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 email to
alumni@unc.edu. Items submitted for Online Class Notes are considered for inclusion in the
Review. The deadline for the May/June issue is Feb. 1.
’30s ■ obituaries Omnia Floyd Fowler (’ 30), 103, of
Winston-Salem; Aug. 19, 2011. Fowler was head of
several car dealerships in Winston-Salem. He began
with the Chevrolet dealership and won numerous
awards in sales and service from the car maker. He
was also in commercial real estate development. He
competed in national equestrian championships. At
UNC, he belonged to Lambda Chi Alpha. ◆ Raymond
Clement Harris (’ 39 MA), 96, of Nashville, Tenn.;
Aug. 15, 2011. Harris retired as a research chemist
with Tennessee Eastman Co. At UNC, he belonged
to Alpha Chi Sigma. ◆ Mary Delia Rankin Jarman
(’ 34), 100, of Gastonia; Sept. 21, 2011. After college graduation, Jarman worked for the Emergency
Recovery Act, then for the welfare department in
Gaston County. She was active in her church and
received its Honorary Life Membership Award. ◆
Mary Ward Shanor (’ 39 MA), 95, of Gainesville, Fla.;
Sept. 19, 2011. Shanor was a residential real
estate agent in Gainesville. ◆ Paul Greenwood
Troutman (’ 37, ’ 38 BSCOM), 100, of Aberdeen;
Sept. 1, 2011. Troutman was a retired farmer and
active in his church.
’40s Alan “Skip” Bergman (’ 48 AB) of Beverly Hills, Calif., received a 2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award
from UNC. Bergman and his wife, Marilyn, have collaborated as a songwriting team for the past 50 years.
They have won Oscars for The Windmills of Your
Mind, The Way We Were and the score for Yentl. The
Bergmans wrote the lyrics to The Magic of Love,
which the UNC Chamber Singers performed at the
convocation on University Day in October. Story, page
70. ◆ Clarence Nelson York (’ 49 AB) of New York
received a 2011 Alumni Achievement Award from
the UNC School of Education. York is president of
York Associates, an international consulting firm that
assists agencies serving children and adults with
disabilities.
■ obituaries
Jeane Pierce Baicy (’ 48 AB), 85, of Winston-Salem;
72
January/February 2012
Sept. 2, 2011. Baicy retired as a job placement spe-
cialist with the Employment Security Commission. At
UNC, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and
belonged to Alpha Delta Pi. ◆ Dr. G. Walker Blair Jr.
(’ 45, ’ 44 BSMED; ’ 45 CMED), 87, of Burlington;
Sept. 4, 2011. Blair retired as an internist in private
practice in Burlington. He was an associate professor
of medicine at UNC School of Medicine. He was a
Navy veteran who served as a physician in the Korean
War. While at UNC, he was president of Alpha Tau
Omega and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. ◆ Faye
Riley Branca (’ 41 ABJO), 90, of Earleville, Md.; Aug.
7, 2011. Branca was book editor and then publica-
tions coordinator for the International Reading Associ-
ation. She was president of the board of the Cecilton
Branch Library and a key person in the construction
of the Cecilton Community Library. ◆ Charles N.
Briley (’ 43 BSCOM), 90, of Charlotte; Aug. 5, 2011.
