College Mourns Death of Senior Trustees
The Austin College community was saddened in recent months by the deaths of two senior members of College’s Board of Trustees.
David Charles Sprowl of Sherman died December 7, 2013. A 1962 graduate of Austin College, he served in the U.S. Air Force then began work at the Texas State Comptroller’s Office. He joined A.G. Edwards and Sons in 1973, first as a broker and later vice president, then regional manager of the Southwest Region until his retirement in 2006. He also served on the Sherman City Council and was elected mayor for the City of Sherman in 1983. He served on the boards of American Bank and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital-WNJ, as well as two terms on the Greater Texoma Utility Authority. He and Frankie, his wife of 40 years, supported numerous Austin College projects, including scholarships, athletics, and Posey Leadership Institute, and contributed to creation of Collins Alumni Center and Wright Campus Center. They have an alumnus son James Sprowl ’84 as well as a daughter, Rebecca Waterman.
Dr. G. Raymond “Ray” Stephens, Jr., ’50 of Sherman died August 19, 2013. After graduating from Austin College, he earned his medical degree with honors at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and began his residency at University of Iowa Medical Center, where he met his wife, Betty. He served in the U.S. Air Force, 1956 to 1958, as a medical officer, achieving the rank of major. After completing his residency, the family returned to his hometown of Sherman, where he practiced obstetrics and gynecology until his retirement in 1992, delivered over 10,000 babies in his career. In addition to varied service in the local community, Ray served on the Austin College Board of Trustees during the 1980s and 1990s, and remained active as a senior trustee until his death. He and Betty supported projects at Austin College for more than 50 years, particularly scholarships that assist students with international travel, as well as the IDEA Center. A 1985 Distinguished Alumnus of Austin College, Ray was an avid golfer and a regular supporter of the annual Austin College Legends event. He and Betty have three alumni children, Susan ’79, Martha ’80, and John ’83, in addition to son David. If desired, memorials may be made to the Stephens Family International Studies Scholarship Fund at Austin College.
| ’37 Wilford “Wil” Penny ’40 Redellium Lindley “R.L .” ’42 Zac Russom ’42 Orson Whited ’43 Clarence M. Basset ’47 William Robert Knox ’47 John Lancaster ’48 Ernest Helsley ’48 Clara Hawkins Jackson ’48 Harold Walker, Sr. ’49 Betty Moates Lewis ’49 Velton Williams ’50 Leslie Baldwin ’50 Thornton “Tony” Doss ’50 Charles Goode ’50 John Allan Guthrie ’50 Dudley Lee Olds ’50 James Stanley Russom ’50 G. Raymond Stephens, Jr. ’51 Rosemary Beachy Banta ’51 Bettie Jane Dobson Storey ’51 Janet Lindsay Tuggey ’51 Nancy Slocum ’52 Billy Kincaid ’53 Troy Cox ’53 David Slider ’54 Robert E. Birk ’54 Edward DeWees ’54 Ophelia Wilma Miller Hite ’54 Pearson Pollard ’56 Hartsell Haws, Jr. ’56 Walter Lynn Zimmerman ’57 John Towles ’58 Ray Smith ’59 Perry Morris ’61 David Duncan ’61 John Hunder ’61 Kenneth W. Jack ’62 Karen Keliehor ’62 Helen Hayes Sebesta ’62 David Sprowl ’64 James “Jay” Buckner ’66 Mary Catherine Cloud ’68 Conrad E. Koerper III ’69 Richard Donald “Don” Aubrey ’69 Edward Wilson ’70 Bobbie Booher Gohlke ’70 Mark Mays ’71 Stanley McGee ’71 Ronald Taylor, Jr. ’73 Timothy Flynn ’74 Robert Newton ’75 Susan Antonelli ’75 Robert A. Clark ’76 Ronald Perrett ’80 Andrew Ratcliff ’81 Richard Willaire ’83 Stanley Joe Smith ’85 Margo Smith ’87 Julie Pierce McIntyre ’08 Justin Frost |
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Friends We Will Miss
Harold Buskirk, who worked as a media technician at the College for 23 years, serving from August 1974 through April 1997, died August 22, 2013.
Ruth Lee Cason, an administrative assistant in Academic Affairs from August 1971 until her retirement in September 1989, died November 17, 2013.
Verde V. Dickey, Jr., who provided funding for the Verde Dickey Fitness Pavilion in honor of his coaching pioneer father, Verde Dickey ’27, died February 15, 2014.
Margaret Ann Freeman, wife of the late Bill Freeman, professor of education, died August 31, 2013.
Jeannine Jernigan, wife of Jack Jernigan, professor emeritus, died October 23, 2013.
Larry Kramer, legendary Austin College football coach from 1973 to 1982, died January 24, 2014.
Louise Street, wife of Ken Street, professor emeritus, died October 21, 2013.