In Memory | Lest We Forget
JAMES PORTER BAKER ’54
1931 – 2025
Dr. James “Jim” Baker died Jan. 27. He completed his undergraduate studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, was selected “Campus Man of the Year 1954,” and was an alumnus of the German Club. After graduating from the MCV School of Medicine, Dr. Baker served in the active military from 1959 to 1964 and was the attending physician when President John F. Kennedy lay in state in 1963. After 1964, Dr. Baker served in the Navy Reserve and was activated for Operation Desert Storm. He retired as a Navy captain in 1991. He served as the president of the National Board of Medical Directors and was a long-time supporter of Virginia Tech, the Corps, and Hokie Athletics. Dr. Baker’s survivors include his wife, Pat; three sons: David, Dan, and Steve; five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
THOMAS TYLER THOMPSON ’56
1934 - 2024
Maj. Gen. Thomas “Tommy” Tyler Thompson died Oct. 15, 2024. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in agricultural economics. He was a cadet colonel and a member of the German Club. After college, he served on active duty in the U.S. Army in Korea and remained in the U.S. Army as a Virginia-Maryland National Guard officer, later activated during Operation Desert Storm. He retired after 36 years of combined service, and he worked in real estate sales and development for over 50 years. Thompson is survived by his wife, Rebecca “Becky”, son Thomas and daughter Alisa, stepchildren Kathy, Laura, Susan, and four grandchildren.
JAMES SIDNEY KENNAN ’59
1937 – 2025
James “Jim” Kennan died Jan. 23. He graduated in 1959 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and was commissioned in the U.S. Army. He served in the intelligence field and received numerous commendations and medals during his twenty-year career in the military and in government work. Upon retirement from the military, Jim served in the UVA Health System for 25 years. He also supported and led non-profits, including the United Way of Greater Charlottesville. Jim is proceeded in death by his wife, Elizabeth (Betsy), parents Ernest and Virginia, and brother Ralph. He leaves behind his daughters Anne and Beth, and a large extended family to cherish his memory.
LAWRENCE LARKINS KOONTZ JR. ’61
1940 – 2025
Lawrence L. Koontz died March 16. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1961 and later received his law degree from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. After graduation, he served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney and in private practice. Koontz served at every level of court in the Virginia judicial system before his election to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1995. His judicial career spanned 57 years. He is survived by his wife, Eberle, his children, John and Anne, nine grandchildren, and sister, Margaret Coles.
K. REED SCHWEIKERT JR. ’63
1940 – 2025
Reed Schweickert died Feb. 28. In the Corps, he served as an officer of the Cotillion Club and the secretary of the Class of 1963. After graduation, he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Professionally, he formed The Reed Schweickert Company and joined Herff Jones to provide high schools in Virginia with class rings and caps and gowns for over 40 years. Reed was a lifelong supporter of Virginia Tech, the Corps, Virginia Tech athletics, the Virginia Tech business school, and charities and organizations in Powhatan, Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Gail, daughter Susan, son-in-law Jay, five grandchildren, daughter in-law Jacqueline, brother Robert Schweickert, and sister-in-law Georganne.
WILLIAM HOOVER SWAN ’66
1945 – 2024
William “Bill” Hoover Swan died Nov. 17, 2024. He received his bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a master's in business administration from the University of Utah. His served in the U. S. Air Force from 1966 to 1996, retiring as a colonel. As a civilian, Swan worked for the Air Force and the Army for 30 years. He was active in the National Contract Management Association for 43 years. He is survived by his wife Deborah, stepson John, stepdaughter Teresa, and two granddaughters. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Hilma, and his grandparents, Harry and Julia Sturdyvin.
ROBERT CRAIG LOWERRE ’89
1967 – 2025
Robert “Bob” Craig Lowerre died Feb. 23. He completed his undergraduate work at Virginia Tech, majoring in political science and history, proudly serving as the commander of the Highty-Tighties. Bob received a Ph.D in educational leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, later shaping the future of education at three different high schools. He served as the director of the Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, Virginia. Bob is survived by his wife, Tracy, father Robert, daughter Madison and her husband Mike, son Thomas HT '20 and wife Nicole; and his dog, Nora. He also leaves behind his sister, Mary; sister-in-law Debra and husband Mark, and his cherished nieces and nephews.
