“Retirement” Class Notes

James Tyson Currie (Grad ’69, ’75 CM) has reached his final retirement after a nearly 50 years of working. He attended the last two years of U.S. Army ROTC as a graduate student at UVA, the only one in his ROTC cohort, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant in 1970. He spent a total of 30 years in the Army, active and reserve, reaching the rank of colonel. He taught history and political science at the college and university level for many years, including three years at Jackson State University and 18 years at the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, a Defense Department senior service college. He worked on Capitol Hill for almost eight years, serving as associate historian of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a staffer for U.S. Senators Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX), David Boren (D-OK), and John Glenn (D-OH). He was director of Federal Relations for the National Association of State Treasurers and Legislative Affairs Director for the National Marine Manufacturers Association. For the past six years, he was executive director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan entity that represents the uniformed officers of the U.S. Public Health Service. He is a 20-year member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and has appeared as an extra in such series as House of Cards and Homeland. He is the author of three books and 30 peer-reviewed articles and has had two pieces published in the “Humor in Uniform” section of Readers Digest. He lives with his wife, Janis, in Alexandria, Virginia. Their son Matthew is a graduate student in clinical psychology at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is currently working on his fourth book, which tells the story of Harry Truman and the World War II Truman Committee of the U.S. Senate.

Michael Coulter (Col ’76 CM) is retiring from a career in software engineering after more than 27 years at Hewlett Packard and 14-plus years at Oracle. He will be staying in San Carlos, California. He is considering the possibility of teaching computer science at the local community college.

Jeffrey Clark (Col ’77 CM) has retired from practicing dentistry. He will divide his time between homes in Roanoke and Topping, Virginia.

David “Tates” Tatum (Col ’71 L/M) retired in 2012 from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta as vice president of supervision and regulation after 40 years in financial services. Before working for the Federal Reserve Bank, he spent time with C&S/NationsBank, BankSouth and CheckFree. After living in Atlanta for 40 years, he moved to Lake Rabun, Georgia in 2012. He has been married to Jackie for 44 years with two children, Ashley Tatum (Col ’02) and Price. David is now active in Rotary and Habitat for Humanity, and he serves as president of the Lake Rabun Association.

Howard Tripp (Col ’73 L/M) retired from the federal government after 43 years of service as a research analyst with the departments of defense and justice. He now lives in Delaware, where he is an active volunteer with the Del-Mar-Va Council of the Boy Scouts.

Rachel Witmer McTague (Law ’86) retired in early 2019 after a three-part career in Washington, D.C. After graduating from UVA Law, she practiced law for five years, in the General Counsel’s Office at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, sandwiched between a year each in each of two law firms. She then wrote about securities law and regulation as a legal editor and reporter at the Bureau of National Affairs for 15 years. Beginning in 2008, she was a director of communications at the Investment Company Institute, a trade association representing mutual funds and other investment companies globally. She retired after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Her husband, Jim McTague, retired from a career in journalism in 2015, culminating with 21 years as Washington editor of Barron’s. He is a novelist and regular commentator on The John Batchelor Show on WABC Radio. They live in Alexandria, Virginia, and next year will move to southeast Pennsylvania to be closer to our families (and trout fishing!). They have three children and 10 grandchildren who live far in southern Indiana, Colorado, and Chicago.

Frank R. Scheer II (Col ’72) retired from the U.S. Postal Service Supply Management Department in February 2019, after nearly 29 years. He previously worked at organizations including the U.S. Railway Association and Virginia Electric & Power Co. Scheer continues to teach a supply chain management course for the University of Maryland Global Campus. He also devotes time to the Boyce Railway Depot Foundation and the Railway Mail Service Library Foundation, of which he was the organizing secretary-treasurer.

Charles Platt (Col ’75 L/M) is retiring from the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, where he was the head of the firm’s New York office for nearly eight years, and has litigated and tried complex civil cases for large corporate clients around the country. Still thinking he is of youthful mind and spirit, he will be embarking on a new career as the general counsel of a recently-formed specialty finance company, which is in the business of treating litigation as an asset class and monetizing legal risks. He is looking forward to a new adventure and the challenge of learning something new and different.       

David T. Pastors (Col ’73 L/M) retired earlier this year after a 43-year career in Virginia’s criminal justice system. For the past 23 years he served as a non-profit director at Blue Ridge Court Services advocating for criminal justice reform and broader use of pretrial services and sentencing alternatives. He led the teams that established Piedmont House, a residential center for non-violent offenders in Charlottesville, as well as the first court-based restorative justice program, drug court and mental health court in the Central Shenandoah Valley. He now spends time hiking, biking and traveling. He and his wife, Joyce, live in Crozet, Virginia.

