Ad Astra

Ad Astra

Obituaries

Paul A. Coker, Jr. (Kansas 1951) passed ad astra on July 23, 2022. He was an accomplished illustrator and cartoonist best known for his work for Mad magazine and on animated children’s specials for television. After graduating from Kansas, where he studied painting and drawing, and serving in the U.S. Navy, he went to work for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1961 he moved to New York City and began working for Mad magazine, staying for over 50 years and illustrating over 375 articles. Perhaps his most recognizable work for Mad was the feature “Horrifying Clichés,” which mocked overused phrases by illustrating them with monsters and other creatures. He also was a production designer on more than a dozen animated children’s specials and shorts, including Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town. In 2015, he received the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cartoonists Society.

James J. Howard III (Pittsburgh 1957) passed ad astra on October 5, 2022. Jim spent his early career in the telephone industry, starting at Bell of Pennsylvania and eventually rising to President and CEO of Ameritech, the Chicago-based holding company that owned five Bell Telephone companies in the Midwest. In 1987 he became Chairman and CEO of Northern States Power Company, an S&P 500 electric and natural gas holding company based in Minneapolis. He retired from NSP in 2000. Jim served as chairman of organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, United Negro College Fund, United Way of Minneapolis Area, the Conference Board, the Nuclear Energy Institute and Xcel Energy. He was a trustee of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and served on the Board of Visitors for the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business.

Jay B. Hunt (Indiana 1962) passed ad astra on August 17, 2022. He was a member of the board of the Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation from 1994-2002, serving as President from 1998-2000. Jay B. was a co-founder of The Development Group, a San Francisco based consulting and financial advisory firm that worked with family and closely held businesses to create value. His prior management experience included Vice President of the Bank of California, with marketing and sales responsibility for five operating units; a joint venture with First Nationwide Bank that provided asset management and administrative services to developers and financial institutions, and Executive Vice President of FM Productions, a company providing technical theatrical services to major studios, musical entertainers, auto companies and technology firms. He served on the boards of Electronic Medical Management Inc., Joie De Vivre Hospitality, San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, and the American Resort Development Association. Jay B. earned a JD degree from the University of Michigan Law School and was a member of the Connecticut and American Bar Associations.

Jay B. Hunt (Indiana 1962)

Charles R. Lee (Cornell 1961) passed ad astra on May 13, 2022. After earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA from Harvard, Chuck began his career in Pittsburgh working in finance for U.S. Steel, followed by a senior financial position with the Penn Central Company, involved in managing the company’s non-railroad assets, and then Chief Financial Officer of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Joining GTE Corp. in 1983 as Senior Vice President of Finance, he progressed to become President in 1988 and Chairman and CEO in 1992. When GTE merged with Bell Atlantic to form Verizon Communications in 2000, he became Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, serving until March 2003. He served on the boards of directors for DirecTV, Marathon Oil, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Procter & Gamble, the Travelers Cos., United Technologies, and U.S. Steel. He was a member of the Business Roundtable, the Business Council, and the Financial Executives Institute. A trustee emeritus of Cornell University, he also served on the Board of Fellows of the Weill Cornell Medical College. He was named a Distinguished Fiji in 1992.

Charles R. Lee (Cornell 1961)

Curtis W. Mewbourne (Oklahoma 1957) passed ad astra on June 23, 2022. After graduation from OU with a degree in petroleum engineering, Curtis served as an officer in the U.S. Army and then worked as a petroleum engineer before founding Mewbourne Oil Company in 1965. He built the company, headquartered in Tyler, Texas, into one of the largest privately owned oil and gas companies in North America. A generous donor to his alma mater, he was honored by OU in May 2000 with the naming of the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering. In 2007, after the School became part of a new College of Earth and Energy, the College was named in his honor. In 2002 OU granted him its highest honor, the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Brother Mewbourne’s generosity extended to his Nu Omega Chapter. Since 2013 the scholarship fund he established for the Chapter has generated over $636,000 in awards to OU brothers. Curtis was named a Distinguished Fiji in 2017. t

Curtis W. Mewbourne (Oklahoma 1957)

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