Tech Topics - Spring 2009 - (Page 39) BURDELL & FRIENDS basketball and track as a student. This school year, he taught physics, chemistry and algebra and coached for the Scholar Bowl. Mr. McCommons, who attended Georgia Tech on a football scholarship, began his career at Inland Steel Coal Co. and later worked with Inland and Consolidated Coal. He returned to Benton in 1996 and obtained a master’s degree in education from Southern Illinois University. He also was an ordained minister. Manuel J. “John” Moskaluk, MS CE 77, PhD CE 87, of Alpharetta, Ga., on Oct. 15. Dr. Moskaluk was the director of engineering and public works for the city of Alpharetta. After receiving his doctorate from Tech, he spent 14 years as a senior research engineer and instructor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. During that time, Dr. Moskaluk also served as director of the Georgia Technology Transfer Program, which assisted local governmental agencies with their transportation issues. He served as a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers and served on the board of directors for the Alpharetta Police Athletic/Activities League. He received the 2008 Georgia Engineer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. Alan James Mundy, CE 70, a resident of Stone Mountain, Ga., on Oct. 29. In a 40year engineering career, he was employed by Lockheed, Sandwell, Simons Eastern and AMEC. He specialized in the field of vibration engineering and was a member and former chairman of the National Vibration Institute. A 32nd degree mason and a member of Mensa, he authored several unpublished manuscripts, sang in a German chorus and played the piano by ear. Clayton Neil Owens, IE 79, of Nazareth, Pa., on Dec. 18. He was a project director of information technologies for Specialty Minerals Inc. in Easton, Pa. He previously was employed by Oracle Corp. and J.M. Huber Corp. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity at Tech. Robert Michael “Coach Mike” Parrott, IM 74, of Stone Mountain, Ga., on Oct. 16. An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Mr. Parrott coached softball at Lenora Park for many years. at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. A member of Alpha Zi Delta sorority at Georgia Tech, she earned an MBA from Indiana-Purdue University. Holly Kathleen Ritch, AMath 88, of Eustis, Fla., on Oct. 29. An obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Ritch died of gynecological cancer. She received an associate’s degree in psychology prior to attending Tech and in 1995 earned a doctor of medicine degree from the Medical College of Georgia. William R. “Bill” Warren II, EE 88, of Chesapeake, Va., on Dec. 30. A retired Marine Corps communications officer and veteran of Operation Desert Storm, Capt. Warren was a member and supporter of the Blinded Veterans Association and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. He earned an MBA from Regent University. Kathy Brown Whaley, MS IM 80, of Dunwoody, Ga., on Dec. 11, of complications from a fall. Mrs. Whaley, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt University in just three years, worked for Southern Bell, and later BellSouth and AT&T, for 28 years. She sang in her church choir. eral Assembly, he began a successful career in public relations and taught courses in nonprofit management and corporate communications at Georgia Tech and other institutions. Mr. Horton earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Harvard University and served as a staff officer in the Navy before beginning his career as director of research for Atlanta Magazine. In 1966, he founded and ran the Research Group, a social science research and management consulting firm. A Democrat, Mr. Horton won a Fulton County seat in the Georgia House in 1968. Robert E. Koski, 79, of Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 11. A past member of the School of Mechanical Engineering’s advisory board, Mr. Koski co-founded Sun Hydraulics in 1970. He was a fellow of the American So- In Memoriam Chancellor’s Widow Dies Helen Dell Crawford, a resident of Atlanta, Ga., died Jan. 6. She was 87 years old. The daughter of medical missionaries, Mrs. Crawford was born in Syenchun, Korea. She received a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, where she met her future husband, Vernon Crawford. A former professor at Georgia Tech and chancellor for the University System of Georgia, Dr. Crawford died in 1994. The couple were married for 51 years. Mrs. Crawford, who also received a degree in elementary education from Georgia State University, worked as an elementary school teacher for many years. She was active in numerous collegiate and charitable organizations, including the Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta, for which she and her husband established the Helen and Vernon Crawford Memorial Scholarship Fund. 1990s John Kenneth Garrison, MS EE 90, of Decatur, Ga., on Dec. 1, after a two-and-ahalf-year battle with multiple myeloma. He was chief operating officer at Rubber Network Inc. in Atlanta. After earning a psychology degree from Emory University, he attended officer candidate school in the Navy. He later underwent Naval Aviators training and received his wings in 1982. While in the Navy, he served two deployments in the Mediterranean as an H-46 helicopter pilot. He retired from the Navy Reserve as a commander in 1997. Leslie Kevin Puckett, MS HS 95, of Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 15. Mr. Puckett, who received a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, was employed as a material planner with Continental Teves in Culpeper, Va. ciety of Mechanical Engineers, which established the Robert E. Koski Medal in 2007. He also served as chairman of the board for nMetric LLC and co-authored the patent upon which the company bases its products. He was a past chairman of the National Fluid Power Association. Richard James Manley, 88, of Griffin, Ga., on Dec. 9. Mr. Manley retired from Georgia Tech. David Kent Plummer, 85, of Marietta, Ga., on Jan. 8. Mr. Plummer worked at the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1976 to 1990. During that time, he served two terms as an elected member of the Georgia Tech Executive Board. He was a past member of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Georgia Society of Professional Engineers and Georgia Engineering Foundation. Mr. Plummer was a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a senior emeritus member of Sigma Xi. Students Sergio Gonzalez Navarro, on Nov. 9, after recent surgery. An exchange student from Spain, he was enrolled at Tech during the fall semester. Jason Lynn Vellinga, 28, of Stone Mountain, Ga., on Dec. 16. He was majoring in aerospace engineering. 1980s Vicki K. McGriff, EE 84, of Snellville, Ga., on July 30. Lynn L. Reid, IM 83, a resident of Valparaiso, Ind., on Dec. 1. She worked for 15 years in health care administration at Porter Hospital in Valparaiso and previously Friends Gerald Horton, 74, of Jacksonville, Fla., on Oct. 29. After 11 years in the Georgia Gen- TechTopics | Spring 2009 39
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.