In Memoriam

In Memoriam Fall 2025

Trailblazing Journalist and Founder of Boston’s Rose Brigade Dies At 93 China Altman (’54), a longtime journalist and founder of Boston’s Rose Brigade, died Feb. 2, 2026, in hospice care. Altman was just 16 when she left her family’s home in Waycross, Georgia, to attend what was then Georgia Teachers College (TC), even though she…
In Memoriam

1950s James Chirbas (’54, ’85, ’90) of Savannah died Feb. 5, 2024, at age 99. The WWII veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard retired from Hunter Army Airfield after 30 years of civil service. He was a long-standing member and former president of the Savannah Art Association. Betty Harden Knight (’56, ’88) of Statesboro, Georgia,…
In Memoriam

1940s Charles L. Gruver Jr. (‘49), 97, passed away on February 16, 2024. Born in Savannah, he served in the U.S. Army and later earned a B.S. in Education from Georgia Southern University. He spent 20 years in education, ending as Chairman of the Clinch County Board of Education. 1950s Barbara “Babs” Smith (‘52), 92,…
In Memoriam Fall 2023

Remembering a Distinguished Georgia Southern Alumnus and Benefactor Life Celebrations Planned for Michael “Mike” Robert Sanders Michael “Mike” Sanders, co-chair of Georgia Southern University’s comprehensive campaign, Together We Soar, passed away in Atlanta on Dec. 26, 2023, at age 64. Sanders graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1981 with a degree in marketing, but he…
In Memoriam Spring 2023

Georgia Southern remembers our many alumni and their wonderful lives.
Eagle Nation Remembers Two Of Its Most Faithful Supporters

Georgia Southern remembers Professor Emerita Rose Mae Bogan Millikan and Professor Emeritus Patrick “Doc” Spurgeon — two of Eagle Nation’s most devoted advocates.
Georgia Southern Remembers Former Georgia First Lady Betty Foy Sanders

Georgia Southern University lost a devoted and cherished supporter with the death of former Georgia first lady Betty Foy Sanders. An accomplished artist, Sanders had a lifelong interest in arts education and in Georgia Southern. She leaves behind her own artwork as well as the Betty Foy Sanders Georgia Artists Collection, an assemblage of talented…
In Memoriam – Fall 2022

1930s Charles Waldrop Jr. (’39) of Savannah passed away Oct. 20, 2021, at age 102. The 1939 Armstrong Junior College graduate served four years in the U.S. Army and spent 18 months in the European Theatre with the Eighth Air Force during World War II. A registered pharmacist for 50 years, he co-owned Crumbley’s Pharmacy. 1940s…
In Memoriam – Winter 2022

1940s Dean Dunwody Tunno (’49) of Sandy Springs, Georgia, died July 12, 2020, at age 90. During the Korean War, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained as a fighter pilot. He flew peacetime missions in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, then joined Delta Air Lines after completing his military service. He rose to the…
In Memoriam – Summer 2021

1930s Verna L. Beard (’37) died Dec. 17, 2020, in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, at age 105. Throughout her long life, she taught school, worked for an aircraft company and for other businesses. She lived 40 years in Tampa, 29 years in Atlanta, 20 years near Chicago and the last 15 years in Hawaii. 1940s Cleo Edenfield…