Thomas R. Bagby (Col ’72, Law ’75 L/M) retired from practicing law at Woods Rogers in Roanoke, Virginia. He was the longtime chair of the firm’s labor and employment practice and was formerly the chair and president of the firm. He was president of the Virginia Bar Association in 2013. Bagby and his wife, Kathleen, will continue to live in Roanoke and plan to spend winters in their home in the historic center of Merida, Mexico. They have two sons, Matthew Bagby (Col ’08), and David Bagby (Col ’09), who live and work in Singapore and Dubai, respectively.

Bill “Philly” Reeside (Engr ’77 L/M) retired from the nuclear power industry in March 2019. Highlights include 10 years as a licensed senior reactor operator and seven trips to North Korea in support of the Korean Peninsula Economic Development Organization. KEDO was a cooperative effort among North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. to substitute commercial nuclear power for nuclear weapon development. Reeside now works part-time with Habitat for Humanity in York County, South Carolina, after more than 40 years as a volunteer. He and his wife, Sandy, will represent Habitat at a Big Build in Romania this fall.

Peter Clarke (Engr ’85 L/M), a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, is retiring from military service after a 34-year-career. After a career on submarines, he most recently served as the director of strategic plans, policy and logistics for the U.S. Transportation Command, where he led efforts to transform the joint force’s understanding of strategic mobility and was instrumental in shifting the command’s mindset from business to warfighting.

Lisa Smith Arbelaez (Col ’79 L/M) retired in January 2019 following a 39-year career at the National Security Agency. She now spends time traveling, gardening, relaxing, and continuing to support the agency a couple days a week. She and husband, Bill, live in Columbia, Maryland. 

Curtis Tomlin (Col ’70) served as the first director of personnel for (then) Virginia Telephone & Telegraph in Charlottesville. He later served 10 years as director of development for Athens Collegem, now Athens State University, in Athens, Alabama. Beginning in 1980, he served in the hotel industry in Florida until his retirement in 1999.

Bob Goodrich (Col ’78 L/M), Billy Bolton (Com ’78 L/M), and others hosted an April 2019 retirement party outside of Charlottesville for their classmate Charlie Blair (Col ’78, Educ ’91 L/M), who retired this spring after a 40-year career as teacher, coach and administrator at Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. Blair received a letter of congratulations from UVA President James Ryan. Goodrich retired in 2018 after practicing law for 33 years. An ongoing battle with acute myeloid leukemia is taking him and his wife, Sally Tanner Goodrich (Col ’78, Educ ’79 L/M), to Duke Medical Center for a second stem cell transplant.  

Cathy Carrell Teague (Educ ’80 L/M) retired Feb. 1, 2019 after 30 years with State Farm Life Insurance Company. She and Joe Teague (Col ’84 L/M) have been married 27 years and live in Bloomington, Illinois.

Arthur “Tucker” Miller (Educ ’74) retired from the University of Montana after 33 years as a professor and former chair of the Health and Human Performance Department. Miller spent 40 years in public and higher education, including positions in Crozet, Virginia, at Idaho State University and at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.  

Ronald S. Warren Jr. (Col ’71 L/M) retired in July 2017 from the University of Georgia as professor of economics after 32 years of service. He was previously assistant professor of economics at the University of Virginia, economic policy fellow at The Brookings Institution, and economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. During his career, Warren published more than 40 articles in scholarly journals and served in numerous administrative positions at the department, college and university levels. He lives in Athens, Georgia, with his wife, Joanna. Their daughter, Rebecca Rainbow (Col ’16 L/M), lives in Charlottesville.

Irwin Shur (Col ’80, Law ’83) has retired after 35 years of law practice, the last 10 as vice president, general counsel and secretary for Snap-on Inc. In his last few years in practice, he received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Milwaukee Business Journal in 2014, and served as a member of the US Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council from 2015-2016. In addition to keeping a hand in the business world in some capacity, he intends to spend more time on his music, as well as that of his daughter, who recently released her first album, Ceasefire, recorded with her father in the fall of 2018.

Melissa Drisko (Col ’81 L/M) retired as deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency on Oct. 1, 2018, following 37 years in the intelligence community. She began her career as a Naval Intelligence officer, followed by assignments at the CIA and as the deputy director of Naval Intelligence.

Diane McCool Foos (Nurs ’74 L/M) retired from her career as a certified registered nurse anesthetist.  She enjoys returning to Charlottesville to watch her niece, Meghan McCool (Col ’20), play on the UVA women’s soccer team. Go Hoos!

Tom Corrigan (Col ’75) retired as executive vice president and CFO of Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware. He previously worked for Anheuser-Busch Companies and Automatic Data Processing.

