In Memoriam

Alumni

Friends We Will Miss

Sarah Weddington, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Austin College in 1993, died December 26, 2021.

Peter Bogdanovich, Austin College 2004-2005 Chair of Excellence in International Leadership, died January 6, 2022.

Rosemary Mulder, retired staff member from the Education Department, June 1966 – December 1997, died May 7, 2021.

Ann Fuller, former faculty member and Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the Faculty, died May 22, 2021.

Several faculty spouses who were active community members died in 2021:

• Phyllis Armstrong (William Armstrong), December 30, 2020
• Martha Jeanelle Gourley (Lloyd Gourley), April 28, 2021
• Jean Lunkley (Bruce Lunkley), March 25, 2021
• Ann Mason ’52 (Bob Mason), October 30, 2021
• Ann Williams (E. Don Williams), March 4, 2021

Austin College Faculty

Often, Austin College faculty members arrive on campus planning to stay only a few years—and retire from the College many years later. We celebrate the lives of these faculty members who did just that—and who now have died after making a tremendous mark upon the students, faculty, and history of Austin College. Find full obituaries on the College website.

Professor Emeritus of Music Cecil Isaac died May 30, 2021. Isaac arrived at Austin College and its Department of Music in September 1962, teaching a sequence of music history and music literature courses, as well as orchestra, ensembles, and brass instruments. In 1964, Isaac began to play music with some community and college musicians; soon Sherman Symphony Orchestra was born with him as Founding Director. Following a distinguished career of 30-plus years, he retired in 1996 and moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he remained throughout his life.

Professor Emeritus of English Jack J. Jernigan died February 7, 2021. He joined the Austin College faculty in 1967 and spent the next 22 years in dedicated service. He received the College’s Homer P. Rainey Award for distinguished service and excellence in 1985. His service included stints as Chair of the English Department, Dean of Humanities, and Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. He retired August 31, 1989.

Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Thomas Kimes died February 4, 2021. He joined the faculty in 1962, and, though he planned to stay only a short time, he found so much going on at the College that was professionally exciting that there was never a time to leave until his retirement in 1992. In 1976, he was named to the J.N. Chadwick Chair of Mathematics and served as Chair of the Mathematics Department for a number of years. He also served as Director of the January Term program for several years. He led several JanTerm trips to England in study of Stonehenge and other archeological sites.

Professor Emeritus of Religion Thomas Nuckols died on February 21, 2021. He joined the Austin College faculty in 1965 and retired in 1998. During those 33 years, he taught a variety of Religious Studies courses, as well as his own academic specialty of Christian Social Ethics. His sabbatical studies included liberation theology; the role of the church in influencing public policy, particularly related to the arms race and Central America; and the phenomenology of religion with special focus on Buddhism. He also had research interests in biomedical ethics.

Professor Emeritus of Physics Larry Robinson died July 15, 2021. He joined the Austin College faculty in 1969 and spent more than 40 years teaching and interacting with students and colleagues. In that time, he taught nearly every physics class offered, considering it a challenge he was eager to take on. He particularly enjoyed setting up and developing labs and experiments and was quick to incorporate computers into his labs when they became available. He enjoyed teaching “Heritage: Models of Scientific Thought,” and working with new materials, colleagues beyond the Sciences, and many more students than enrolled in his science courses.

Austin College Board of Trustees

These generous and faithful members of the College’s Board of Trustees died during the past year. Find full obituaries, when available, on the College website.

Board of Trustees member Thomas C. Welfelt died June 8, 2021. He joined the board in 2012, serving as a member of the Audit, Financial Health, and Investment Committees. A 1974 graduate of the College, he was a member of Welfelt Properties, a Dallas-based company that holds oil and gas properties.

Senior Trustee Raymond “Jerdy” Gary died on May 5, 2021. A petroleum entrepreneur and public servant, he was 87 at his death. His leadership extended beyond his business, Sooner Oil, to his years as the former mayor of Denison, Texas, and board chair of Texoma Medical Center, and in service to his church, city, and family. He served on Austin College’s Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1995, active on the Business Affairs Committee, and remained on the senior board until his death. He was a supporter of the College’s Annual Fund as well as several scholarship initiatives.

Senior Trustee Ross Hester died August 12, 2021. A dedicated 1947 graduate of Austin College, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1984. In his obituary, his family wrote that Mr. Hester always wore an Austin College tie and pin and occasionally delighted his grandchildren by wearing his “Fear the ’Roo” T-shirt. Mr. Hester served on the Business Affairs Committee of the College’s Board from 1987 to 1999, serving as vice-chair of that committee for several years. He was a generous donor to College needs.

Former Austin College Board of Trustees member Teresa Lozano Long died March 21, 2021. She served on the board from 1999 to 2002, active on the Student Affairs Committee and the New Era Campaign Steering Committee. She and Joe were generous donors to the New Era Campaign, creating the Joe and Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Internship in Southwestern and Mexican Studies, the Joe R. and Teresa L. Long Endowed Presidential Scholarship, and the Joe R. and Teresa L. Long Sponsored Leadership Scholarship.