Florence Elliott Hillis, (UTJC ’31), died on Nov. 9, 2009, at Shannondale Nursing Home in Knoxville. She was the first director of women’s physical education at UT Martin.

Dr. Vivian Bowie Pilant, (’65), retired director of school food services for the state of South Carolina and pioneer and champion of child nutrition, died March 29, 2010, in Huntsville Hospital in Alabama. Her 30-year career in school food and nutrition services in three states included a school district in Tennessee, a major city school district in Florida and two state agencies in South Carolina. She served as state nutritionist for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program for two years. She worked with the South Carolina Department of Education for 20 years, the last 18 as the state director of school food services administering child nutrition, food distribution and nutrition education and training programs. She served on several national advisory committees and panels; made presentations on child nutrition issues to a variety of organizations; appeared on the NBC Today Show, C-Span, CBS’s This Morning; and testified before Congress five times. During 1994-95, she was president of the American School Food Service Association, a 65,000-member nationwide organization of food service personnel and was president-elect of the South Carolina Nutrition Council. In October 1994, she was honored by the governor for her service to the state with South Carolina’s highest civilian award, the Order of Palmetto. In 1996, she was recognized as Outstanding Dietitian in the Columbia Midlands Dietetic Association, received a National FAME award in 1997 for her contributions to the Child Nutrition Program, and the Medallion Award from the American Dietetic Association. Courtesy of http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestate/obituary.aspx?n=vivian-bowie-pilant&pid=141340271#ixzz0oCxHYkKG.

Laurel Jones Childs, (’81), died Dec. 6, 2009. She was a teacher for 27 years and led eight trips around the world with People2People Student Ambassadors. She was a regular columnist for the Lake County Banner and an occasional contributor to the Commercial Appeal. She also wrote an online journal that chronicled her battle with ovarian cancer.

Roman Scott Moore, (’07), died Feb. 23, 2010, in Columbia. The Maury County native was a 2003 graduate of Columbia High School and earned a criminal justice degree from UT Martin. He was a youth services officer with the Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center. Courtesy Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home.

Chace A. Wimberley, (’08), of Dyer, died Dec. 15, 2009, in a motorcycle accident in Martin. He was a May 2008 graduate with a degree in philosophy. He was also a Sigma Chi Fraternity alumnus and a founding member of the UT Martin chapter. Courtesy of The Pacer.

Freshman communications major, Jordan Brown, drowned May 8, 2010, in Lakeland Park in Memphis.

Tavarious Ingram, a South Side High School senior from Jackson and a UT Martin dual-enrollment student, died in a traffic accident on May 8, 2010.