Summer / Fall
Obituaries 2024

Linda Fontaine Crank Moseley, BA’48, of Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 28, 2024. At Vanderbilt she studied history, was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and earned a Phi Beta Kappa key. She held office in the Duval County Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, Jacksonville Junior League, United Way, Women’s Auxiliary of the Jacksonville Symphony, Learn to Read and Colonial Dames. She was a board member of the symphony and the Salvation Army and an active congregant at Riverside Presbyterian Church. She is survived by three children, including Thaddeus Maury Moseley, BA’72, and William A. Moseley, BS’75, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Edwin Wilson, BA’50, of New York City, Dec. 2, 2023. A native of Nashville, he was an author, theater critic and theater teacher. He studied at Edinburgh and Yale, where he earned a master’s and doctor of fine arts. From 1972 to1994, he was the theater critic for the Wall Street Journal. He taught at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center for 30 years. He co-authored with Alan Goldfarb several college theater textbooks that are still widely in use. Ed met and married Catherine “Chic" Stuart in 1967. Their 49-year marriage was one of extraordinary devotion. They lived in Manhattan and spent time in Quogue, N.Y., and Linville, N.C., with many friends and family. Ed was president of the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Theater Development fund, chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Drama Jury, and board member of the Tony Nominating Committee, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the John Golden Fund. He hosted 90 half hour television interviews with many theater artists which appeared on CUNY-TV and PBS stations around the country. He is survived by family and friends.

William Crouch Pratt Jr., MA’51, PhD’57, of Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2024. He entered Vanderbilt in 1949 and was mentored by Donald Davidson for his thesis on William Faulkner. Through Davidson, Pratt met and corresponded with many of the Vanderbilt Fugitives. His teaching career in the English department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, spanned more than 40 years. He published extensively beginning in 1963 with The Imagist Poem:  Modern Poetry in Miniature and ended in 2020 with his 21st book, A Faulkner Profile: The Man and the Writer. Pratt was Fulbright Professor of Modern Literature at University College in Dublin, Ireland. He met with and interviewed Ezra Pound and William Faulkner who were the subjects of many of his publications, some of them done while he was serving as secretary of the Ezra Pound International Conference. He and Anne established an undergraduate scholarship for students at Vanderbilt in English and French. He is survived by his wife of nearly 70 years, Anne Rich, BA’52, MA’54; three children, including Cullen Pratt Hornaday, BA’78, MAT’80, and Randall Pratt, BA’84; seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Claire Lucile Bowen, BA’52, of Savannah, Tenn., Nov. 12, 2023. After graduating from Vanderbilt, Claire traveled around the world by steamship before beginning her career as an educator. She taught elementary school and then high school in Atlanta, sharing her love of English, literature and history, and earned her master’s degree at Georgia State. Several summers she helped teach aerospace classes and traveled with students to aerospace programs around the country. She retired from teaching and returned to her hometown of Savannah, where she helped organize a chapter of PEO, which promotes educational opportunities for women, and was a member of Friends of the Library and Savannah Book Club. She is survived by many friends and cousins.

Dr. Henry Ezell “EZ” Branham Jr., BA’53, of New Prague, Minn., Aug. 17, 2022. He was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at Vanderbilt and was the first in his family to earn a college degree. He served in the U.S. Air Force, then earned his medical degree from Medical University of South Carolina and completed his internship at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. He had a private practice in psychiatry for more than 50 years, first in Stamford, Conn., and then in Winston-Salem, N.C., until retiring in 2010. He was proud to have been part of a medical emergency response team that served areas in need after disaster. One of his favorite places was Yellowstone National Park, where he spent the summers between school during the 1950s driving the park’s iconic yellow tour buses. He is survived by one sister, his three children and four grandchildren.

Betty Gardner Larkins, BA’53, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Sept. 25, 2023. At Vanderbilt, Betty was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She was married for 69 years to S.J. Larkins, whom she met at a Vanderbilt football game. Survivors include her husband, Sovern John “S.J.” Larkins, BA’52; her daughter, Lyda Larkins Astrove, BA’80; and two grandchildren.

Mary Altie Caffey Brookhart, BMus’54, of DeSoto, Kan., Aug 23, 2023. At Peabody, she studied music and music education and met fellow student Charles “Ed” Brookhart, BMus’49, MMus’50, PhD’60. They married in 1954. Mary was an organist for the First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro. She declined a full scholarship offer for graduate school to raise her family. In 1958 she and Ed moved to Austin, where he taught for the music department of the University of Texas, and she taught in public schools. In 1975, he joined the faculty at Kansas State University. Mary lived independently, texting, ordering groceries online and driving until she was 91. She never quit learning. She is predeceased by her husband and survived by her two children and a grandson.

