Fred Wylie McPeake, (’37), died Jan. 23 in Knoxville. He was 88. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served in WWII in the Pacific. He was very active in church and community activities and was instrumental in organizing the Knoxville Scottish Rite shoe program, healthcare equipment-lending program and hearing and speech clinic.

George C. Thomas, (’38), died March 14 in Dresden. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his bravery in combat with the U.S. Army’s 112th Cavalry Regiment in the Pacific in WWII. He retired from the National Guard with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served as Weakley County judge for 18 years and then built a successful law practice.

Theresa Lawler Anderson, (’38), died March 20 in Memphis. She was 90 years old. She taught school in Rutherford, Trenton, Dresden, Alamo and Knoxville before retiring as a fourth-grade teacher at Auburdale School in Cordova.

John Fleming Pate, (’38), died Dec. 29, 2008, in Jackson. He was 83. He served as a Marine during WWII. He retired from the Social Security Administration after 30 years of service. He was also an avid traveler and visited more than 160 countries and territories.

Joe H. Sanford, (’50), of Jefferson City, died Dec. 3, 2008. He was 78. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, retired from Farm Credit Services in 1985 and was a farmer for many years.

Louis Frederick Welch, (’51), died March 13 in Urbana, Ill. He worked at the Georgia Experiment Station, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the agronomy department at the University of Illinois. His research dealt with soil fertility and fertilizers. He retired from the university in 1990.

Richard Neal Hudgins, (’53), died Jan. 16 in Obion. He was 76. He was a retired lab manager for Wayne Feeds, where he worked for 37 years. He was active in church. He served in the U.S. Army for two years. He was a member of the North American Blue Bird Society and maintained a blue bird trail in southern Obion County for eight years, fledging more than 8,000 blue birds.

Dr. Donald Brooks Freeman, (’57), died Jan. 11. He was 73. He taught pharmacy at Samford University and retired as a pharmacist from Cooper Green Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Kenneth Houston, (’59), above, died Feb. 10 in Decaturville. He served for 25 years as a public education teacher, coach, principal and superintendent in Henderson County Schools. For 15 years, he worked as an adjunct professor for UT Martin and the University of Memphis. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean conflict and was raised on and owned Houston Century Farms, family-owned since the 1850s. He was active in his church and community.

Connly “Ray” Pryor, (65), died Nov. 26, 2008, in Knoxville. He was 66. He retired from Alcoa, where he was a member of the 25-Year Club.

Nina Francis Scarborough Walker, (UTMB, ’65), 65, of Lexington, died Nov. 21, 2008. She was a social-work counselor with the Tennessee Department of Human Services before retiring in 2003 with 35 years of service. She worked in many roles during her career, including child protective services, foster care and adult protection services. (Courtesy Pafford Funeral Home)

James Luther Ramsay, (’77), died March 11 in Nashville. He was 57. He worked in health-care management and had worked in Saudi Arabia, London, Rome and Panama. He was most recently employed as chief financial officer of Ameris Health Systems. As an active member of the Boy Scouts of America, he received the Silver Beaver award for his years of service to the youth of Middle Tennessee.

Jane Elizabeth Kirby, (’79), died Dec. 31, 2008, in Jackson. She was 51. She was a 30-year employee of the State of Tennessee Department of Correction Children’s Services. She was active in her church and was an emergency room volunteer.

Alma Jean Green Fulton, (’83), of South Bend, Ind., died Dec. 21, 2008. She was active in her church and her sorority. She was a program coordinator for AWS.

Charles “Chuck” Osborne, (’83), died Nov. 14, 2008, in Tullahoma. He was an avid Vols fan and enjoyed spending time with the “Holy Smokers” championship barbecue-cooking team.
Eric “Guy” Kelly, a member of the 1987 Pacer football team, died April 4. He was 41 years old. Kelly started at left cornerback for head coach Don McLeary in 1987 after transferring to UT Martin from the College of Eastern Utah for the 1987 season. He was a 14-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Police Department and was one of three police officers killed in the line of duty.

