Cross & Crescent

Dr. H. Richard Thornton (1954) died May 9, 2009.

William L. Murphy died May 17, 2010.

Thomas Luter (1989) died May 29, 2010. An Air Force veteran, he originally worked with North American Aviation after graduation. He then moved to Washington, D.C., and began a lifelong career at IBM. Starting as a systems engineer, his charismatic personality along with his knowledge of the technology quickly allowed him to change paths to marketing and sales.

Louis Pape (1943) died February 18, 2010.

Dwight Handforth died October 2009.

Malcolm J. Olinghouse died September 2009.

Van Ta (1989) died April 13, 2010. He worked for Best Buy in San Bernardino as a sales supervisor for eight years.

Richard O. Williams died June 19, 2009. He taught industrial arts for more than 40 years at Millikan High School in Long Beach, California. He also taught driver training and adult night school for Long Beach City College.

Barry J. Megginson died June 7, 2010. Aircraft engineer, aviator, computer expert, and former athlete, he earned his pilot’s license and eventually turned his hobby into a part-time job as a ground flight instructor. His father, Percy Megginson (Cincinnati 1949), and his brother, Brian Megginson (1975) are also Lambda Chis. Megginson worked at Northrop-Grumman’s El Segundo plant as an NGC analyst from January of 1976 until 2008. He served as a lead structural engineer on the F18 and and B2 bomber as well as in Northrop research for four years.

Nicholas Slenders died September 9, 2009.

James W. Bentlage (1949) died August 16, 2009.

Richard W. Scott died February 14, 2010. From 1956 to 1959, at the height of the Cold War, he served proudly in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain. He was selected to develop tactics for the first nuclear air-to-air missile and served as an aircraft identification officer while stationed at a radar intercept facility on the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line in the Canadian arctic. Following his military service, Scott returned to DuPont, where he worked in numerous capacities and departments over the next 30 years.

Lawrence L. Russo Jr died March 20, 2010. He was a past member of the Peapack-Gladstone Fire Department. He was a chemical engineer for the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., for the last five years. Russo was involved in biomass conversion and bio energy for nearly 30 years. He also had several patents, awards, and publications regarding ethanol research and biofuels.

T. Bradley Edmunds (1944) died May 9, 2010.

Cal Parks (1969) died May 20, 2010. As an undergraduate, he was a member of ROTC on scholarship, held a number of offices, and had a true passion for the brotherhood. He was gracious enough to leave in his passing a legacy grant for the colony.

Edward Quinn died November 17, 2008.

Thomas H. James Jr. (1965) died March 31, 2010.

Theron Z. “T.Z.” Chastain (1943) died June 18, 2010. A charter member and Order of Merit recipient, he was a recognized leader in the design of reinforced concrete structures and in the investigation of structural collapses. Over a span of 50years, he earned a reputation as a practical engineer with a great passion for his work and was instrumental to the success of WJE. He served as a naval architect during World War II, afterwards providing his expertise for the U.S. Navy Construction Battalion. From 1947 to 1954, he worked for I.E. Morris and Associates, a structural consulting firm, and Abreu and Robeson, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm, both based in Atlanta. In 1959, he established Chastain & Tindel, a structural design firm in Atlanta. He practiced with the company until it merged with Rosser, White, Hobbs, Davidson, McClellan, Kelly, Inc., (now Rosser International) in 1981. Interested in continuing his long-term work in forensic engineering, Chastain formed a new firm shortly thereafter, Chastain Forensic Corporation. Through his involvement in the American Concrete Institute (ACI), Chastain formed a close relationship with WJE’s former president and current board member, John Hanson, and eventually established the Chastain Division of WJE in Atlanta in 1990. He remained as the office manager of the division until 1991 and continued as an active consultant until his retirement in 2001. The Chastain Division was the foundation of WJE’s current Atlanta branch operations. T.Z. was recognized as “Engineer of the Year” by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers and the “Consulting Engineer of the Year” by the Consulting Engineers Council of Georgia. He was an honorary member and past president of ACI (1981). He served on various committees throughout most of his career, including ACI Committee 318-Structural Concrete Building Code, ACI Committee 364-Rehabilitation, and ACI 412-Design of Reinforced Concrete Slabs. Additionally, he was chairman of the ACI chapter activities committee and spoke at various international ACI-sponsored seminars throughout Asia and South and Central America.