Margaret Louise Parrish George, BA’54, of Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 25, 2024. She is survived by daughters Laura George Weston and Olivia George Bell, three grandsons, one great-granddaughter, and her sister, Julia Gambill Ledyard, BA’66.

Edward Owen Hunter Jr., BA’54, MA’60, of Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 23, 2023. At Vanderbilt he studied biology and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He was a corpsman in the Navy stationed at the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, now known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He retired as a clinical microbiologist from the Veterans Administration Hospital in Birmingham in 1992. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Katherine Morton Hunter, MA’62, PhD’68, and twin daughters, Diane Hunter Harvey, BA’92, and Susan Hunter Pilgrim, BA’92.

Elsie May Mason, MAT’54, MAT’54, of Winchester, Va., Dec. 14, 2023. Born and raised in Pitt County, N.C., in a farmhouse 200 years old this year, she originally met her husband, Julian Dewey Mason Jr., MA’54, at a church camp. They reconnected years later at Vanderbilt when, after her graduation from Flora McDonald College with a B.A. in English and biology, she received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to attend Peabody College. Engaged on Christmas Eve, they were married June 9, 1954. Elsie was a social worker in Bristol, Va., an elementary school teacher in Hanau, Germany, and a private kindergarten teacher in Chapel Hill and Charlotte, N.C. Later she worked in the Atkins Library of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and served as a North Carolina textbook commissioner. A lifelong Presbyterian and award-winning quilter, she is survived by her brother, her son and two daughters, four grandchildren and extended family.

Lawrence Anderson Stone, BA’54, Lakeway, Texas, Feb. 28, 2024. A South Texas native, Larry followed his father, Belo Stone, MD’27, to Vanderbilt. He walked on to the football team and as a senior was the starting center and team captain. A child and adolescent psychiatrist, Larry was on faculty at Harvard Medical School and helped create the children’s treatment center at McLean Hospital in Boston. Moving home to San Antonio in 1972, he worked in private practice, served as executive medical director at Laurel Ridge Hospital and was professor of psychiatry at University of Texas Health Sciences Center. Larry wrote the standards for children’s psychiatric hospitals for AMA and worked on national campaigns to protect children, including the push for mandatory state seat belt laws and the movie rating system still used today. He is survived by wife; four children, including Marilyn Stone Christian, BS’81, MEd’82, and Paul Butler Stone, BA’88; 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Burnett Willingham Donoho, BA’61, of Cape Coral, Fla., Feb. 23, 2024. Burnie was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and played on the baseball team while at Vanderbilt. After serving in the Army National Guard of Tennessee he went on to earn a master of arts from the University of Kentucky. Burnie had a successful career in retail, serving as president of Gimble’s Midwest, president and chief operating officer of Marshall Field’s, vice chairman of Macy’s East, and vice chairman and COO of The Broadway and Montgomery Ward. He is survived by his daughter, Ann Donoho Melhuish, BA’86, two sons and six grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his second wife, and his first wife, Jane Kirkpatrick Donoho, BA’63.

Edward Bernard Hopper II, BA’61, JD’64, of Indianapolis, March 13, 2024. As an undergrad he was a member of ROTC and Theta Chi Fraternity. While in law school he earned the Douglas Bennett Bell award for scholarship and ethics. After law school, he served in the U.S. Army achieving the rank of captain and earning the National Service Defense medal. His legal career spanned more than 40 years and included arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court and a presidential appointment to the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as the U.S. Trustee for Region 10. He leaves behind a legacy of service, commitment and love. He is survived by his wife, Melba; their children, Julia Hall, BS’85, and Ted Hopper, BA’93; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Robert H. Threlkel, BA’62, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Nov. 16, 2023. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, James Threlkel, BA’60, MD’63, Bob graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt and earned his M.D. from Duke University. He returned to Vanderbilt for his pediatric residency, where he served as chief resident. At Vanderbilt, Bob met his lifelong friends, Wally and Patty Wood. He served in the U.S. Army in the medical center at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. Following that, he joined Drs. Hugh and Connie Carithers in their Riverside office in Jacksonville, Fla. Anyone who knew Bob loved him. He was an avid traveler, hiker, fisherman and connoisseur of knowledge. He is survived by his wife, Mireille Threlkel, four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Edward F. Zganjar, MA’63, PhD’66, of Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 8, 2024. He was Alumni Professor and professor emeritus of physics at Louisiana State University. An eminent researcher in experimental nuclear physics, Zganjar earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics in 1960 from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. At Vanderbilt he studied nuclear physics. Zganjar was awarded continuous funding from the U.S. Department of Energy from 1970 to 2017 and conducted his research at the University Isotope Separator at the Oak Ridge consortium. He collaborated in the design and construction of the radioactive ion-beam accelerator there, which he used to explore properties of unstable nuclei. He received the Francis G. Slack Award from the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society. He is survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.