Kevin Rogers, (’95, ’00), died April 15, 2009. He worked for both the Weakley County Press and UT Martin’s Office of Sports Information. Later, he worked for the Columbia Daily Herald. His friend, Justin Lamb, also of the Daily Herald, wrote, “Kevin had a contagious passion for both middle school and prep sports, and it showed in his writing. He was an enthusiastic writer, and he loved nothing more than to be covering a game for the paper. His passion and his overwhelming kindness made him a well-liked and respected person. He was someone that I was honored to call my friend.”

Martha B. Johnson, (UTJC certificate ‘50), of Kingsport, died April 30. She attended UT Junior College in Martin and later earned her bachelor’s degree in education from UT Knoxville. She worked at Tennessee Eastman Co. for several years before resigning to become a full-time homemaker and mother. She was an avid reader and never lost interest in education, having once served as president of the Kingsport Institute for Continued Learning. (Courtesy Kingsport Times-News)

Lauren Jean Witty, (’08), of Memphis, died May 23 in a traffic accident near Jackson. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in marketing. She was pursuing an MBA degree at UT Martin at the time of her death. (Courtesy of The Commercial Appeal.)

Dr. William A. (Bill) Dillon, of Martin, died Dec. 4, 2008, at Regional Hospital in Jackson. Dr. Dillon, 75, was UT Martin professor emeritus of biology. He held an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, a master’s degree from William and Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science and his doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi. He was retired from the Tennessee National Guard. (Courtesy Murphy Funeral Home & Florist)

Thomas Wayne Fisher, 101, of Dresden, died Dec. 18, 2008, at the Huntingdon Health and Rehabilitation Center in Huntingdon. He was a UT Knoxville graduate and a member of the UT Board of Trustees from 1953-81. Mr. Fisher was a former Dresden mayor, superintendent of Weakley County Schools and a World War II veteran. During his service on the UT Board of Trustees, he was known as a strong advocate for the Martin campus. Wayne Fisher Drive between the Boling University Center and Paul Meek Library bears his name. (Courtesy Dresden Enterprise and The University of Tennessee at Martin: The First 100 Years by Bob Carroll)

Wilsie B. Fulton, age 86, died May 13. She worked in the university’s dining services area for 35 years (1953-1988).

Martha Jean Hutchens, 72, of Martin, died June 4. She retired in 2008 from UT Martin following 53 years of service with the Paul Meek Library. She was a 1955 graduate of Martin High School and a member of the Martin Church of Christ.

Beuford Wayne Keene, 71, UT Martin professor emeritus of English, died Feb. 23. He came to UT Martin in 1966 and retired following 34 years of teaching. Born in Benton, Ark., he held a bachelor’s degree in English from Arkansas Polytechnic College (now Arkansas Tech University) and a master’s degree in English from Michigan State University. His professional affiliations included the Tennessee Folklore Society and the Tennessee Philological Association. Mr. Keene received professor emeritus status in 2000 following his retirement.

John Wikstrom, who taught geography at UT Martin from 1970 to 1995, died Jan. 30 in Grand Rapids, Minn.

Kathleen Hyneman Elam, 94, of Union City, died April 9, at her home. She and her husband, the late Thomas French “Tom” Elam, were longtime supporters of the University of Tennessee and local and regional projects. Before her death, UT Martin welcomed family members and friends to honor Ms. Elam on March 3 during the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament at the Elam Center.

At halftime of “Kathleen Elam Appreciation Night,” university Chancellor Tom Rakes announced that the multipurpose room in the Bob Carroll Football Building would be named the Kathleen H. Elam Room in her honor. A plaque recognizing Ms. Elam’s support for the university was presented to family members in attendance.

“Ms. Elam’s generosity has made a lasting impact both in athletics and academics for UT Martin,” Rakes said after the announcement. “She and her husband, Col. Tom Elam, have left a legacy that will benefit students and student-athletes for generations to come.”

Ms. Elam and her late husband supported many academic and athletic programs during their lifetimes. A $1 million pledge to UT Martin in 1996 before Col. Elam’s death coincided with the university’s naming of the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center in the couple’s honor. Ms. Elam continued her support by giving the university nearly $1.9 million since Col. Elam’s death.

The Skyhawk football program received more than $1.7 million of Ms. Elam’s gifts. This included a $560,000 challenge gift to launch a private fund-raising campaign to build the Bob Carroll Football Building located in the south end zone of Hardy M. Graham Stadium.