Briley, a CPA, retired as a partner from Ernst &
Young. He was chosen Charlotte’s Young Man of the
Year in 1957 and was president of the Charlotte
Jaycees and Charlotte Rotary Club. In WWII, he was a
Marine. He served on the GAA Board of Directors
(1977-80). ◆ Guy L. Byerly Jr. (’ 43 BSCOM), 90, of
Charlotte; Oct. 1, 2011. Byerly retired from Belk
Stores Services Inc. as senior vice president. He
was active in his church, president of Charlotte Civi-
tan and board member of the Methodist Children’s
Home. He served in the Navy in WWII. At UNC, he
was president of Phi Kappa Sigma, a member of the
track team and on the first UNC basketball team to
play in the NCAA tournament. ◆ Jyles Jackson
Coggins (’ 43), 90, of Raleigh; Aug. 25, 2011. Cog-
gins was a businessman and politician. He owned
Coggins Construction, which built several major
Raleigh projects. In the ’60s, he entered politics and
was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives
and N.C. Senate, then became mayor of Raleigh. In
WWII, he was a naval bomber pilot in the Marine
Corps, earning the nickname “Bomber Jack.” He
received eight Air Medals and two Distinguished Fly-
ing Crosses. ◆ Henry Elliott Colton (’ 48 JD), 90, of
Asheville; Aug. 29, 2011. Colton founded an insur-
ance agency in Asheville. He was national president
of New England Life Agents. Among many commu-
nity activities, he served on the Asheville City Coun-
cil and was a volunteer mediator for the Buncombe
Mediation Center. He was a Navy pilot in WWII. As a
law student, he belonged to Order of the Coif and
was on Law Review. ◆ Peyton Woodruff Cox (’ 49),
87, of Marietta, Ga.; April 28, 2011. In WWII, Cox
served in the Navy. At UNC, he belonged to Lambda
Chi Alpha. ◆ Betty Gray Parker Creech (’ 43 AB),
90, of Tarboro; Aug. 7, 2011. Creech received an
award for her lifetime of service to her church; she
sang in the choir, served on various committees and
was a church elder. ◆ Walter Atkinson Damtoft
(’ 44, ’ 47 BSCOM), 89, of Asheville; Sept. 22, 2011.
Damtoft was a journalist who retired as editor and
publisher of American Way, the in-flight magazine for
American Airlines. Much of his career was as a
writer and editor for the National Observer in Wash-
ington, D.C. In WWII, he served in the Navy. At UNC,
he was a desk editor of The Daily Tar Heel and
belonged to Golden Fleece, Order of the Grail and
Phi Delta Theta. ◆ Gorris James Eggleston (’ 42),
95, of Eden; July 31, 2011. Eggleston was a partner
in a family-owned oil company in Reidsville. He was
named deacon emeritus of his church. ◆ Maggie
Jones Erwin (’ 41 BSLS), 92, of Emerald Isle; Sept.
10, 2011. Erwin was active in the auxiliary to the
Medical Society of Scotland County and the N.C.
Medical Society. ◆ Virginia Fitchett Finch (’ 43), 90,
of Dunn; Aug. 20, 2011. Finch was active in her
church and helped design spaces and redecorate
the sanctuary. ◆ James Garrison Freeman (’ 44
BSCOM), 89, of Charlotte; Aug. 19, 2011. Freeman,
a CPA, owned and operated his own firm. In WWII,
he was with the Navy Amphibious Forces, piloting
personnel landing craft. At UNC, he belonged to
Delta Sigma Pi, NROTC and Philanthropic Society. ◆
Dr. Harold Vincent “Hank” Garrity Jr. (’ 45), 88, of
Interlaken, N.J.; Sept. 29, 2011. Garrity retired from
his dental practice in Oakhurst. He was president of
Rotary Club and on the staff of Jersey Shore Univer-
sity Medical Center. He served in the Army in WWII
and in the Air Force Dental Corps in the Korean War.
At UNC, he belonged to Sigma Chi. ◆ Carney Gavin
Gatta (’ 42), 91, of Long Branch, N.J.; Sept. 8,
2011. Gatta retired as founder of a real estate and
insurance agency. In addition, he founded Shore
Multiple Listing Service. He was designated Realtor
Emeritus by the National Association of Realtors. He
served in the Army in WWII. ◆ Dennis V. Gentry Jr.
(’ 49 BSCOM), 85, of Blacksburg, Va.; Sept. 11,
2011. Gentry had a career of more than 20 years
with the Army. He served in WWII, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War and was an assistant profes-
sor of military science at Virginia Tech. He received
the Legion of Merit, among other awards. In retire-
ment, he was a plant protection manager for an
Army ammunition plant and became spokesman for
the Blacksburg Electronic Village, encouraging sen-
ior citizens to join the cyberspace generation. ◆