Michael Thomas Hartsfield, BA’64, JD’67, of Germantown, Tenn., Oct. 21, 2023. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and the Junior Bar Association. He practiced law in Memphis for more than 50 years, earning the designation of senior counselor. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Apffel Hartsfield, BA’64, two sons, a grandson and a granddaughter.

Dwight Dean Gatwood Jr., MME’66, PhD’70, of Martin, Tenn., July 17, 2023. Dwight earned his B.Mus. degree from Eastern Kentucky State College (now Eastern Kentucky University), then his master’s and doctorate from Peabody College where his parents—Dwight Dean Gatwood Sr., BS’40, MA’41, and Grace Gatwood, BS’39, MA’40—had graduated. His teaching career included LaGrange College, Columbia State Community College, Defiance College and the University of Tennessee at Martin. He retired in 2008. At Columbia State he began the music department and developed the curriculum for the music major that was used at many Tennessee community colleges. At UT Martin he performed as a baritone soloist and as a member of the faculty trombone quartet. He composed the UT Martin Alma Mater and the bicentennial celebration composition, “Forever UTM,” featured daily on the campus carillon. He is survived by his wife, Dianne Normand Gatwood, MMus’69, MME’69, his son, daughter, brother and sister.

R. Keith Thomas, BA’66, JD’69, of Alexandria, Va., Sept. 13, 2023. Keith was an All-SEC guard on Vanderbilt’s 1965 championship basketball team. The 1965 team won the SEC championship and was ranked as high as fourth nationally. Vanderbilt faced powerhouse Michigan in the Mid-East NCAA tournament, and Keith was tasked with guarding All-American Cazzie Russell. Thomas scored 21 points and outplayed Russell, but the Commodores lost, 87–85. Keith would be selected as an All-American for a team that is still considered one of the school’s greatest. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, but elected to enter Vanderbilt Law School. He had a distinguished career in international trade law with the U. S. Customs Service and the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility. In retirement, Keith had senior assignments with the ABA in Eastern Europe and the U. S. Legal Service Corp. A native of Louisville, he was a competitive golfer and tennis player throughout his life. He is survived by his wife, a brother, nephews and a grandniece.

George Winton Apffel, BA’70, of Germantown, Tenn., April 9, 2023. At Vanderbilt, he sang in the choir and was active in the theater. He worked in the family sales business until retirement. George had a lifelong interest in electronics. He is survived by his sister, Dorothy Apffel Hartsfield, BA’64, and brothers Cornelius C. Apffel Jr., BA’66, and Tyler C. Apffel, four nephews, two great-nephews and two great-nieces.

Albert B. Armstrong, BE’70, of Bonita Springs, Fla., Dec. 26, 2023. Born in Washington, D.C., he married Jennie Flippo, BA’70, in 1971. He had a 39-year career in sales and marketing with Caterpillar, Inc., leading to 15 years living overseas in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Kenya and France. Survivors include Jennie, his wife of 52 years, three children and six grandchildren.

R. Breck Denny, BA’70, of New York City, Locust Valley, N.Y., and Big Bay, Mich., Nov. 27, 2023. At Vanderbilt, he earned a degree in history. He was a banker at J.P. Morgan, where he worked for 25 years, before becoming the chief financial officer of two industrial companies in Cleveland, Ohio: Medusa Corp. and LESCO. He served on the boards of New York Marble Cemetery and Cleveland Botanical Garden, among others, always working full-time and making himself useful long after retirement. The ultimate gentleman, he was understated and poignant, thoughtful and unflappable, and always left room for the ideas and words of others. He loved children and made them feel important. He preferred the meaningful conversation of a few to the cacophony of many, and he had a signature, crescendoing layered laugh that has an indelible place in the minds of those lucky enough to have heard it. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, three siblings and five grandchildren.

Anne Elizabeth Wall Christeson, BA’71, ’74, of Leiper’s Fork, Tenn., Oct. 8, 2023. Anne earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude and was the Founder’s Medalist for the College of Arts and Science in 1971. She was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a Guggenheim, and for 29 years she taught Latin and French at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. At age 12 she was made a regular member of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. As principal harpist, she performed all the major harp concertos with the symphony. She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Wayne Christeson, BA’70.

