Jefferson Pilot Life Insurance Co. In WWII, he served
in the Army and was awarded the Purple Heart.
Dr. Thomas Sampson Royster (’ 40 AB), 89, of
Chapel Hill; Aug. 4, 2008. Royster was retired chief
of vascular surgery at Roosevelt Hospital in New
York, where later he was a trustee and honorary
trustee of the hospital board. He served in WWII with
the Army Medical Corps, then practiced general surgery in Henderson. He served on the board of directors of the U.S. Seniors Golf Association. He and his
wife established undergraduate scholarships at UNC
as the Royster Society of Fellows for graduate students. While at UNC, he belonged to Sigma Alpha
Epsilon, the Philanthropic Society, Order of Gimghoul
and Golden Fleece. J. William Russell Jr. (’ 48 AB,
’ 50 LLBJD), 84, of Candler; Sept. 4, 2008. For the
past 25 years, Russell led the law firm of Russell &
WWII and was awarded several medals. His letters
from the front lines were published in community
newspapers. Dr. Eugene B. Sharpe (’ 49 BSMED,
’ 50 CMED), 80, of Asheville; Aug. 24, 2008. A radiologist, Sharpe was associated with Asheville
Radiological Group until his retirement. He served in
the Army in WWII and the Air Force Medical Corps in
the Korean War. He was a member of Pi Kappa
Alpha at UNC. Florence Birdseye “Betty” Smith
(’ 47 AB), 84, of Rockville, Md.; Oct. 6, 2008. Smith
was a community volunteer, helping a local service
agency. She worked briefly in a public health tuberculosis center. Roger Alexander Snyder (’ 41 BSCOM),
88, of Winston-Salem; Sept. 29, 2008. Snyder retired
as owner of a furniture and appliance company in
1989. He was active in his church as a Sunday
school teacher, choir member for 70 years and band
member, among other activities. Among his causes,
he sponsored children in Third World countries. In
WWII, he was in the Army, serving in Europe. At UNC,
he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and belonged to Beta
Gamma Sigma and Glee Club. John Barham
Spilman (’ 40, ’ 46 AB), 89, of Greenville; Oct. 1, 2008.
Spilman traveled as a sales representative for several companies until retiring in 2004. He was chairman
of the Pitt County Board of Elections and the Pitt
County Democratic Party. He was in the Army in
WWII, serving in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He finished his degree at UNC following his war service. At
UNC, he belonged to Sigma Nu. Peter Wilson
Strader (’ 46, ’ 51 AB), 83, of Sarasota, Fla.; Sept. 2,
2008. Strader retired as artistic director of the
Players Theatre of Sarasota, a community theater
group. He continued to freelance as a director and
scenic designer. He interrupted his career at UNC to
serve in the Army in Europe in WWII. After he
returned to UNC, he and his wife spent their summers performing in the outdoor drama
Unto These
Hills in Cherokee. After a decade in New York, where
he was active in theater, he returned to Sarasota to
become artistic director for Players. At UNC, he
belonged to Alpha Tau Omega. Dan John Sullivan
Jr. (’ 46), 84, of Louisville, Ky.; Sept. 24, 2008.
Sullivan was president of a construction company.
He was an Army Air Corps veteran of WWII. At UNC,
he belonged to Beta Theta Pi. Nelson Leroy Taylor
(’ 47 AB), 84, of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; July 6, 2008.
Taylor worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years.
He was in the Marine Corps, serving in WWII and the
Korean War. Norris Watson “Slats” Timmerman
(’ 49 AB), 82, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Sept. 16,
2008. Timmerman had a 40-year career as an insurance agent and financial planner. He earned his
chartered life underwriter and chartered financial
consultant designations and taught many new agents
in their CLU courses. He was active in his church,
where he and his wife were founding members. He
was president of the downtown West Palm Beach
Kiwanis Club, the YMCA, the Palm Beach Association
of Life Underwriters and the Estate Planning Council
of the Palm Beaches. He served in the Navy in WWII
before attending UNC and was active in NROTC.
Catherine Caldwell “Cassie” Tynes (’ 44 AB), 86, of
Clayton; Sept. 3, 2008. Tynes was a retired English
teacher and men’s golf coach at Grimsley High
School in Greensboro. She was named Golf Coach of
the Year in 1987. At UNC, she belonged to Alpha
Delta Pi. Henry Clyde “Hank” Walters (’ 49 AB;
’ 52, ’ 51 MEd), 86, of Greensboro; Oct. 7, 2008.
Walters retired as principal of Western Guilford High
School. He served in the Army Air Force in WWII.
King PA. He was elected to the N.C. Bar Association
Hall of Fame in recognition of more than 50 years of
continuous legal service, and he fulfilled his wish of
practicing law up to the day before his death. He was
a founding member of the Land O’ Sky chapter of
Trout Unlimited and former counsel to the Cherokee
Historical Association. He served with the Marines in
WWII in the Pacific. Edward Louis Schlesinger (’ 44
ABJO), 86, of Houston; Sept. 5, 2008. Schlesinger
retired as manager of employee relations from Shell
Oil Co. In WWII, he served in the Navy in the Pacific
and, at UNC, was in NROTC. Howard Stephen
Sexton (’ 42, ’ 46 AB), 87, of Winston-Salem; Oct. 2,
2008. Sexton retired after 37 years with AT&T. An
active member of AT&T Telephone Pioneers, a volunteer network, he led the painting of U.S. maps outdoors at schools across the country. He served in
Adventures in Ideas
Join us this spring as we explore
interesting and important cultural,
moral and social topics from the
perspective of the humanities.
Topics range from Machiavellian
statecraft to Jane Austen and
the Victorians. Two popular
programs about the “New
Atheists” and “God’s Problem”
will be offered again.
Jan. 30, 2009, is the deadline
for early registration. Please
visit our Web site for complete
program topics, dates and fees.
SPRING 2009
adventuresinideas.unc.edu
Sponsored by the UNC Program in the Humanities and Human Values and the UNC General Alumni
Association. GAA members receive a registration discount. First-time participants receive a 50%
discount. Full-time K- 12 teachers, librarians and administrators in public and private schools and
community college faculty in North Carolina receive a 50% discount on tuition for all seminars.
General Alumni Association