Clyde E. “Sonny” Ellis (Col ’75 L/M) retired as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Parsons Corp., an international design and engineering solutions provider. Prior to joining Parsons in 2006, Ellis was an in-house counsel to General Electric and before that was a partner in the firm of Bryan Cave, where he spent seven years as the head of the firm’s office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2016, Ellis was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the year’s “Attorneys Who Matter” in the field of corporate compliance and ethics.

Charlie F. Sutton (Col ’69 L/M) retired from ministry in the Episcopal Church in 2009 after 27 years. He was received into the Anglican Church in North America shortly afterwards. He now serves in the Anglican Diocese in New England as one of three bishop’s chaplains for clergy care and, after serving for a time as interim rector, is an assisting priest at All Saints Anglican Church in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He celebrates 43 years of marriage to Mary Meade Sutton in August 2018. They have two children, five grandchildren, and one on the way. They enjoy walking, biking, camping, and small boat sailing.

Byron S. Shenk (Grad ’90) retired after 28 years at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, where he taught health and human performance and athletic training. Over the course of his career, he taught at Goshen College, Woodstock School in India and Eastern Mennonite University, where he also coached soccer, wrestling, and track and field.

Christopher Goff (Col ’74 L/M) has retired as senior vice president and general counsel of HarperCollins Publishers in New York after 28 years. After graduating from the University, he received his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Tom Riley (Col ’72) retired in March 2018 from the University of Mary Washington, where he served as the director of student health and university physician for 11 years. Previously, he was a board-certified family physician in private practice at Midlothian Family Practice for 23 years. He and his son, Morgan Riley (Law ’12), live in Midlothian Virginia. 

Jamie H. Cockfield (Grad ’72) retired on June 30 after serving 45 years in the history department of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, including three terms as chair. He occupied the Willis Borders Glover Chair of History for 20 years. He published several books during his tenure, including Dollars and Diplomacy (Duke 1981), With Snow on their Boots (St. Martins 1998), White Crow (Praeger 2005) and Black Lebeda (Mercer University Press 2010). Since his retirement, he has signed with publishers for two additional book contracts, one, for a biography of U.S. Senator Walter F. George of Georgia, the other, for a biography of the World War I Russian general A.A. Brusilov. Both are to appear next year. After Mr. Cockfield spearheaded the move to obtain a posthumous commission in the U.S. Air Force for Eugene Bullard, America’s first African-American military aviator, who was denied one during World War I, he appeared in a documentary that aired on French television and received a hand-written note of thanks from General Colin Powell. In the Mercer faculty, he has been elected to a number of offices including the University House of Delegates and faculty representative on the board of trustees. In the community, he served on the boards of the Macon Symphony, in which he played the violin, and the Macon Concert Association. He chaired the Macon Council on World Affairs, the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections and the Bibb County Republican Party. He also served on the Georgia State Republican Party’s Central Committee. His support of the UVA Nursing School has gained him admission to the Compass Society, the Rotunda Society and the Dean’s Circle.

Joseph B. Howell (Grad ’79), a clinical psychologist in Anniston, Alabama, is retiring from his private practice after 35 years. Mr. Howell, who received his doctorate from the University, is the author of Becoming Conscious: The Enneagram’s Forgotten Passageway. He is also the founder of The Institute for Conscious Being and travels throughout the country teaching the spirituality of the Enneagram. In retirement, he will devote his efforts full time to the institute, which certifies students in the transformative and ancient body of wisdom. More information about him and his practice can be found here.

David Thurlow (Col ’80 L/M) has retired after more than 35 years of military service, the last five as senior fisheries analyst for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Maritime Intelligence Fusion Center-Pacific. Mr. Thurlow is a recipient of the U.S. Army’s Legion of Merit medal, the U.S. Air Force’s Award for Exemplary Civilian Service, and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Meritorious Service Silver Medal Team Award. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in Mystic, Connecticut.

John S. Baird Jr. (Col ’66 L/M) has recently retired from private practice as a consulting psychologist with local police departments and the nuclear power industry. He is professor emeritus and former dean of the college of arts and sciences at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. 

Leland Vickers (Grad ’76 L/M) retired on April 28, 2017 from Bayer Animal Health US after more than 10 years in Research & Development.  He was the head of New Product Registrations within the Regulatory Affairs department.  He had also retired at the end of 2007 from the US Navy Reserve, after 23 years as a Supply Corps Officer.  Leland and his wife, Jackie, have relocated to Franklin, TN.