Laura Elizabeth Fazenbaker Sutherland, BS’76, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., Feb. 17, 2024. She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Hoover Sutherland, a sister and brother, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

James Yalem, BA’77, of St. Louis, March 22, 2024. Jim was a member of Zeta Beta Tau and enjoyed playing bridge with his fraternity brothers. He was a Duke Law School graduate (1980) and practiced law in addition to owning several businesses. Jim was born and raised in St. Louis and lived there after graduating from law school. He was a serious fisherman who, after retirement, enjoyed lake living. Jim was survived by his mother, three sisters and their families. He was also a lifelong friend of David Steckler, BA’77, and Sharon Levinson Steckler, BSN’77.

Dianna Elizabeth Hartley, PhD’78, of Lexington, Ky., Jan. 10, 2024. A distinguished clinical psychologist, she completed a post-doctoral program at the Menninger Foundation and then taught at Yale University Medical School. Later she taught and practiced at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. She continued her private practice after moving to Lexington, Ky., in 1990. She was born in Banner Elk, N.C., and never lost her love for coming home to the North Carolina mountains. Linville is her final resting place. Her life will be celebrated on her birthday, April 5, with a graveside service at Tanglewood Cemetery. She is survived by her husband, Todd F. Van Denburg; daughter, Nicole Wills; son-in-law, Zachery Wills, and grandson, Hartley Wills.

Teresa Parrish Smith, BA’84, of Bay Hill, Fla., Nov. 11, 2023. At Vanderbilt she pursued her passion for literature and earned her degree in English. She was a proud member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. Her academic achievements laid the foundation for a life dedicated to service and community. In her professional journey, Teresa made significant contributions as the director of sales at Floral Expositions and the Event Source. Her commitment to excellence and care for others endeared her to colleagues and clients alike. Later in life, Teresa felt a calling to make a difference in the lives of seniors. She pursued a new path, becoming a certified nurse assistant to provide essential care and support to those in need. She devoted 23 years of her life to the Ambassadors Bible Study. She is survived by her husband Douglas, son Andrew, and her brother, W. Scott Parrish, BS’80, and his wife, Linda Dacus Parrish, BA’78, MEd’98.

William Hall “Spence” Spencer IV, BA’84, of Washington, D.C., Feb. 1, 2024. After graduation, he and his wife, Kathryn McDonnell, BA’84, joined the Foreign Service where they were stationed in Argentina and the Bahamas. His dedication to pluralism and inclusivity in Iraq led him to establish the Institute for International Law and Human Rights in 2007. He is survived by his wife, two children, his parents, three siblings, a stepbrother and extended family.

W. Walter “Walt” Robinson III, BA’85, of Columbus, Ga., Feb. 1, 2024. At Vanderbilt he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and majored in mathematics with a minor in chemistry. He worked in international corporate finance for many years, from New York to Houston to Washington, D.C., Atlanta and back to his hometown of Chattanooga, where he formed his own venture capital firm specializing in telecommunications projects in Europe and Latin America. He is survived by his sister, brother-in-law and two nieces.

Michael Patrick Casey Jr., BA’92, of Atlanta, Jan. 6, 2024. At Vanderbilt, he made lifelong friends and met his future wife, Marilyn. He was an active member of Phi Kappa Psi and majored in economics. Mike was in public relations and had a long history of working with fascinating accounts and fantastic people. He had many interests including music, building guitars, cooking, golf and mixology. Mike lived in Georgia for 31 years and embraced everything about the Peach State. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Marilyn Patrick Casey, BA’91, their son, Patrick, and dogs Cash and Belle.

Gregory Scott Edwards, JD’15, of Atlanta, Jan. 12, 2024. Scott was a brilliant man, graduating from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a B.S. in mathematics before studying law at Vanderbilt. He was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review’s Order of the Coif before being diagnosed with a brain tumor in his final semester. After graduation in 2015, he moved to Atlanta to work at law firm King & Spalding. Despite an impressive work resume—also working as senior counsel at Southern Company, on the Springboard of the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta and serving on the Board of Trustees for Northside Church—Scott's greatest joy in life was getting to be a father, and his proudest accomplishment was his marriage to Elizabeth. Scott is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their children, Elle (4) and Paul (2.5). Other survivors include his father, Paul Edwards, JD’86, a brother, Michael Hollis Edwards, BA’13, and a large extended family.