CLASS NOTES
1951
Laura Jean Worthington Berry of St. Simons Island, Georgia, died Nov. 3. She was a devoted wife and mother as well as a talented cook and gardener. Estelle Penry Johnson, 95, of Arvada, Colorado, died Dec. 18. Estelle taught first grade in Siluria, Alabama, in 1954, and taught in public schools in Colorado, California and Illinois. She spent more than 40 years teaching second grade and art education for Boulder Valley Public Schools in Broomfield, Colorado.
1954
Barbara Duffy Garner, 83, of Birmingham, died Feb. 9. Barbara was a long-time member of Huffman United Methodist Church where she devoted much of her time to the United Methodist Women organization supporting the group’s mission work through meaningful projects.
1955
Ila Fay Clemons Hildreth, 85, of Opelika, Alabama, died Nov. 10. Ila taught public school in the state of Alabama for more than 30 years until her retirement in 1993.
1958
Mary Ann Peters Nash, 80, of Athens, Georgia, died Nov. 7. Mary Ann earned a Ph.D. from Georgia State University and served for more than 30 years as a teacher. She was especially honored to be selected as a STAR teacher four times. Beulah Whaley Ormond, 96, of Atlanta, died Nov. 2. Beulah worked as a chemist for U.S. Steel, was a chemistry and biology professor at UM and was dean of women and professor of chemistry and mathematics at the University of West Alabama.
1959
Terry Joy Langford, 79, of Foley, Alabama, died Sept. 28. She had a career with the U.S. Postal Service Data Processing Center in Washington, D.C. While in Foley, she held several positions with the Republican party at both county and state levels.
26 | Montevallo Today
1960
Thomas Walton, of Irondale, Alabama, died Nov. 19. He was ordained as a deacon at First Baptist Church in Montevallo while in his twenties and continued to serve as a deacon in other churches. Adah Troup Jervis, 79, of Decatur, Alabama, died Dec. 29. Adah worked as a teacher for Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland, the Decatur City school system and Calhoun Community College.
1961
Janice Edwards Baker, of Prattville, Alabama, died Aug. 7. Janice spent 30 years as an independent sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics and was a devoted member of the First Baptist Church of Prattville. Charles Howard Fowler M.A. ’64, 83, of Clarkston, Georgia, died Dec. 1. Charles was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
1964
Nancy Woolley Clark, 73, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, died Oct. 5. Nancy taught history at several schools in Mobile County.
1966
world working with Link flight simulators.
1975
Donald Eugene Hamilton M.Ed., 80, of McCalla, died Oct. 15. Don retired from the Jefferson County school system after teaching mathematics for 34 years. Polly Wooten Duke, 63, of Mobile, died Oct. 24. Polly taught school for the Mobile County school system for 25 years. She was a long-time teacher and coach at Davidson High School. Betty Jo Nash, 86, of Trussville, died Jan. 20. Betty Jo was a beloved teacher at Leeds and Erwin High Schools. Betty also served on the board of directors of the Shepherd Center East senior center and the Chalkville Girls’ School. She was the first nationally certified gymnastics judge from the state of Alabama.
1977
Mary Christine Goodin Dobson, 77, of Wetumpka, died Dec. 21. She was known to friends and family as “Mama Chris” and had an affinity for gardening. Larry Wade, 61, of Pelham, died Nov. 23. Larry was in the Army Band at West Point for most of his career until retirement.
Gail P. Lovejoy, 71, of Florence, Alabama, died Dec. 21. Gail was a Montevallo native who retired as the supervisor of the child support unit at the Department of Human Resources in 2005. She used her experiences to keep the nursery at Highland Baptist Church.
1978
Paul McAleer, 75, of Fairhope, Alabama died Nov. 26. Paul was a teacher in the Mobile County school system. Later, he started his own landscaping business.
1979
1967
Richard Michael Kellum, 71, of Birmingham, died Oct. 11. Richard was the director of physical therapy for UAB Hospital for 25 years.
1969
Euell Nixon, 73, of Birmingham, died Nov. 14. Euell was a member of the team that launched the first space shuttle, STS-1, for NASA. He also worked many years with Singer Link, traveling around the
John Galbreath, 59, of Birmingham, died Nov. 25. John worked for his family business, ABSCO Fireplace & Patio. He was also president of the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. Mitchell Spears, 64, of Montevallo, died Oct. 12. Before entering UM, he served in the Marine Corps for four years. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Mitchell went on to obtain a juris doctorate. He practiced law in Montevallo for 34 years and served as president of the Shelby County Bar Association. He also served in the community on the Montevallo Zoning Board and Montevallo Park and Recreation Board. He was inducted into the Montevallo Business Hall of Fame Class of
2016 by the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce.
1980
James Hall, 92, of Tuscaloosa, died Nov. 25. James was principal for 10 years in the Tuscaloosa County school system including Brookwood High School and Holt High School. Later, he served as assistant superintendent in the Mobile school system, superintendent of schools in Anniston, and superintendent of the Jefferson County school system where he was named superintendent emeritus. Hubert Neal, 70, of Alabaster, died Jan. 21. Employed 21 years by Vulcan Engineering Company as purchasing director and service and parts manager, Hubert was a member of the American Foundry Society. Cyndy Strange M.Ed. ’84, 63, of Childersburg, died Sept. 18. Cyndy taught at Lincoln High School for six years and taught English at Central Alabama Community College for nearly 25 years.
1981
William Borgini, 59, of Birmingham, died Sept. 30. William loved repairing older model VWs and owned a prized black convertible.
1984
Valerie Maize, 55, of Birmingham, died Dec. 12. Valerie was a music major who lived to sing, and touched the lives of many people who heard her voice in churches in the Birmingham area, most notably St. Mary’s Episcopal in Birmingham. Starling Earwood, 65, of Birmingham, died Dec. 16. During his career, Starling was a teacher, coach and administrator in the Birmingham City, Jefferson County and Tarrant City school systems. He served as an assistant football coach at the University of West Alabama. He also worked in the Birmingham Youth and Education division of Coca-Cola.
2003
Jay Downey Morgan, 55, of Gardendale, died Oct. 5, 2016.