passings
May all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. VINCENT A. SMITH (’48), 88, passed away on April 10, 2010 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. He was a United States Marine Corps veteran of WWII and a member of St. James Catholic Church. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Katherine C. Smith; daughter Carol Anne Cahill; son Randy Smith; six grand-children and three great-grandsons. —————————————————————— SAM M. ROSS, friend and benefactor of CBU, entrepreneur and founder of the Fantastic Sams company of family hair-care salons, died July 19, 2010 at age 81. Ross was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1929. He went into the restaurant business in Boston with a friend from the Navy, while managing property as a sideline. After selling the restaurant, Ross worked in property management and real estate in New York. Sent to Chicago to scout properties, he met Beverly Bestler in a sandwich shop. They were married within three months and remained married for 44 years; she is his sole survivor. In Chicago, Ross went into development and construction. The Rosses moved to Memphis in 1970, and to occupy his time, Sam attended barber college and got a job at the former Yorkshire Barber Shop. He bought the shop for $10,000, renamed it, opened two more shops, and by 1976 had sold his first franchise. In the next 14 years, Fantastic Sams became the largest hair care franchise operation in the United States. By the time the Rosses sold the company in 1990, it had grown to 1,370 franchise units in 43 states and five foreign countries, with estimated revenue of $300 million. After selling Fantastic Sams, Ross started a pallet-brokering (and later manufacturing) business, under the name Sa-Be Enterprises. Over three decades, the Rosses built a nationally-known collection of contemporary studio or art glass, becoming friends with such pioneering artists in the field as Harvey Littleton, Richard Jolley, and Tommie Rush. They began giving the collection to Christian Brothers University in the late 1990s and completed the gift of 75 pieces in 2008. CBU renamed its gallery in the Plough Memorial Library the Beverly
and Sam Ross Gallery in 2005. “Not because of the gift of the glass collection,” said CBU’s Brother Robert Werle, “but in appreciation for their years of service, their kindness and generosity to our students from Mexico and South America, many of whom they virtually adopted. Sam resisted naming the gallery after them for years, but finally said he would go along with it to honor Beverly.” For many years, Ross taught a class in entrepreneurship at CBU. —————————————————————— ASHLEA ALKIRE MORROW (MBA ’06) died suddenly in Fort Collins, CO, on August 8, 2010, while on her way to a family vacation. She was 38 years old. Ashlea was the beloved wife of James Mann Morrow and loving mother to her sons Jimmy, age 10, and Ben, age 3. She was a graduate of Birmingham Southern College. While working full time, she earned a MBA from CBU. She was employed as a general ledger accountant for the Animal Health Division of Pfizer Inc. She is also survived by her parents, Marilyn and Bill Alkire of Huntsville, AL; and her brother, William Todd Alkire. —————————————————————— SARAH DEANE STRONG GUY, widow of James L. Guy, passed away on August 13, 2010 at age 89. She grew up on a farm near Eads, TN and obtained a home economics degree in 1942 at UT Knoxville. While at school she met and married her husband, James (who was a longtime faculty member in the CBU School of Engineering). They enjoyed 66 years of marriage. She is survived by her four sons, James L. Guy Jr., Robert A. Guy, Tom S. Guy, and Don D. Guy, and her brother, William Atlee Strong. —————————————————————— HAROLD H. MARTINEK (’60) passed away on September 2, 2010, in Danville, IL. He will be remembered most for his strong faith in God, his deep love for his family, and his sense of humor. Prior to his lengthy illness, he attended Mass and Holy Communion on a daily basis. He retired in 1994 after 27 years of employment with TeePak. During his employment he was responsible for creating numerous mechanical innovations to improve the efficiency of the shirring machines, for which he held many patents and trade secrets. He leaves his beloved wife of 51 years, Betsy, as well as seven daughters and two sons: Dawn Nicoson, Maureen Regan, Sheryl Martinek, Renee Saults, Harry Martinek, Brenda Ellis, and Richard, Rhonda and Amanda Martinek. Other survivors include his brothers Samuel and Stanley; sisters Ida Hendle,
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