LEST WE FORGET
Curtis D. Givens ’45, Martinsville, Virginia, 5/3/2025
Robert T. Gordon ’46, Lynchburg, Virginia, 12/24/2024
James A. Houghton ’46, Henrico, Virginia, 3/12/2025
Samuel H. Levine ’46, Ft Myers Beach, Florida, 12/15/2024
John W. Boyd ’47, Saratoga, California, 2/20/2025
Reps O. Robertson ’47, Huntington, West Virginia, 4/3/2025
Raymond H. Schumacher ’47, Milford, Ohio, 12/10/2024
Joseph E. Montalbano ’48, Lutherville Timonium, Maryland, 4/5/2025
John L. Brammer ’50, Quinton, Virginia, 12/9/2024
Benjamin H. Vester ’50, Ellicott City, Maryland, 11/11/2024
Charles R. Whitt ’50, Suwanee, Georgia, 4/29/2025
Edward M. Williams ’50, Virginia Beach, Virginia,4/6/2025
John E. Lastovica ’51, Lake Jackson, Texas, 12/1/2024
Jack M. Patteson ’51, Charlottesville, Virginia, 10/4/2024
Robert D. Price ’51, Burlington, North Carolina, 11/11/2024
Richard C. Quesenberry ’51, Blacksburg, Virginia, 10/29/2024
Harrison R. Tyler ’51, Charles City, Virginia, 5/25/2025
Daniel W. Cheatham ’52, Brookneal, Virginia, 11/7/2024
Bransby W. Bushey ’53, Audubon, Pennsylvania, 2/11/2025
John E. Fox ’53, Capron, Virginia, 1/10/2025
William T. Fox ’53, Capron, Virginia, 3/8/2025
Vernon R. Jones ’53, Orange, Virginia, 1/17/2025
Millard L. Lemon ’53, North Chesterfield, Virginia, 1/1/2025
Edgar P. Odenwalder ’53, Dickinson, Texas, 11/2/2024
Ray A. Robertson ’53, Severna Park, Maryland, 10/26/2024
Robert K. Wormald ’53, Potomac, Maryland, 11/30/2024
John W. Brennan ’54, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 3/16/2025
Leon A. Clay ’54, Morehead City, North Carolina, 12/19/2024
Bradford N. Douglas ’54, Catlett, Virginia, 10/10/2024
John T. Frasier ’54, Bowie, Maryland, 1/10/2025
Wallace C. Lawrence ’54, Beaufort, North Carolina, 6/3/2025
Jerry Bowen ’55, Blue Ride, Virginia, 05/22/2025
George F. Coleman ’55, Lynchburg, Virginia, 05/31/2025
Boyd C. Deaner ’55, Matthews, North Carolina, 3/14/2025
Arthur L. Eller ’55, Blacksburg, Virginia, 10/21/2024
David W. Leonard ’55, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2/18/2025
Denwood T. Milby ’55, Charlottesville, Virginia, 11/20/2024
Robert E. Stacey ’55, Gambrills, Maryland, 12/7/2024
William C. Trenary ’55, Front Royal, Virginia, 10/13/2024
John M. Webster ’55, Odessa, Florida, 1/12/2025
James P. Augustine ’56, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1/21/2025
Maxey L. Bryant ’56, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 12/14/2024
William L. Burton ’56, Manassas, Virginia, 12/11/2024
Gerald O. Clemens ’56, Salem, Virginia, 12/26/2024
Donald B. Goodrich ’56, Petaluma, California, 1/31/2025
C. D. Harman ’56, Atlanta, Georgia, 5/7/2025
Charles E. Leslie ’56, Vinton, Virginia, 12/19/2024
R. Leroy Light ’56, Bristol, Virginia, 5/8/2025
McIvor L. Parker ’56, Williamsburg, Virginia, 1/20/2025
Phillip W. Unger ’56, Daleville, Virginia, 12/30/2024
Robert W. Bowles ’57, Salem, Virginia, 1/17/2025
Wilmot J. Brown ’57, Midlothian, Virginia, 2/13/2025
Paul F. Crawford ’57, Rocky Mount, Virginia, 12/9/2024
