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CLASSNOTES
at Emory University Hospital and
Huntsville Hospital. She earned
a Ph.D. in microbiology from the
University of North Carolina. She
taught at Framingham State
College in Massachusetts and
later became a dean and vice
president. Klaas is survived by
her husband; brother,
Robert
E. Clem ’67
of Stone Ridge,
N.Y.; and nieces and nephews,
including
Paul Clem III ’01
of
Birmingham
and
Dr. Jennifer Clem
’01
of Northport, Ala. Memorial
donations may be made to the Paul
and Nell Echols ClemTravel Fund at
BSC, which helps students study
abroad during E-Term, to the Office
of Institutional Advancement, Box
549003, 900 Arkadelphia Road,
Birmingham, AL 35254.
Arthur Lovett Jr. ’60
of Auburn,
originally of Birmingham, on Oct.
3, 2013. Lovett helped manage
his family’s business, Lovett’s
Flowers, in Birmingham for nearly
40 years. After retiring, he and
his wife moved to Auburn. He
is survived by his wife,
Annette
Davis Lovett ’63
; three children;
eight grandchildren; and several
cousins, including
Mary Jane Mills
Maulsby ’62
.
Margaret Reno Self ’60
of
Empire, on May 9, 2014. A
longtime schoolteacher, Self
retired from the Jefferson County
Board of Education in 1988. She
held a master’s degree from
Samford University and a Class
AA certification from UAB. Self
was a member of Sandusky First
Baptist Church, where she sang
in the choir. Survivors include
her husband, four children, 10
grandchildren, and 17 great-
grandchildren.
Hon. James C. Brotherton ’63
of Jasper, on June 13, 2014. After
graduating from BSC, Brotherton
served in the Peace Corps in South
America, where he coached the
Colombian National SwimTeam.
He graduated from Samford
University’s Cumberland School
of Law in 1970 and served as
a law clerk in Madison County.
Brotherton was elected to the
14th Judicial Circuit, Walker
County, and held the position of
presiding circuit court judge for
more than 25 years, retiring as
the second-longest sitting judge
in the state’s history. He also
served in leadership capacities in
numerous civic and community-
based organizations. In 1975, the
Hon. Howell Heflin ’42
, then-chief
justice of the Alabama Supreme
Court, asked him to co-author
the Juvenile Code for Alabama.
Brotherton established the first
short-term juvenile detention
center in Alabama, the Alternative
to Prison Program, and other
assistance programs. Among
survivors are a sister and two
nephews.
Gordon “Chips” Bailey Jr. ’66
of
Atlanta, on Nov. 5, 2014. Bailey, an
accomplished attorney, graduated
from the University of Alabama
School of Law in 1969, after which
he served as a captain in the U.S.
Army JAG Corps in Washington,
D.C. He then returned to Alabama
to practice law in Anniston, where
he and his wife,
Anne Paulk
Bailey ’66
, raised their children
and lived for 34 years before
moving to Atlanta in 2007. Bailey
was recognized at the local,
state, and national levels for his
work in family law; he received
the President’s Child Support
Community Service Award in 1999
and the Walter P. Gewin Award in
2008 for his ongoing commitment
to legal education. In 2002, the
Alabama Child Support Association
established the annual Gordon
Bailey Jr. Attorney of the Year
Award to honor him for 26 years of
service. He loved to play the guitar
and sing, and he enjoyed sports.
Survivors include his wife, three
children, and nine grandchildren.
Janet Mitchell Spahn ’66
of
Tuscumbia, on Oct. 4, 2014. After
graduating from BSC, Spahn
worked in accounting for Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama;
she also did accounting work in
Germany. She loved nurturing
In
Memoriam
’85
Dr.Tara Nabors Sudderth
, who taught
accounting from 1990-95 and from 1998 to
2010 at Birmingham-Southern, died Oct. 18,
2014, in Birmingham. She was 68.
During her tenure, Sudderth held the
Donald Brabston Chair of Accounting, was
chair of the Accounting Department, and
was later dean of the Master of Arts in Public
and Private Management program. She was
known for her devotion to her students and
her excellence in teaching tax.
Sudderth graduated magna cum laude
from BSC and earned her master’s degree
from UAB and her Ph.D. from the University
of Mississippi—all in accounting. She
was a certified public accountant and a
certified management accountant as well as
a nationally published author in the field of
accounting. She retired as a full professor
at BSC and was then named professor
emeritus.
Dr. George Klersey, BSC associate professor of accounting, who worked with Sudderth
for more than a decade, said Birmingham-Southern was fortunate to have had her on
the faculty.
“The love she had for her job was reflected in her excellent teaching and leadership
at BSC,” Klersey said. “The fact that most of her students excelled on the tax portion of
the CPA exam speaks to her skill in the classroom. Tara was also well regarded by all
of her colleagues and peers, and was a caring and kind person who led the Accounting
Department thoughtfully and fairly.”
Survivors include her husband, a daughter, three step-children, and two grandsons.