TAPS Robert N. Kilbourn ’53 Robert Nelson Kilbourn ’53 of Glen Haven, Colorado, died on Sept. 18, 2009. He was 78. He matriculated from Sterling, Kansas, and attended VMI for one year. He subsequently graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in geology. He served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1954-56. He spent 25 years farming and ranching near Sterling before moving full time to the Rocky Mountains and becoming a Registered Nurse at the age of 50. A hiker, he climbed countless mountains, including the 14,255-foot Longs Peak, the first time on his 14th birthday and the last with his family on his 70th birthday. He is survived by five children, Barbara and her husband, Hooper Crane, of Oregon, Robert Kilbourn and his wife, Christina Stone, of Colorado, Sharon and her husband, Norm Roesch, of Alaska, Gary Kilbourn and his partner, Yelena Arkhangeskaya, of California, and Eric Kilbourn and his wife, Keturah, of Colorado; grandchildren, Cody Jane Crane of Washington, Amanda Crane and Wrangle Crane of Oregon, Makena Roesch of Colorado, Tyler Roesch of Alaska, Nikita Zamora of California, and Jaden and Shea Kilbourn of Colorado; a brother, David Kilbourn of Kansas; and a sister, Carol Jean Kilbourn of Colorado.
Emmette C. Skinner Jr. ’53 Emmette Charles (Buddy) Skinner Jr. ’53, D.D.S., of Virginia Beach, Virginia, died on Sept. 21, 2009. He was 79. He matriculated from Suffolk, Virginia, and held a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from VMI. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1953-57, and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1957-68. He attained the rank of captain and was a pilot of both light aircraft and helicopters. Skinner graduated in 1963 from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry, and practiced dentistry in Virginia Beach until his retirement in 2005. He was a member of the American, Virginia and Tidewater Dental Associations and of the Virginia Beach Dental Study Club. He was a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge 275 and the Kiwanis Beachcomers, and was a past president of the Virginia Beach Jaycees. He was a member of the Princess Ann Country Club and had been a member of Francis Asbury United Methodist Church since 1964. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Margaret Anne Cox (Peggy) Skinner of Virginia Beach; a son, C. Keith Skinner, and his wife, Miriam, of Wilmington, North Carolina; a
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daughter, Margaret S. McLaughlin, and her husband, Douglas, of Basalt, Colorado; two granddaughters, Lindsey McLaughlin and Erin Kimmer and her husband, Michael; a sister, Beverly S. Smeltzer, and her husband, John; and a brother, Robert W. Skinner, and his wife, Margaret.
William D. Burks ’54 William Davies Burks ’54 of Dallas, Texas, died on Aug. 31, 2009. He was 78. He matriculated from Buena Vista, Virginia, and held a bachelor of arts degree in English from VMI. He served from 1954-57 in the U.S. Air Force, attaining the rank of lieutenant, and was a superintendent for Sanger-Harris Department Stores.
John Cole Jr. ’54 John Cole Jr. ’54, M.D., of Roanoke, Virginia, died on Oct. 2, 2009. He was 77. He matriculated from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and held a bachelor of arts degree in biology from VMI, where he was a member of the cross country team and the indoor and outdoor track teams and was also a member of the Monogram Club. During his second class year he was a cadet sergeant, and during his second and first class years he was a member of the circulation staff of the Bomb. He earned his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Virginia in 1958. He completed his internship in 1959 at Norfolk General Hospital. He completed his residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery in 1962 at the University of Virginia. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962-65 in Heidelberg, Germany, as chief of otolaryngology, He began a private practice in Roanoke in 1965 at the Roanoke Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, from which he retired in 1998. After his retirement, Cole worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital Otolaryngology Clinic until September 2009. He was appointed clinical professor of otolaryngology at the University of Virginia. He served as president of the Roanoke Academy of Medicine and was active in the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Society of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, and the American College of Surgeons, and was an Cole examiner on the American Board of Otolaryngology. He served on many boards of directors, some local and some regional, of the Roanoke Academy of Medicine, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Rotary Club of Roanoke, the American Cancer Society, the American College of Surgeons, the Virginia So-
ciety of Otolaryngology, the Virginia Healthcare Foundation and many others. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Roanoke, the English-Speaking Union, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Round Table, and the Shenandoah Club. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Jobil Lassiter Cole of Roanoke; two daughters, Ashton, and her husband, Mark Plymale, and Paige and her husband, David Rock; a son, Mark Cole, and his wife, Janet; seven grandchildren, Cole Plymale, Ryan, Eric and Michael Cole, and Elizabeth, Emily and Alexander Rock; a sister, Elizabeth Dent Moses; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Rufus W. Marks ’54 Rufus Wayne Marks ’54 of Indianapolis, Indiana, died on May 23, 2009. He was 78. Marks matriculated from Indianapolis and attended VMI for five months.
Paul J. Jurko’58 Paul John Jurko ’58 of Yankee Lake, Ohio, died on Sept. 8, 2009. He was 73. Jurko matriculated from Brookfield, Ohio, and attended VMI for three months. He was a graduate of Bowling Green State University. His varied work career included high school science instructor, work in the aerospace industry, multi-residential property management, screen testing for movies, and management of the family-owned business at Yankee Lake. Among his survivors is his wife, Deborah A. Stumpo Jurko of Yankee Lake.
C. Tabor Cronk ’62 Legal Counsel for 16 Years to the VMI Board of Visitors Calvin Tabor Cronk ’62 of Urbanna, Virginia, died on Oct. 3, 2009. He was 69. He matriculated from Richmond, Virginia, and held a bachelor of arts degree in history from VMI. A 1966 graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law, he began his career in Radford, Virginia, with the law firm of Goldsmith & Jenkins. He returned to Richmond to join the staff of the Attorney General of Virginia, serving primarily in the education section. ’54 Cronk was a former legal counsel to the VMI Board of Visitors, including that time during which VMI’s admissions policy was being challenged. In September 2000 the superintendent of VMI presented to him the VMI Achievement Medal for his “sage and thoughtful advice to the Board
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