Thomas C. Matthews ’57, Martinsville, Virginia, 1/8/2025
Stephen H. Miller ’57, Heathsville, Virginia, 1/1/2025
Donald V. Otey ’57, King George, Virginia, 11/20/2024
Charles P. Quesenberry ’57, Raleigh, North Carolina, 2/15/2025
Frank B. Reid ’57, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 10/20/2024
Obed A. Spady, ’57, Chesapeake, Virginia, 1/15/2025
Clarence K. Spruill ’57, Midlothian, Virginia, 12/28/2024
David W. Abbott ’58, South Point, Ohio, 11/10/2024
Edward E. Agee ’58, Columbus, Georgia, 2/3/2025
Douglas C. Dillon ’58, Stuart, Florida, 4/22/2025
Claiborne R. Hicks ’58, Alexandria, Virginia, 5/28/2025
Charles S. Hughes ’58, Charlottesville, Virginia, 4/27/2025
Reynolds G. Lynch ’58, Roanoke, Virginia, 10/12/2024
Richard C. Noakes ’58, Spotsylvania, Virginia, 10/27/2024
Dorsey B. Smith ’58, Tucson, Arizona, 10/21/2024
Ernest V. Acree ’59, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 4/9/2025
Robert C. Gibson ’59, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2/20/2025
Thomas B. Guthrie ’59, Annapolis, Maryland, 5/15/2025
Alvin R. Hardy ’59, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 10/5/2024
Kenneth R. Lape ’59, Stuart, Florida, 12/2/2024
William H. Moore ’59, Savannah, Georgia, 11/6/2024
Ellwood L. Owen ’59, Mechanicsville, Virginia, 2/10/2025
Bobby E. Spiers ’59, Bellville, Texas, 1/5/2025
Joseph B. Wright ’59, Roanoke, Virginia, 2/1/2025
William C. Bourne ’60, Jackson, Wyoming, 4/23/2025
Wilton D. Bradshaw ’60, Suffolk, Virginia, 12/13/2024
James H. Burke ’60, Derwood, Maryland, 12/23/2024
Wickliffe L. Cobb ’60, Tappahannock, Virginia, 2/3/2025
Gerald Cook ’60, Fairfax, Virginia, 11/17/2024
Leo R. Dickson ’60, League City, Texas, 4/19/2025
John A. Hoffman ’60, Richmond, Virginia, 1/1/2025
Joseph A. Hopkins ’60, Mobile, Alabama, 4/9/2025
Elbert R. Humphrey ’60, Stafford, Virginia, 2/28/2025
James F. Johnson ’60, Roanoke, Virginia, 1/5/2025
John G. Mitchell ’60, Raleigh, North Carolina, 11/5/2024
Nathaniel S. Payne ’60, West Point, Georgia, 4/5/2025
Clifford N. Rosen ’60, Columbia, South Carolina, 3/20/2025
William A. Turner ’60, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1/20/2025
William D. Zirkle ’60, Edinburg, Virginia, 1/31/2025
Randall C. Blankenship ’61, New Castle, Virginia, 1/29/2025
Donald R. Bluth ’61, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 10/10/2024
James L. Douthat ’61, Signal Mountain, Tennessee, 11/17/2024
Nelson L. Fegley ’61, Bumpass, Virginia, 2/28/2025
Thomas V. House ’61, Pensacola, Florida, 3/5/2025
Bobby L. Lilly ’61, Elkton, Virginia, 1/15/2025
Donald S. Oakes ’61, Roanoke, Virginia, 3/29/2025
Thomas D. Poole ’61, Port Charlotte, Florida, 3/29/2025
Paul M. Siemers ’61, Hunt, Texas, 1/20/2025
Daniel L. Wertz ’61, Roanoke, Virginia, 5/14/2025
Julian W. Craig ’62, Salem, Virginia, 12/2/2024
Larry G. Fitzpatrick ’62, Marion, Virginia, 11/27/2024
George E. Krajnak ’62, Athens, Ohio, 12/4/2024
Donald L. Schweitzer ’62, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 2/3/2025
