Tech Topics - Summer 2008 - (Page 36) Burdell&Friends a former director of Southern Co., Equifax and SunTrust Banks in Atlanta; former president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; and former chairman of the U.S. Committee of Energy Awareness. Mr. Scherer was named Georgian of the Year in 1985 by the Georgia Broadcasters Association and was presented the Torch of Liberty Award by the AntiDefamation League in 1987. He served in the Marine V-12 program and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He continued to serve in the Reserve and was discharged as a captain. Blanchard Drake “B.D.” Smith Jr., EE 45, of Alexandria, Va., on April 10. Mr. Smith’s work at Melpar Inc. and ST Research spanned five decades. He retired from ST Research, later renamed Sensytech and then Argon ST, as chief scientist in 1998. In his career, he developed radars, telemeters and simulators and obtained six design patents. He formed Applied Systems Technology in Springfield, Va., in 1967 and served as vice president and technical director. At Georgia Tech, he was a member of the Navy ROTC, Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Eta Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Xi, Anak and the Institute of Radio Engineers. He also served as editor of the Blueprint and manager of the football team. He received a master’s degree in engineering from MIT in 1948 and taught its first class in radar. He was an officer in the Navy Reserve and a member of the Kiwanis Club and Sons of the American Revolution. Survivors include his son, Blanchard Drake Smith III, Phys 69, and granddaughter, Stacia Smith, Mgt 92. Charles Dean Smith Jr., IM 48, of Sandy Springs, Ga., on Jan. 30. A member of Kappa Sigma fraternity at Georgia Tech, he was a past president of the Atlanta Advertising Club and a former member of the Alzheimer’s Association board. Mr. Smith served as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Survivors include his daughter, Carol Smith Field, IM 81. Howard W. Smoyer, MS Chem 40, of Tallahassee, Fla., on April 4. In 1947, he Longtime Georgia Tech Band Director Ben Sisk s director of the Georgia Tech band for nearly 30 years, Ben Logan Sisk led the group through many transformations. Under his leadership, the band welcomed its first female students, the music department was created and band members began receiving academic credit for their participation. Mr. Sisk, who served as director of the marching band from 1946 to 1975, died Feb. 12 in Marietta, Ga., at the age of 93. In 1997, Mr. Sisk underwent surgery for macular degeneration. The operation failed and left him blind. In his career, Mr. Sisk taught at high schools and once served as assistant director of the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra and as conductor of the In and About Atlanta Orchestra, the forerunner of the Atlanta Symphony. He was a charter member of the Georgia Bandmasters Hall of Fame and American School Bandmasters Association. He also was named an honorary member of both the national band honorary fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi and sorority Tau Beta Sigma. joined the chemistry faculty at Florida State University at the time of its transition from the Florida State College for Women. He also taught chemistry at Tallahassee Community College for several years. During World War II, he served with the 46th Chemical Laboratory Co. in England and France. Mr. Smoyer was an active member of the Tallahassee Lions Club for more than 55 years. He and his wife were members and past presidents of the Round Dance Council of Florida and Tallahassee Twirlers. Ben M. Stevens Jr., IM 48, of Hattiesburg, Miss., on March 4. He was chairman of the board of the Richton Tie and Timber Co. and vice president of the B.M. Stevens Co. for more than 50 years. He was past president of the Mississippi Forestry Association and the Pat Harrison Waterway Association, national director of the American Pulpwood Association and a member of the Society of American Foresters. He was a longtime member of the board of directors of First Mississippi National Bank, eventually serving as chairman, and later the board of BancorpSouth. A World War II veteran, Mr. Stevens was active in the Pine Burr Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Silver Beaver Award. Frederick “Fred” Mills Valz Jr., AE 44, of Atlanta, on March 11. Following graduation, he pursued an aviation career, working at the Bell Bomber Plant in Marietta, Glenn L. Martin Co. in Baltimore, Navy Department in Washington, D.C., and Lockheed-Georgia Co., from which he retired in 1985. In retirement, he volunteered for more than 20 years with the AARP as a tax consultant for the elderly. He was active in the Senior Golfers Association. As a Tech student, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, Tau Beta Pi and Anak. Casper F. Walker Jr., IM 44, of Sarasota, Fla., on March 21. Mr. Walker was president of the family business, Southern Grocery Co., for 36 years. An Army ROTC member at Tech, he served as a first lieutenant with the 71st Infantry Division during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge. He was a life member of Sigma Chi fraternity and the 71st Division Association. L. Blain Whitehead Jr., ChE 47, of Tyler, Texas, on March 13. Mr. Whitehead worked at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for 43 years. A coop student at Georgia Tech, he served in the Navy in the Pacific theater during World War II. Daniel M. Whitley, ChE 44, of Fullerton, Calif., on July 26. A co-op student at Georgia Tech, he was a member of Chi Phi fraternity. 1950s John Randal Adamson III, IM 58, of Atlanta, on Jan. 21. Following graduation from Georgia Tech, Mr. Adamson began a career in the banking industry that included a position with Georgia Railroad Bank and tenure as president of First Augusta State Bank. In the late ’70s, he and his wife opened Canterbury Antique Reproductions Ltd. in Atlanta. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Georgia Tech. James Archer Jr., IM 58, of East Point, Ga., on March 11. He retired from Delta Air Lines after a 42-year career as a weather analyst. An elder at Southwest Christian Church, he served on the board of directors at Southwest Christian Care. James O. Armistead, IM 56, of Rutledge, Ga., on Nov. 8. Mr. Armistead retired from E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. John A. Bachman Jr., AE 51, of Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 16. Mr. Bachman, who retired from Bachman Associates, was active in rail development in the United States and Europe. He previously worked for many years as an aeronautical engineer. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific theater. William Arthur Binns, IM 50, of Savannah, Ga., on April 9. He retired from Union Camp Corp. after 41 years of service. He served as president of the Georgia Forestry Association; a member of the board of directors of the Jenkins’ Boys and Girls Club, Georgia Pulp and Paper Association and local chapter of the American Red Cross; chairman of the board of the Candler Hospital Foundation; and as chairman and president of the United Way and the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce. He was actively engaged with the Georgia Legislature, representing Union Camp, the Georgia Forestry Association and Georgia Tech. Mr. Binns served in the Navy before graduating from Tech. Gerald Franklin Childress, IM 55, of McDonough, Ga., on Feb. 10. Mr. Childress retired from General Electric Co. Richard “Dick” Conrad, IM 54, of Hartford, Ala., on Jan. 23. He retired as president of Richard Q. Conrad CPA. A member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants for more than 40 years, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Award in 1994. Mr. Conrad served as president of the Kappa Sigma House Corp. at Tech for several years and was a member of the Georgia Tech Foundation board. For 35 years, he was a member of the Roswell, Ga., Lions Club, later joining the Hartford club. He served in the Army and achieved the rank of captain. Allen Calloway Craft Jr., IM 51, of Roswell, Ga., on Feb. 19. He started his own manufacturer’s representative firm, Craft Associates, in Atlanta and sold and distributed high-tech products to the military, aircraft industry and NASA’s prime contractors for 46 years. During World War II, he served in the Air Force as a bombardier-navigator instructor. He attended Georgia Tech on the GI Bill. Ralph S. Davison, ME 50, of Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 5. Mr. Davison was a contracts manager with the Illinois Division of Aeronautics for 36 years. He previously was TECHTOPICS | SUMMER 2008
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