(in order of class year)
Helen Elaine Jordan ’46 of Staunton, Va., died Dec. 31, 2023.
Charles S. Geil ’50 of Harrisonburg, Va., died Aug. 7, 2023.
Roy Ellis Judy Jr. ’51 of Greenwood, Del., died Jan. 10, 2024.
Elizabeth Louise “Betty Lou” Fike Myers ’53 of Bridgewater, Va., died Oct. 7, 2023.
Joy Nolen Garber ’53 of Gainesville, Va., died May 20, 2023.
Joyce DeBolt Miller ’54 of Bridgewater, Va., died Aug. 5, 2023.
Charles “Charlie” F. Kurtz ’55 of Roanoke, Va., died Jan. 30, 2024.
Mary Loraine Shull Simmons ’55 of Bridgewater, Va., died Nov. 13, 2023.
Carolyn W. Jones ’56 of McGaheysville, Va., died Aug. 27, 2023.
In Memoriam: C. Ray Smith ’56
Life Trustee
C. Ray Smith, a 1956 alumnus and life trustee of Bridgewater College, died Nov. 3, 2023. He was 88.
Smith received a business degree from BC where he was an active student participating in multiple clubs, as well as treasurer and then president of the Business Club, business manager for the yearbook, associate news editor for the College paper and junior class president. After graduating from Bridgewater, he attended the Graduate School of Business (now the Darden School) at the University of Virginia where he received his MBA in 1958.
After graduate school, Smith enlisted in the Army and was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he was an officer in the finance corps. He stayed in the Army for three years before returning to Charlottesville in 1961 to start his teaching career as an accounting instructor at the Darden School of Business. Smith had a 42-year career teaching and mentoring generations of students, faculty and staff. In 1981, he became chaired as the Tipton R. Snavely Professor of Business Administration. Smith was appointed Executive Director of the Darden School Foundation in 1996 and stayed in that position until retirement in 2003. He also led Darden as Interim Dean on three separate occasions in 1993, 1997 and 2001.
In 1991, Smith was recognized as Bridgewater College’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. In 2004, Smith was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in business administration from Bridgewater College. Smith had served as a life trustee on the board of trustees at the College since 2007.
In addition to his parents, William Henry and Ava Roberson Smith, he was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Phyllis Watkins Smith. He is survived by his three children, Tony Smith, Cheryl Smith and Teri Smith; grandchildren Hunter Smith, Tyler Greeley, Katie Hardman, Josh Hardman and Joe Hardman; and great-grandchildren Ava and Lincoln Smith and Isla and Bennett Greeley.
Stanley Norris Turner ’56 of Harrisonburg, Va., died Aug. 8, 2023.
Robert Emmert Hoover ’57 of Timberville, Va., died Dec. 9, 2023.
Mary Elizabeth “Liz” DePoy ’58 of Dayton, Va., died Jan. 26, 2024.
Shirley Ann Snow Sullivan ’58 of Amherst, Va., died July 28, 2023.
In Memoriam: Woodrow Clifton ‘Clif’ Pritchett ’59
Professor of Music
Woodrow Clifton ‘Clif’ Pritchett, a 1959 alumnus and former music professor at the College for more than a decade, died Aug. 22, 2023. He was 86.
Pritchett graduated from Eastern Pilgrim College in Maryland and Bridgewater College with degrees in music before attending the University of Michigan for a master’s degree in education with a concentration in music. His music teaching career began in Maryland and Michigan before returning to Bridgewater College to serve as professor of music in 1966 where he remained until 1977.
In 1977, Pritchett and his family relocated back to Maryland to operate a family business upon the retirement of his father. In 2008, he moved back to Harrisonburg for his retirement years.
Pritchett served numerous churches in Maryland and Virginia as a music director and organist. He served on the board of directors of Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Md., for 21 years. He was an active member of Vision of Hope United Methodist Church in Harrisonburg, serving most recently as organist.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Woodrow and Florence Pritchett; his wife, Velda Petre ’59; and his son, Jeffrey. He is survived by his daughter, Teresa; numerous cousins; and his partner Marcelo Flores.
James “Jim” A. Reedy ’61 of Atlanta, Ga., died in October 2023.
Walter William Whitacre ’61 of Charles Town, W.V., died on Dec. 27, 2023.
William Hester “Bill” Aiken Jr. ’62 of Lynchburg, Va., died on Dec. 19, 2023.
G. William “Bill” Richards Jr. ’62 of Waynesboro, Va., and formerly of Elkton, Va., died Aug. 1, 2023.
Peggy Ann Phibbs Metz ’63 of Denton, N.C., died Sept. 1, 2023.
Hugh Townsend Harris ’64 of North Chesterfield, Va., died Nov. 11, 2023.
Dorothy J. “Dottie” Hollenberg Light ’64 of Columbia, Pa., died Oct. 12, 2023.
Vivian Stone Longenecker ’64 of Bridgewater, Va., died Oct. 12, 2023.
Sara L. Fox Weaver ’64 of Spokane, Wash., died Nov. 18, 2023.
Mary Lynn Shelor Cason ’65 of Dandridge, Tenn., died Dec. 30, 2023.
Paul L. Hatcher ’66 of Staunton, Va., died Aug. 25, 2023.
William Carlton “Bill” Riner ’67 of Harrisonburg, Va., died July 23, 2023.
Anne Wynn Carver ’68 of Beaufort, S.C., died Dec. 15, 2023.
George Maynard Nipe Jr. ’69 of Harrisonburg, Va., died Oct. 3, 2023.
Nancy Lee Craun ’70of Bridgewater, Va., died Aug. 20, 2023.
Robert Hall “Bob” Humphries ’73 of Raphine, Va., died Nov. 13, 2023.
Ardie Lee Ervin ’74 of Fishersville, Va., died Nov. 9, 2023.
Gary Lee Hall ’76 of Darlington Heights, Va., died Oct. 7, 2023.
Joyce Harsh Krech ’80 of Harrisonburg, Va., died Dec. 29, 2023.
Kevin Odell Bailey ’83 of Harrisonburg, Va., died Aug. 1, 2023.
Jeffrey “Jeff” L. Dean ’87 of Haddon Heights, N.J., died Jan. 23, 2024.
Stephen Michael Fleck ’93 of Richmond, Va., died Nov. 1, 2023.
Charles “Charlie” Ernest Smith ’07 of Broadway, Va., died Jan. 16, 2024.
Jacob Morgan Campbell ’13 of Fredericksburg, Va., died Oct. 22, 2023.
Tasmin Joy Roupp ’16 of Williamsport, Pa., died Jan. 1, 2024.
Denise Lynn Massie Smith M’22 of Grottoes, Va., died July 19, 2023.