Raymond G. Tessmer, Jr. ‘62, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 04/27/2025
Raymond A. Vaiksnoras ’62, Aiken, South Carolina, 3/4/2025
William H. Wagner ’62, Suffolk, Virginia, 1/18/2025
Charles C. Youell ’62, Lynchburg, Virginia, 3/4/2025
Richard M. Davis ’63, Tehachapi, California, 2/8/2025
Frank S. Givens ’63, Camillus, New York, 2/20/2025
Robert E. Harry ’63, Roaring Gap, North Carolina, 05/17/2025
John T. Huzzard ’63, Fairfax Station, Virginia, 1/18/2025
William L. Morris ’63, Hereford, Arizona, 12/26/2024
Richard E. Smith ’63, Mooresville, North Carolina, 11/22/2024
Gary H. Spiers ’63, Staunton, Virginia, 2/10/2025
Samuel W. Lee ’64, Midlothian, Virginia, 5/26/2025
John T. Sprenkle ’64, Southport, North Carolina, 3/16/2025
Wilson L. Throckmorton ’64, Wicomico Church, Virginia, 3/17/2025
Claude D. Groves ’65, Naperville, Illinois, 1/22/2025
Grover A. Josey ’65, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 11/10/2024
James J. Kail ’65, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 3/2/2025
Malcolm H. McGregor ’65, Louisa, Virginia, 4/2/2025
Charles B. Swayne ’65, Christiansburg, Virginia, 12/28/2024
Henry L. Wyatt ’65, Lynchburg, Virginia, 3/30/2025
Arthur W. Yates ’65, Charlotte, North Carolina, 11/22/2024
Robert N. Bates ’66, Panama City Beach, Florida, 11/21/2024
Hugh W. Bradley ’66, Irmo, South Carolina, 12/11/2024
Robert S. Corbitt ’66, Houston, Texas, 1/14/2025
Wilson L. Dickerson ’66, Altavista, Virginia, 12/4/2024
Thomas H. Mehnert ’66, Waynesboro, Virginia, 2/13/2025
James L. Poole ’66, Youngstown, New York, 11/1/2024
John F. Sheehy ’66, Rileyville, Virginia, 12/15/2024
Howard G. Sholl ’66, Wilmington, Delaware, 12/19/2024
James T. Turner ’66, Mason, Ohio, 2/21/2025
Robert R. Fife ’67, Bluefield, Virginia, 11/6/2024
Michael C. Knight ’67, Charlottesville, Virginia, 04/30/2025
Charles D. Sands ’67, Henrico, Virginia, 3/30/2025
C. P. Senn ’67, Fairfield, Virginia, 4/5/2025
Oliver S. Woody ’67, Radford, Virginia, 5/30/2025
Thomas E. Burdette ’68, Kingston, Tennessee, 1/17/2025
Robert H. Shelton ’68, Elkins, West Virginia, 10/28/2024
John R. Miller ’69, Henrico, Virginia, 10/22/2024
John F. Judd ’70, Brownsburg, Indiana, 3/6/2025
William M. Sample ’70, Denver, North Carolina, 11/21/2024
David M. Smith ’70, North Chesterfield, Virginia, 3/15/2025
Frank S. Williams ’70, Madison, Georgia, 10/17/2024
George L. Fortwengler ’71, Burke, Virginia, 12/27/2024
Michael E. Laing ’71, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 10/19/2024
William F. Kirchner ’72, Lexington, Virginia, 3/11/2025
Timothy R. Bollo ’73, Cocoa Beach, Florida, 2/28/2025
Charles I. Bondurant ’73, Kingwood, Texas, 2/2/2025
Stephen C. Maguigan ’73, New Market, Virginia, 10/28/2024
Guy A. Woolman ’73, Midlothian, Texas, 1/24/2025
William F. Edmonson ’75, Middletown, Virginia, 2/20/2025
Glenn C. Allen ’76, South Hill, Virginia, 1/29/2025
Frederick B. Hoffman ’85, Stafford, Virginia, 3/13/2025
William J. Christie ’96, Spirit Lake, Iowa, 2/15/2025
Scott D. Lippert ’00, Edina, Minnesota, 3/1/2025