alumni Distinguished Professor of Russian
and comparative literature. Debreczeny earned
his doctorate at the University of London after
leaving Hungary during the 1956 revolution.
His first position in the U.S. was at Tulane
University, where he started the department
of Russian literature. Suzanne Dirr, 30, of
Atlanta and Chapel Hill; Jan. 24, 2008. Dirr
was a tutor with the department of athletics.
She tutored student athletes, primarily football players. David Nesbit Edwards Jr.,
68, of Durham; March 24, 2008. Edwards, a
lawyer, retired as senior associate vice president for legal affairs with the UNC System.
He belonged to Gideons International and
was president and chaplain of Durham South
Camp. He was a member of his church choir,
a deacon, an elder and an ordained lay pastor
and was a trumpet player, performing with
civic symphonies. He served as an officer in
the military. Louise McGwigan Hall (’ 40
AB, ’ 41 BSLS), 88, Raleigh; March 3, 2008.
Hall was a longtime librarian at UNC. Details,
’40s Class Notes. Dr. Carlton Cuyler
Hunt, 89, of Highlands; Feb. 8, 2008. Hunt
was professor emeritus of physiology at
UNC. His areas of research included the
30s
Martinsville,Va., alumni club. In WWII, he
served in the Army Air Forces. George
Juhan McManus (’ 39), 89, of Charlotte;
March 5, 2008. McManus retired from positions at Sears, Roebuck & Co. and the U.S.
Postal Service. In WWII, he was in the Army
Air Corps in the Pacific. Lewis Speight
Morris (’ 36 AB), 93, of Greensboro; May 6,
2008. Morris was the retired chairman and
CEO of Cone Mills Corp., the first leader of
the company who was not a member of the
motor and sensory supply
of nerves to the muscle.
He was an Army medical
officer, serving in Europe
in WWII. Dr. Sid
Kalachandra of
Durham; March 14,
2008. Kalachandra was research professor in
the department of periodontology in the
School of Dentistry. His most recent research
was with drugs to help HIV/AIDS patients
cope with infections. Prior to joining UNC,
he taught at the University of West Virginia,
University of Texas and University of Florida.
He originally worked in the Dental Research
Center at UNC. His early education was in
India, where he earned a doctorate in physical
organic chemistry from the University of
Madras. John Pressly Kennedy Jr. (’ 50
LLBJD), 85, of Warrenton; April 9, 2008.
Kennedy retired as the first secretary of the
UNC System. Details, ’50s Class Notes.
Margaret Carmichael Lester (’ 46, ’ 47 AB),
83, Chapel Hill; March 3, 2008. Lester
worked at UNC in the NROTC office, the
School of Medicine and the Friday Center.
Details, ’40s Class Notes. Marlys Marie
Mitchell (’ 68 PhD), 77, of Chapel Hill,
March 8, 2008. Mitchell is credited with
developing the first master’s degree program
in occupational therapy in North Carolina.
Details, ’ 68 Class Notes. Dr. Viorel
Mocanu, 39, of Chapel Hill; April 8, 2008.
Mocanu joined the faculty as a research scientist in 2002. Dr. Samuel Lester Parker
Jr. (’ 38 AB, ’ 40 CMED), 90, of Kinston; April
3, 2008. Parker was a clinical professor of
OB-GYN at N.C. Memorial Hospital.
Details, ’30s Class Notes. Sylvia Knopp
Polgar (’ 74 PhD, ’ 81 MSW), 79, of
Wilmington; April 9, 2008. Polgar lectured at
UNC before becoming a faculty member at
UNC-Wilmington for almost 20 years, teaching sociology, social work and anthropology.
Details, ’ 74 Class Notes. William Cecil
Trotman (’ 53 AB, ’61 MA), 77, of Winston-Salem;April 8, 2008. Trotman was the founding director of the Institute of Outdoor
Drama at UNC. Details, ’50s Class Notes.
faculty
and staff
obituaries
