class notes
News for and about the members of the UNC General Alumni
Association. Want to submit an item? Use the “Update Your
Record” form at
alumni.unc.edu/update, post news online at
alumni.unc.edu or send e-mail to
alumni@unc.edu. Items
submitted for Online Class Notes are considered for inclusion
in the Review. The deadline for the July/August issue is May 1.
’30s Jane Ross Hammer (’ 36 AB, ’ 37
MA) of Mitchellville, Md., has been
included in Who’s Who of American Women 2008-
2009, Who’s Who in America 2009 and Who’s Who
in the World 2009. Hammer wrote Protector, A Life
History of Richard Cromwell and has edited and published the works of the late UNC philosophy professor
Horace Williams, notably Logic for Living and Origin
of Belief.
■ obituaries
B. Irvin Boyle (’ 34 AB, ’ 36 LLBJD), 96, of Charlotte;
Nov. 3, 2008. Boyle, a lawyer, was senior member of
Boyle, Alexander, Hord & Smith and most recently
served as counsel to Johnston, Allison & Hord. He had
been president of the Mecklenburg County Bar
Association, was in the N.C. Bar Association Hall of
Fame and was treasurer and a member of the board
of commissioners of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Hospital Authority (now the Carolinas HealthCare
System). In 2000, he was inducted into the Excalibur
Society for 40 years of service and leadership to the
Carolinas HealthCare Foundation. As a youth, he was
the first Junior Golf Champion in the state. He had a
strong interest in education and anonymously
financed the college education of many students. He
was a member of the UNC System Board of Governors
(1979-87) and was chairman of the trustees of
Appalachian State University. He was on active duty
in the Navy Reserve from 1942 to 1945. At UNC, he
was editor of the Law Review and a member of
Delta Kappa Epsilon. Thomas Haywood Curlee
(’ 35 ABEd), 94, of Orangeburg, S.C.; Nov. 10, 2008.
Curlee was retired owner of a wholesale and retail
candy and merchandise business. He also owned
and operated National Shoes in Orangeburg. He
grew 250 varieties of camellias and was an active
member of the National Camellia Society. At UNC, he
was on the men’s track and field team. M. Cecil
Ernst (’ 38, ’ 39 BSCOM), 93, of Durham; Nov. 6,
2008. Ernst retired as treasurer and executive vice
president of Home Security Life Insurance Co. He
served in the Army Air Force in WWII, receiving the
EAMET Campaign Medal and five Bronze Stars. At
UNC, he belonged to Sigma Nu and Philanthropic
Society. Dr. Benjamin Fletcher Fortune (’ 37 AB,
’ 39 CMED), 92, of Greensboro; Dec. 25, 2008.
Fortune joined his father in general practice of medicine following military service, specializing in providing anesthesia service. He was medical director
for the Keeley Institute, an alcohol treatment center,
and active in a number of medical associations. In
WWII, Fortune was a Navy physician and was
recalled to duty for the Korean War. He remained
active in the Navy Reserve for more than 20 years.
At UNC, he belonged to Kappa Sigma. F. Wills
Hancock III (’ 39 BSCOM), 90, of Oxford; Dec. 29,
2008. Hancock, a former state senator (1951-67),
was the retired chairman of Hancock Realty Corp.
After graduation, he served as the training officer in
the Army. He continued with the N.C. National Guard
until he retired. He created UNC’s Franklin Wills
Hancock Scholarship and the Frank W. Hancock
Memorial Fund in the School of Pharmacy, and he
served on the GAA Board of Directors (1948-58). At
UNC, he was on the wrestling team and track and
field team and belonged to Zeta Psi, Beta Gamma
Sigma, Interfraternity Council and Gorgon’s Head
Lodge. Richard Paul Heller (’ 38 BSCHE), 92, of
Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Nov. 7, 2008. Heller worked
with DuPont Corp. for 42 years. Among his many
interests was fishing, and he chose a retirement
area known for its fishing spots. R. Wilson Howard
(’ 39 BSCOM), 92, of Fayetteville; Nov. 7, 2008.
Howard retired as general assistant in a construction
company focused on shopping center development.
He served in the Navy in WWII and received the
Philippines Liberation Ribbon with a Bronze Star. At
UNC, he was on the boxing team and freshman
Correction
The January/February
2009 issue of the
Review inadvertently
omitted Rep. Angela
R. Bryant ’ 73 (’ 76 JD)
from a list of UNC
alumni in the N.C.
General Assembly.
Alumni make up 26
percent of House
members ( 31 of 120).
N.C. House
Rep. Angela R. Bryant
’ 73 (BSMAT, ’ 76 JD)
Democrat; was an incumbent;
represents District 7 (Halifax
and Nash counties)
Angela.Bryant@ncleg.net
football team and belonged to Phi Delta Theta.
Marjorie Thomas LeGwin (’ 37 AB), 92, of Grand
Rapids, Mich.; Oct. 8, 2008. An educator, LeGwin
taught in North Carolina schools, then had an 18-
year teaching career in Grand Rapids. Her volunteer
activities included PTA, Cub Scouts and the
Wyoming, Mich., board of health. Stephen Henry
Millender (’ 30, ’ 31 AB), 98, of Burlington; Dec. 1,
2008. Millender was a leader in the furniture industry, first joining White Furniture Co. and helping found
early in his career the Southern Furniture Market
Center. He retired from White Furniture as chairman,
going on to be president and chairman of the market
center. He was a longtime director of the National
Association of Manufacturers, helped develop a furniture manufacturing program at N.C. State
University, served on the Alamance County welfare
board, headed the Mebane Community Chest’s
fundraising and was active in his church. He established a private charity to help fund higher education,
and he had a special commitment to UNC’s Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center. At UNC, he belonged
to Kappa Alpha Order. Margaret McDonald Park
(’ 35 AB), 94, of Raleigh; Dec. 22, 2008. Park was a
member of the Junior League of Raleigh. She was a
founding member of Modern Minerva Book Club, a
group that met for almost 80 years. At UNC, she
belonged to Pi Beta Phi and Alpha Kappa Delta.
Bertram Lewis Potter (’ 37 AB), 91, of Pasadena,
Calif.; Nov. 21, 2008. Potter practiced law until his
death, specializing in representing disabled people. A
longtime member of the board and former president
of the Social Security Section of the Los Angeles
County Bar Association, he lectured at national meetings of the Social Security Bar. He was in the Army in
WWI, was with the first Allied contingent to enter
Paris as it was liberated and served as a military government officer in Germany and Luxembourg.
James Zachary Rabun (’ 37 MA), 98, of Atlanta; June
20, 2008. Rabun was professor emeritus at Emory
University. He taught history, specializing in the
American South, and served as department chairman
in the ’70s. He received Rosenwald and Guggenheim
fellowships and awards for his teaching. He was in
the Navy in WWII as commander of subchasers and
patrol craft in the Atlantic and Pacific and served in
the Navy Reserve. He graduated from UNC as James
Warren Rabun. Nancy Smith Seth (’ 39 AB), 91, of
Cold Spring, N. Y.; Dec. 7, 2008. Seth was a musician,
playing piano in solo and ensemble recitals and playing organ for Christian Science churches, as well as
teaching piano. At UNC, she belonged to Chi Omega.