John G. Luttrell died May 25, 2010. A former chapter president, he had a long and distinguished career with Mobil Oil Corp. He began as a rig worker in between his sophomore and junior years at KU, and joined the company’s exploration and production division in 1952 after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering, where he earned high honors. Across 37 years with Mobil, beginning in Venezuela, he rose to become the youngest managing director in the history of the company, running Mobil operations first in Libya, then Nigeria, and then Mobil North Sea, based in London. At the time of his retirement, he was vice president of Mobil worldwide exploration and producing, based in New York.

Edward D. Meaux (1985) (http://www.abbevillenow.com/print/36502) died May 25, 2010.

Elvan E. Hutchinson (1949) died.

Joe Gardi (1961) died June 3, 2010. He molded the New York Jets’ defensive schemes out of Weeb Ewbank Hall at Hofstra’s Hempstead campus on Long Island, working as an assistant coach from 1976 to 1984. In the winter of 1990, he became Hofstra’s coach. Hofstra played in Division III, where athletic scholarships were not given. Gardi coached his first Hofstra team to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the Division III national semifinals. Hofstra moved into Division I-AA in 1994, and Gardi took Hofstra to a 10-1 record in 1995, and his team went 10-1 in the 1999 regular season, receiving the Lambert Cup as the top Division I-AA team in the East. Gardi retired after the 2005 season with a record of 119-62-2 in 16 years at Hofstra, 10 of them winning seasons. A native of Harrison, New Jersey, Gardi played offensive tackle and linebacker at Maryland, where he was later an assistant coach, and coached in the World Football League before joining the Jets in 1976 as an assistant to Lou Holtz.

Donald Bellott (1949) died June 5, 2010.

Robert C. Lund died March 20, 2010.

Richard A King (1943) died November 30, 2009.
Dr. Henry B. Larzelere (1939) died January 26, 2010.
Edward W. Smith (1946) died February 4, 2010.
Wat T. Cluverius (1957) died February 14, 2010.
Jack Hoag (1950) died June 2, 2010.

Dr. Charles G. Young died December 24, 2008.

John H. Body (1959) died May 31, 2010. He was a project engineer, corporate safety director, and facilities manager for Air Products and Chemicals from 1959 to 1997. He was a township supervisor for Colebrookdale Township, Phoebe Ministries Board president, Episcopal House Board member, Allentown Art Museum Building committee member, Lehigh Valley Hospital building committee member, Boyertown Rotary Club president, National Penn Bank executive board member, and Elder and chairman of the finance committee of Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ, Trexlertown, Pennsylvania.

Dillon Fullerton died June 10, 2010. He was active in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and worked as a bartender and waiter at Jim’s Steakhouse in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Ray Watkins (1950) died October 25, 2009.

Herman Huber (1950) died May 9, 2010.

Richard Roden (1955) died November 22, 2009.

Larry Boaz (1973) died April 9, 2010.

Donald W. Muehlnickel died February 7, 2010. He served as a pastor at his first parish in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1957, he started the Easter sunrise service that continues to this day at the Kingswood Center. He served several subsequent congregations around the United States, including at Apostles Lutheran Church in Brandon. After retirement, he became interim pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Lakeland, where he retained a membership.

Gordon L. Thatcher died May 27, 2010. Born in Toronto, he worked for a variety of firms before opening his own construction company. His ongoing involvement with music and the Royal Canadian Legion gave his life greater meaning and spirit. He also had served as president of the chapter’s alumni association.

James L. Embry (1963) died March 31, 2010.