“Retirement” Class Notes

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.