Tech Topics - Fall 2008 - (Page 46) BURDELL & FRIENDS advised students at the Boston Architectural Center. He worked for a number of firms in Boston and in recent years formed Adams & Smith in Swampscott, Mass. At Tech, he received the American Institute for Architect’s Award for Excellence in Architecture. He received a master’s degree in architecture and preservation from Columbia University. An art collector, he was a member of the Harvard Music Association. for Lockheed Aircraft in Marietta, Ga., before joining Owens-Corning Fiberglass, from which he retired. John B. Mills III, Chem 61, of Atlanta, on July 12. For 30 years, he taught biochemistry at the Emory School of Medicine, where his research focused on human-growth hormones. Dr. Mills earned a PhD from Emory and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at King’s College, Cambridge, England, in ’66. Charles Lee Parham, IM 61, of Dalton, Ga., on June 20. In 2001, he retired from Shaw Industries following a 35-year career in the carpet and textile industries during which he worked for such companies as West Point Pepperell, J.P. Stevens and World Carpet. A Navy veteran, Mr. Parham was the president of Columbus Mills from 1985 to 1992 and vice president of manufacturing for Queen Carpet until 1998. Thomas Edward Pecuil, MS CerE 67, of Fort Mill, S.C., on July 8. A research engineer, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers during the Vietnam War. Terrence M. Smith, CerE 65, of Fleetwood, Pa., on July 16. He had served as president of Firelock Data Protections Systems in Fleetwood since 1986. Wilbur “Skip” Dupas Starr, M CP 69, of Lafayette, La., on July 5. In 1991, he retired as professor of architecture after 25 years at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. He had been an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Nebraska and Georgia Tech. A seaman in the Naval Reserve, he served on active duty from 1945 to ’46 in the Pacific theater. James Ernest Williams Jr., EE 67, MS Phys 80, of Dunwoody, Ga., on May 10. Mr. Williams taught at Grady High and Southern Tech. Survivors include his brother-inlaw, Ed Chandler, IE 50. Joe R. Williams, MS IM 60, of Cumming, Ga., on May 7. In 1951, Mr. Williams began a 39-year career with Lockheed during which he worked in Marietta, Ga., and California in various positions of manufacturing and industrial engineering. He retired as director of master scheduling and program planning and control. He was active in the Boys High Alumni Association, serving on its board of directors. He was a commissioned officer with the 3rd Army Occupation Forces in Germany following World War II. Roger Paul Woodward, EE 65, MS EE 68, PhD EE 73, of Portsmouth, Va., on July 22. In 1996, he moved to Portsmouth and established First Ten Angstroms to design and invent surface science instrumentation. A member of Tau Beta Pi, Kappa Phi and Eta Kappa Nu at Tech, he co-founded GW Electronics, an electron microscope accessories manufacturer in Atlanta, following graduation. In 1977, he moved to San Francisco and founded Woodward Design, which did contract design and rapid prototype development for venture startup corporations. He obtained several patents and was the recipient of an R&D Magazine award for one of the 100 most technologically significant products of 1992. In Memoriam James Eston Altman, ME 60, of Gray, Ga., on May 21. He worked for the family business, Altman Machine Shop, before founding Altman Industries. A supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, he helped form the Jones County Jaycees and held eight patents for food-processing equipment. Milton Curtis Beavers Sr., IM 61, of Oklahoma City, on May 30. He was the former owner and president of American Furniture Resources Inc. At Georgia Tech, he played football and baseball and was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Michael A. Clein, IM 64, of Weston, Fla., on April 22, after a long battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. A genealogist, Mr. Clein brought together hundreds of family members from around the world. Julio Luis Fuentes, ChE 64, of Richmond, Texas, on May 12. A senior process engineer for many oil companies, including Mobil, Bechtel, CE Lummus, Brown & Root, S&B Engineers, Fluor Daniel and Mustang Engineering, he designed refinery plants across Texas and South America. Donald Head, IE 61, of Gainesville, Ga., on July 12. A veteran of the Coast Guard, he was vice president of Brown Steel Co. and of Tampa Tank Welding Co. David Charles Hunter, ME 62, of St. Simons Island, Ga., on Jan. 10. A member of Kappa Alpha at Tech, Mr. Hunter worked 1970s Francis Spain Dennis III, EES 73, of Augusta, Ga., on June 14. A Navy veteran, he was a self-employed investor. He was a former employee of Augusta Iron and Steel Works Inc. and CEO of the Babb Corp. He served on the local Easter Seals board from 1981 to 1990, serving as chairman in 1985, and the state Easter Seals board from 1984 to ’87. An Eagle Scout, Mr. Dennis worked for a number of years on the Georgia-Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Richard Max Hall, CE 78, of Marietta, Ga., on July 6. A registered professional engineer, he was president and CEO of Maxair Inc. At Georgia Tech, Mr. Hall was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha. John Charles Handley, PhD AE 76, of Atlanta, on June 12. Dr. Handley was employed by Douglas Aircraft Co. in Santa Monica, Calif., before joining Tech as a research engineer in the School of Aerospace Engineering. His PhD research at Tech later helped him with his work on the hydrogen fuel bus, which was to be used during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Dr. Handley was an antique toy and train collector. Stephen M. McDonough, ME 70, of Hillsborough, N.J., on July 13. He was a mechanical engineer for Hankin Environmental Systems for the past 22 years. Tech Student Dies in Skydiving Accident O len Reid Ashe III, a 23-year-old industrial engineering major at Georgia Tech, was killed in a skydiving accident on July 26. It was his 299th jump and his third of the day. Mr. Ashe died of massive internal and external injuries after his primary parachute malfunctioned and he was unable to deploy his emergency chute in time to slow his fall. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident happened at about 4:30 p.m. at Skydive The Farm, a 55-acre private farm in Rockmart, Ga. Three friends accompanied Mr. Ashe on the outing to jump 14,000 feet from a propeller plane. With a video camera mounted to his helmet, Mr. Ashe was filming his roommate’s first ever jump when the accident happened. A former member of Georgia Tech’s Sport Parachute Club, Mr. Ashe began skydiving during his freshman year. More than a year ago, he lost a friend in a skydiving-related accident and took a semester off from Tech to deal with his grief, his parents told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mr. Ashe graduated from the private Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., in 2004. While there, he was a member of the swim team and participated in the theater program. For the past two summers, Mr. Ashe was a climbing instructor at the Cherokee Outdoor YMCA’s day camp. 46 TechTopics | Fall 2008
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