50s
Young taught fourth grade in Fayetteville public schools
for 25 years. ◆ J. Carl Young (’ 40 BSCOM), 92, of
Raleigh; Oct. 10, 2011. Young was founder of Kip-Dell Homes Inc. In WWII, he served in the Army as
captain of a field artillery unit. At UNC, he belonged
to Kappa Alpha Order.
’50s Lemuel Showell Blades III (’ 58 LLB) of Rock Hill, S.C., and his wife, Nancy, were honored with the
naming of the Lem and Nancy Blades Collection at
the Museum of the Albemarle in commemoration of
their volunteer work in research into the history of
North Carolina. Both are native Elizabeth City resi-
dents. ◆ Joseph Wesley Burrell (’ 56 AB) of Asheville
has published his second nonfiction book, Work Is
for the People: A Treatise on the -Isms, in which he
digs into the assumptions behind the myriad ideas
that shape thinking about politics and society. ◆
Benton Franklin “Sonny” Clifton (’ 55 ABEd, ’ 59 MEd)
of Raleigh and his wife, Shirley Clifton, have made a
planned gift of a $50,000 charitable gift annuity to
the Patient and Family Resource Center at the N.C.
Cancer Hospital. ◆ George Royster Greene (’ 57
LLBJD) of Raleigh has been inducted into the Raleigh
Hall of Fame. Greene, a retired Superior Court judge
and the first African-American to be elected to the
Wake County District Court, served as the attorney
for student activists from Shaw University and St.
Augustine’s College during the lunch counter sit-ins,
served as attorney of record for the Raleigh Inter-
Church Housing Corp. and led the integration of the
Pullen Park pool. ◆ Luther Hartwell Hodges Jr. (’ 57
AB) of Chapel Hill has received the William Richard-
son Davie Award from the UNC Board of Trustees.
Hodges, president of the venture capital firm Phoenix
Associates Inc., has served on the UNC Board of
Visitors (1987-91) and the GAA Board of Directors
(1985-88) and has supported UNC in many areas,
including the Ackland Museum, Carolina Performing
Arts, Kenan-Flagler Business School and the School
of Medicine. ◆ William Edward Niven (’ 55 MEd) of
Lexington has been recognized for his work as a
teacher, coach, principal and superintendent for the
Lexington city schools with the establishment of the
Jerry Lea Cole and Elizabeth Long Cole Honored
Educator Scholarship honoring William Edward Niven,
a fully endowed scholarship at the N.C. Center for the
Advancement of Teaching. ◆ Julian Hart Robertson Jr.
(’ 55 BSBA) of New York has received the 2011 Lead-
ership Award from Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Co-founder, chairman and general partner of Tiger
Management, Robertson was recognized for his work
as an investor, environmentalist and philanthropist.
In November, Robertson was named chairman of the
private-equity company Forstmann Little & Co.
Robertson has served on the GAA Board of Directors
(1965-67). ◆ Dr. William Edgar Thornton (’ 52 BSPHY,
’ 63 MD) of Boerne, Texas, has received the 2011
Presidential Award from the N.C. Medical Society.
Thornton is the first astronaut from North Carolina
and a researcher who holds more than 50 patents.
A retired professor of medicine at the University of
Texas Medical Branch, Thornton is writing a handbook
for NASA Johnson Space Center on the operational
effects of weightlessness in space. (Story, page 80.)
◆ Charles McKimmon Winston Sr. (’ 53 AB) of
Raleigh has been inducted into the Raleigh Hall of
Fame, along with his wife, Florence Barclay Winston.
The Winstons teamed up with Thad Eure Jr. ’ 54 and
Alice Eure ’ 56 to found The Angus Barn. The Winstons
also developed the local restaurants Pizza Inn and
Darryl’s into national chains. With their son Robert
Watson Winston III (’ 84 AB), they grew Winston
Hotels to a 52-hotel business. Winston’s charitable
projects include the construction of the Jane S.
McKimmon Center, named in honor of his grand-
mother. Winston is a former member of the GAA
Board of Directors (1989-92 and 1996-2000) and
served as board chair in 1998-99.
■ obituaries
Frances Rousseau Alspaugh (’ 51), 85, of Richmond,
Va.; Oct. 16, 2011. Alspaugh taught in the public
schools of Gastonia, Lexington and Salisbury. ◆
Hilda Pekarsky Baum (’ 51 AB), 81, of Longmont,
Colo.; Nov. 12, 2011. Baum was an artist and piano
teacher. Her sculptures were displayed in galleries
and public buildings. ◆ Julia Graham Blanchard (’ 57
MEd), 83, of Lake Norman; Nov. 14, 2011. Blanchard
retired as the media specialist at an elementary
school in Charlotte. She was a school librarian and
taught library science at Appalachian State University
and Winthrop University. ◆ Ella Cashwell Booker (’ 56
MEd), 84, of Asheville; Oct. 20, 2011. Booker retired
as a guidance counselor in Buncombe County, where
she was responsible for starting a drug education
program and a self-esteem program for disabled stu-
dents. She received the Terry Sanford Award for her
creativity and innovation. ◆ Larry Francis Botto (’ 52
BSBA), 83, of Chapel Hill; Oct. 10, 2011. Botto left
his career in advertising to work for PBS, writing its
first programming marketing plan and becoming
Please join us at the
General Alumni Association’s
Annual Alumni Luncheon
Saturday, May 12, 2012
George Watts Hill Alumni Center
12: 15 p.m.
with greetings from UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp ’ 86
and a performance by the UNC Clef Hangers
;
2012 GAA Distinguished Service Medal Recipients:
John Ellison ’ 69, ’ 72 (MBA)
Bill Harrison ’ 66
Randy Jones ’ 79
Shirley Ort
;
For more information or to purchase tickets, call Linda Sherck’ 95 (MA)
at the General Alumni Association at (919) 962–3576.