After 44 years in the financial industry, R. Helm Dobbins (Com ’73 L/M) retired on March 30th as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of American National Bank and Trust Co./American National Bancshares (NASDAQ: AMNB) of Virginia and North Carolina. After taking his degree from the McIntire School with honors in 1973, he received an MBA degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

He spent a number of years with the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh and the Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. /J.P. Morgan in New York City. Later, he spent 17 years with the Liberty National Bancorp in Louisville Ky. and became Executive Vice President and head of Corporate/Commercial banking, helping successfully grow the organization from $800 million to $5 billion in total assets when it was sold in 1994. At American National, he led the organizations credit policy and execution and fully avoided the negatives of the 2008–2012 economic collapse, including no reduction of dividends, declining the federal government TARP capital assistance program offered to banks, maintaining superior earnings, capital and asset quality as well as completing three significant acquisitions during his tenure as Chief Credit Officer.

He continues to serve on several boards in Virginia and work on strategic credit issues and troubleshooting for different institutions in the mid-Atlantic region. He also continues to pursue his deep interests in aviation, history and politics.

He was the founder and first President of the UVA Club of Southern Virginia, co-chaired the UVA Families Committee, served on the Parents Committee and its Executive Committee, and chaired the southern regional Board for the Sorensen Institute for Politics. In 2013, he co-chaired the Class of 1973 40th Reunion for the University. He is a member of the University’s Cornerstone Society and a Life Member of the Alumni Association. He and his wife Leslie are the parents of Courtenay M. Dobbins (Col ’12), and H. MacNeil Dobbins (Col ’16).

David Thompson (Engr ’51 L/M) retired last year at the age of 86. He was a professor at Stanford University and served as a forensic consultant in court cases involving death and injury incidents. In retirement, he is enjoying living on the California coast and taking river cruises around the world. He enjoys following UVA from afar, not having been back to Grounds since his 50th Reunion in 2001.

John D. Stewart (Col ’74) retired from the practice of general and vascular surgery in December 2016. In his 32-year career, he has served as the president of the Lexington Medical Society, hospital chief of staff and surgery department chairman. He was also a founding board member of KentuckyOne Health and spent 14 years as a managing partner of Fayette Surgical Associates in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Stewart is now the chairman of the Stewart Home & School, a private, year-round boarding school for adults with intellectual disabilities and special needs in Frankfort, Kentucky.

William H. Gordon (Col ’69 L/M) retired in 2016 after 43 years in private dental practice. Now my wife and I are enjoying freedom from a demanding schedule allowing time for other pursuits. OLLI classes at Duke University here in Durham keep us busy. A new grandson is a joy! Life is good! My experience at UVA is still remembered as one of my life’s highlights which well prepared me for the future.

Mark S. Kramer (Com ’73) retired from a marketing and sales career with the Gillette Co. and The First Years, Inc. in 2013, moving to Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife. Their three children all live and work in the greater Boston area. Since 1995, Mr. Kramer has competed in more than 30 triathlons; he qualified for the National Senior Games in 2013. His interests in volunteering over the past decade include Best Buddies International, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and Swim Across America, which funds cancer research. In 2013, he also began work as an ambassador at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

Ronnie Bartley (Educ ’79) has retired as president of Northeastern Technical College in Cheraw, South Carolina. Previously, Mr. Bartley was interim president of West Virginia State Community and Technical College. He also served in various positions in the Virginia Community College System, including 11 years as dean of business at Southwest Virginia Community College. He worked in education for more than 46 years and held leadership positions as a teacher, college faculty member, college dean, vice president of academic affairs and twice as college president. Mr. Bartley and his wife live in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

William Jones (Law ’72) has retired from the practice of law. After seven years with the firm of Browder Russell in Richmond, Virginia, he started his own practice in 1979. In his 37 years of solo practice, Mr. Jones represented small businesses, primarily in the purchase and sale of their assets. He closed his practice in April 2016 and now spends most of his time at Windmill Point on the Chesapeake Bay, cruising the waters and catching fish from his boat.

William Hosp (Col ’72) has retired as president of the Prince William Federation of Teachers in Prince William County, Virginia. As president, he organized union support to help elect a new majority on the local school board in 2015. The board then reversed a 2012 vote that had increased the teacher workday without an increase in pay.

Robert Jackson (Educ ’70 CM) recently retired from teaching, having focused most of his career on teaching middle school social studies. He also taught at the college level and coached women’s volleyball in the Philippines. Since leaving teaching, Mr. Jackson has turned his attention to painting and writing. He paints medium to large wall murals and portraits, sometimes working with his daughter, Sonia Jackson Summers, a writer and illustrator. His literary and artistic efforts are self-determined; he does all of the artistic design and illustration for his online and print publications.