Tech Topics - Winter 2007 - (Page 41) Burdell&Friends for many years, becoming an Eagle Scout. Serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II, he was assigned to the 5th Air Force and served as a crew chief on a C-47 in the South Pacific. He was on the first U.S. plane to land in Japan after the atomic bombs were dropped. He served on the board of directors of the National Erectors Association and was a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and chairman of the board of trustees for the Atlanta Ironworkers Pension Fund for 26 years. He served as president of the DeKalb County Grand Jury Association and was a referee for Georgia High School Association football for 15 years. While at Georgia Tech, he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, for which he served as president. Richard Gillert, EE 53, of Flat Rock, Ala., on Oct. 18. Mr. Gillert was a retired electrical engineer. Harold J. Giroir, IE 58, of Bryan, Texas, on June 26. He was president of Amtex Pump & Supply. Joseph Parmelee Gleason, IM 50, of Potomac Falls, Va., on Aug. 30. He flew B-24s in the Pacific during World War II and achieved the rank of colonel. Franklin “Frank” Gordon, CE 51, of Mill Valley, Calif., on Aug. 17. He was an attorney and served on the Mill Valley Scout Hall board for 30 years. Following a tour of duty in the Army, Mr. Gordon received a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Beemer Clifford Harrell, Arch 50, of Hickory, N.C., on Oct. 13. The owner of Beemer Harrell AIA, he was a practicing architect at the time of his death. Mr. Harrell was a member of the American Institute of Architects, serving as vice president of the North Carolina chapter; vice president of the Hickory Chamber of Commerce; and a member of the Hickory Rotary Club and Downtown Development Association, for which he served as executive director for six years. In honor of Mr. Harrell’s work in the II. In later years, he was a volunteer with the Benson Center in Sandy Springs, Ga., Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. Chester L. Henry, IE 55, of Austell, Ga., on Sept. 29. Mr. Henry was the owner of CLH & Associates. Donations in Mr. Henry’s memory may be made to the Georgia Tech Baptist Student Union. Ralph Harriman Hicks, IE 57, of Atlanta, on Aug. 7. He graduated from Emory University Law School in 1961, later became a partner with Smith, Cohen, Ringle, Kohler, Martin and Lowe and appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1977 to 1978, he served as president of the Atlanta Bar Association and in November 1978, was appointed by Gov. George Busbee to the Fulton County Superior Court bench. He became chief judge in 1988 and resigned in 1990 to run for a position on the Georgia Court of Appeals. He served on the board of governors for the State Bar of Georgia. He volunteered for the Naval Reserve as a seaman recruit in 1955 and retired 20 years later as a commander. He was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Melvin Henry Johnsrud, MS EE 59, of Alexandria, Va., on Aug 8. He retired from the Army in 1979 and from BDM Corp. in 1985. He served as an infantry rifleman during World War II in France and Germany. In 1950, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. During the Korean War, he commanded an artillery battery and later commanded troops in the Dominican Republic. During the Cold War, he was responsible for artillery support covering a long section of the iron curtain. John Cary Krummel, IE 59, of Oliver Springs, Tenn., on Sept. 19. He served more than 20 years in the Navy, retiring as a commander in 1979. He then joined the Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. as contracts manager for the Department of Energy’s Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Project in 41 Tommy Barnes, second from left, reviews the scorecard after the final round of golf Bobby Jones, second from right, ever played. Rounding out the foursome are Robert Ingram, left, and Henry Lindener. Golf Great Tommy Barnes T homas W. Barnes, one of Georgia Tech’s golf greats, died Sept. 20 at age 91. Tommy Barnes, IM 38, won more than 200 tournaments, including two Southern Amateur titles, five Dogwood championships, four Southeastern Amateur titles, the Georgia State Amateur and Southeastern Conference Championship. Mr. Barnes was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, the Southern Golf Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Atlanta Athletic Club for 77 years. In 1988, at the age of 73, Mr. Barnes shot a 62 at East Lake Country Club and broke legendary golfer Bobby Jones’ record of 63. Mr. Barnes, who died at his Avondale Estates, Ga., home, was captain of the Georgia Tech golf team in 1937 and 1938, when the Yellow Jackets won the Southern Intercollegiate. He served in the Navy during World War II and fought in several major battles in the Pacific theater. He retired in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant commander. He worked for Pure Oil Co. until 1950, then was president of Sing Oil Co. until 1976. He told the Alumni Magazine in 2004 that he became acquainted with Jones in 1931. “I was given an honorary membership at East Lake and he was out there all the time. He had just won the Grand Slam. We became real close friends,” Mr. Barnes said. “He helped me a lot with my game. I went on to win some big tournaments after I met him.” Like Jones, Mr. Barnes never turned pro. “There wasn’t any money in it when I played,” he said. When Jones played his last round of golf in 1948, Mr. Barnes was right there with him as part of his foursome. He remained competitive until 2002, when he broke his back in a car accident. In 2004, Mr. Barnes still was able to “putt a bit.” revitalization of downtown Hickory, the city’s mayor declared Oct. 10, 2003, Beemer Harrell Day. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps. His first missions were as a co-pilot and included the invasion of southern France. He flew a total of 70 missions and was awarded 10 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he enrolled at Georgia Tech, where he was feature editor of the Technique and a member of Phi Delta Theta and the Architectural Society. Jack Peck Haunson, ChE 50, of Atlanta, on Aug. 9. A chemical engineer, Mr. Haunson worked for AMAX, Cities Service and Tennessee Corp. and was an industrial training consultant for the Georgia Department of Education. He later founded Haunson Realty with his wife. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War TECHTOPICS | WINTER 2007
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