Serena Simmons Connelly
(’95 MSSW), 50, April 22, Dallas.
A dear friend and supporter of UTA, Serena Simmons Connelly was known for her compassion and determination to help those in need. She dedicated her life to uplifting the most vulnerable in our communities, including HIV/AIDS patients, refugees, and torture survivors in Dallas. Connelly also established the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, and after joining her family’s organization, the Harold Simmons Foundation, she shaped much of its outreach over the years.
Connelly was also a lifelong supporter of UTA. In the early 2000s, the Harold Simmons Foundation donated $1.1 million to the School of Social Work’s Innovative Community Academic Partnership. The funds supported critical research into racial and ethnic disparities in mental health and the study of family violence. She also served on the school’s Advisory Council and was a member of the President’s Advisory Board.
She served on many other boards, including the Texas Women’s Foundation, the Dallas Zoo, the Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation, and more. She was recognized as the 2001 Social Worker of the Year from the Dallas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and as a UTA Distinguished Alumna in 2014.
Robert “Bob” Boykin
(’68 BS, Mathematics), 73, Jan. 23, Arlington, Texas. He was the voice of Big Tex, the 55-foot-tall cowboy at the State Fair of Texas, from 2013 to 2019. Boykin worked at Lockheed Martin for 40 years designing military aircraft like the Stealth bomber and the F-16.
Joseph “Joe Pat” Bohanon
(’96 BS, ’97 MS, Social Work), 65, Feb. 18, Oktaha, Oklahoma. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma tribe member formed UTA’s Native American Student Association in 1994. He taught at a number of colleges, including Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was chair of American Indian Studies.
Bohanon was also president of Pawnee Nation College.
John Abruzzo
(’11 BSN), 63, April 2, Seaford, New York. He worked as a nurse at Huntington Hospital on Long Island, one of the largest hospital networks in New York. He died from COVID-19 early in the pandemic.
1940s
Gilbert Randolph Hay Sr.
(’47 AS, Electrical Engineering) 99, Nov. 16, Dallas, Texas.
1960s
Stan Ballou
(’60 BS, Electrical Engineering) 80, March 31, Prosper, Texas.
Robert “Bob” Hester Jr.
(’61 BA, History) 79, April 15, Arlington, Texas.
J.T. Molder
(’61 BS, Electrical Engineering) 87, Nov. 4, Benbrook, Texas.
E.E. “Bud” Treadaway
(’64 BBA) 77, Feb. 11, Houston, Texas.
Jim Quinton Bradford
(’65 BA, History) 76, Dec. 23, Ruidoso, New Mexico.
James “Jim” Fox
(’65 BBA) 77, Feb. 18, Arlington, Texas.
Don Hager
(’67 BBA) 78, Feb. 12, Avoca, Texas.
Roy Lee Gilmore
(’69 BBA) 72, Dec. 8, New Boston, Texas.
1970s
Kathleen Meyer Kidd
(’70 BA, Psychology) 71, Jan. 3, Oakton, Virginia.
William Edward “Eddie” Cameron
(’72 BBA) 70, Jan. 27, Arlington, Texas.
John Donald Drawneck
(’72 BBA, Accounting) 90, Feb. 17, Bonham, Texas.
Herbert Allan Ruiz
(’72 BBA, Accounting) 74, March 12, Dallas, Texas.
Earl Albert Gallatin
(’74 MBA) 81, April 19, Colleyville, Texas.
Marjorie Maring Mitchell
(’74 BA, Sociology) 76, Nov. 12, Arlington, Texas.
Donald Eugene Westerheide
(’74 MBA) 83, Dec. 8, Fort Worth, Texas.
Richard Herrera
(’75 BS, Criminal Justice) 69, Dec. 30, Fort Worth, Texas.
Yvette Therese Victoria Agnew
(’79 BA, ’82 MA, Foreign Languages) 91, Jan. 22, Fort Worth, Texas.
1980s
Ernest “Ernie” Ruff
(’80 BS, Mechanical Engineering) 63, Dec. 13, Humble, Texas.
Joyce Eileen Daugherty Coologhan
(’82 BS, Geophysics) 62, Dec. 28, Mesquite, Texas.
Charles Milton Alexander
(’83 MA, History) 60, Feb. 21, Wylie, Texas.
Janet Lill Caero
(’83 MS, Psychology) 87, Jan. 26, Fort Worth, Texas.
Arden “Buddy” Fritz
(’83 BA, Economics) 63, Jan. 29, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Zoe Hill
(’83 BBA, Accounting) 81, Feb. 23, Weatherford, Texas.
Carol Ann Hamberlin Lee
(’83 MS, Biology) 70, April 14, Fort Worth, Texas.
John Grayson Cocharo
(’85 MS, Computer Science) 67, Jan. 26, Arlington, Texas.
Winborn Emmert
(’88 MS, Social Work) 67, Oct. 18, Austin, Texas.
Mark Adrian Grimes
(’88 BA, Sociology) 61, Jan. 27, Alpine, Texas.
1990s
Shirley Ann Dekle Pavliska Uzzell
(’94 BSN) 75, Dec. 27, Austin, Texas.
Robert “Bob” David Bocell Jr.
(’98 BA, Political Science) 71, March 24, Grand Prairie, Texas.
Sean Brian Headlee
(’99 BA, Marketing) 44, Nov. 5, Arlington, Texas.
2000s
Whitney Kongevick
(’03 BA, Speech) 41, April 28, Euless, Texas.
Brandon David Renfrow
(’04 MArch) 40, Oct. 28, Grapevine, Texas.
2010s
Wendy Michelle Underwood-Raspaud
(’11 BSN) 43, Oct. 22, Lewisville, Texas.
Amy Marie Duncan
(’12 BA, Public Relations) 32, Jan. 2, Hurst, Texas.
Mary Godfrey Scott
(’14 BSN) 70, March 17, Denton, Texas.
Faculty & Staff
Mike Daley
81, Jan. 27, Bellingham, Washington. A veteran of the U.S. Army and the Peace Corps, he taught in the School of Social Work in the 1970s.
Hubert Jackson “Jack” Davis
84, Nov. 9, Arlington, Texas. A longtime UTA athletics supporter, he served as director of the Maverick Club booster program in the 1990s and 2000s. He established three UTA athletic scholarships.
Paul Glasser
90, April 8, Riverdale, New York. While dean of theSchool of Social Work from 1978-88, Dr. Glasser added doctoral and bachelor degree programs, increased faculty numbers and diversity, and broadened community-university partnerships.
Arvis Burl Henderson
75, Nov. 18, San Angelo, Texas. From 1996 to 2000, he served as vice provost for computing and information technology. He retired in 2004.
Curtis Wayne Perrymore
53, Dec. 9, Plano, Texas. He was a police officer at UTA from 1991 to 1999.
Jerry L. Rodnitzky
84, April 25, Arlington, Texas. A professor of American history for 50 years, he helped establish the Women’s Studies Program and served as its inaugural director. In 2018, he was named a professor emeritus.