John Frederick Coplin (’ 51 LLB), 86, of Athens,
Ga.; Dec. 14, 2008. Coplin retired as executive vice
president of Golden Pantry Food Stores Inc. In his
church, he was treasurer and senior warden and
served on investment and financial committees. He
was president of the Otaki Girl Scout Council. As a
young man, he became an Eagle Scout. In WWII, he
was an Army bombardier-navigator in the Italian campaign. Joyce Lemons Coulter (’ 52, ’ 51 BSBA), 78,
of Charlotte; Jan. 31, 2009. Coulter was a real estate
broker and for many years a member of the
Charlotte Board of Realtors. After retiring, she
worked in her daughter’s law office. She was chairman of the board of deacons of her church and a
Girl Scout leader. Thomas E. Cunningham Jr.
(’ 51), 79, of Charlotte; Jan. 5, 2009. Cunningham
was president of a wholesale beverage distributor-
ship. He volunteered at the Presbyterian Hospital
wound care unit and Habitat for Humanity. At UNC,
he belonged to AFROTC and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Madeline Jennings Darden (’ 52), 78, of Raleigh;
Dec. 24, 2008. Darden was a pianist and sang in the
church choir. A.C. Dawson Jr. (’ 54 MEd), 93, of
Raleigh; Jan. 13, 2009. Dawson was a teacher who
spent years as a coach, principal and superintendent
at Southern Pines city schools. A gymnasium is named
in his honor. He was president of the N.C. Education
Association and executive director of NCEA and N.C.
Association of Educators for 19 years. He lobbied the
N.C. General Assembly for 59 years for teachers,
retirees and public education. The governor awarded
him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for his work on
behalf of education. Jack T. Dossett (’ 52), 81, of
Durham; Jan. 20, 2009. Dossett retired as owner
Adventures
in Ideas
SUMMER 2009
June
2 President Obama: The
First 100 Days–An Afternoon Panel
Discussion
June
20 Venice and the Making
of the Modern World
June
26-27 What is the Good Life?
Searching for “Success” from Plato
to Prozac
July
11 The Classic Southern Novel
July
18 From Mozart to Muzak:
The Cultures of Classical Music
July
25 The United States in the
Pacific War
Register by May 27 for our early bird
discount. Please visit our Web site for
complete program details, registration
and fees.
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
and operator of a real estate company. In retirement,
he was an active volunteer at the VA Hospital. He held
numerous offices, including commander of the
Durham York Rite Masonic Bodies. He was an Army
veteran. A. Caswell Edmundson (’ 52, ’ 53 BSBA),
78, of Edenton; Feb. 23, 2009. Edmundson was the
founder and president of a carpet and appliance
center. Among numerous civic activities, he was president of the Edenton Lions Club and received an
award as best deputy district governor. He was active
in his church, serving as chairman of the board of
deacons and past chairman of the finance committee. Cortland Hoach Edwards II (’ 57 AB), 76, of
Tallahassee, Fla.; Jan. 23, 2009. Edwards retired
from the Florida Department of Health and Human
Resources. Previously, he was with the City of New
York Department of Social Services. He served in the
Air Force. In retirement, he was a Red Cross mental
health emergency response volunteer, traveling to
more than 50 locations to provide assistance and
support, including the 9/11 World Trade Center
attacks. At UNC, he was a columnist for The Daily Tar
Heel. Robert Luther Edwards (’ 59 BSBA), 70, of
Raleigh; Jan. 5, 2009. The majority of Edwards’
career was with Dupree & Webb Insurance Co., where
he retired as vice president. He was a charter member
of the downtown Raleigh Lions Club. He served in the
National Guard. At UNC, he belonged to Sigma Nu.
Arthur Hughes “Chip” Fawcett Jr. (’ 57 MRP), 79, of
Washington, D.C.; Nov. 23, 2008. Fawcett was a park
planning and revitalization professional. A lawyer, he
was chief of policy and planning for the District of
Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation. In
retirement, he founded an organization that became
Washington Parks & People, mobilizing more than
100,000 volunteers for park reclamation in the capital
city. E. Reece Felts Jr. (’ 52 AB), 78, of Statesville;
Jan. 20, 2009. Felts retired from WSJS Channel 12
as a TV producer and TV personality. Earlier, he was
promotion manager. A contribution from Felts provided three electronic communication editing suites
when Carroll Hall was renovated as the home of the
School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Felts
served in the Air Force in the Korean War.
Thomas Francis Ferdinand (’ 50 MS), 85, of New
York; March 21, 2008. Ferdinand retired as manager
of engineering and safety service with the American
Insurance Services Group in New York. In the ’60s,
he owned Banfer Gallery in New York, representing
contemporary American realists. Melvin Lewis
Finch Jr. (’ 50 BSCOM), 81, of Raleigh; Jan. 11, 2009.
Finch retired after 37 years with The News and
Observer Publishing Co. He served as secretary and
treasurer, chief financial officer and a member of
the board of directors. Finch’s numerous civic commitments included serving on the Raleigh school
board, where he was instrumental in combining the
Wake County and Raleigh school systems, and serving on the original merged board. In 2008, he was
recognized as an outstanding leader in public education by the Wake Education Partnership. Other
activities included serving as president of the board
of directors of Hospice of Wake County, president
and founding member of Wake County Education
Foundation and president of the International
Newspaper Financial Executives. He was in the Navy
in WWII, serving on aircraft carriers in the Asiatic
Pacific. At UNC, he played clarinet in the Marching
Band and was a member of Delta Sigma Pi. Robert
Eugene Fleming (’ 56 BSGEO, ’ 58 MS), 79, of
Asheville; Jan. 8, 2009. Fleming retired as a geologist.
