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CLASS NOTES
Industries for 12 years. He is
survived by his wife, Evie Seales
Balch ’54, three children, and three
grandchildren.
Dr. Robert Thompson Bowen
Jr. ’44 of Athens, Ga., on Sept.
19, 2015. He was a professor of
physical education, avid golfer and
sportsman, and veteran of the 398th
Bomb Group of the U.S. Army Air
Corps. He piloted 33 missions
from England, earning three Bronze
Stars and the Air Medal with five
Oak Leaf Clusters. After he earned
his Ph.D. from the University of
Michigan, he and his wife relocated
to Athens, where he became an
active member of Emmanuel
Episcopal Church. He is survived by
his wife, Jane Hutto Thompson ’49;
five children; nine grandchildren;
and five great-grandchildren.
Mary Esslinger Richardson Harris
’44 of Birmingham, on Oct. 14,
2015. For more than 60 years,
Harris was a member of Trinity
United Methodist Church and was a
longtime member of the Belvedere
Study Club. She was married for
58 years to the late Dr. William M.
Harris Jr. ’38. Survivors include
three children, including Rev. Sally
Harris ’74 of Birmingham; six
grandchildren, including David
Kemp ’00 of Bonaire, Ga., Miriam
Smith ’09 of Huntsville, and Charis
Smith, a BSC junior; and six great-
grandchildren.
Dr. LeRoy Lyon Holt ’45 of
Birmingham, on Aug. 19, 2015.
Holt attended the Emory University
School of Medicine. After two
deployments as a hospital corpsman
in the U.S. Navy during WWII and
the Korean Conflict, he started his
practice at Lloyd Noland Hospital.
Holt was then recruited to Bessemer
as a family practitioner and
surgeon; he practiced there for 47
years until his retirement in 1998.
He received many community
honors and awards and served as
president of the Alabama Medical
Association. Survivors include his
wife; six children, including David
Holt ’87 of Rainbow City, Ala.; 14
grandchildren; and three great-
grandchildren.
Jane McCarty McRae ’45 of
Birmingham, on Nov. 23, 2015.
McRae earned a pilot’s license
during World War II. Afterward,
she returned to BSC, graduated,
and then completed her master’s in
library science from Florida State.
McRae became a librarian and retired
in 1986 from the Vestavia School
System. Afterward, she joined the
Peace Corps and spent three years
in Jamaica developing libraries.
She loved traveling and was an
avid hiker. Survivors include three
children and four grandchildren.
Agnes Rogers Clark ’46 of
Birmingham, on Sept. 6, 2015.
Clark was a noted educator
who was employed as a school
psychologist and psychometrist,
counselor, special education teacher,
principal, child welfare worker, and
medical/psychiatric social worker
during her career. She received a
master’s in counseling and school
administration from the University
of Alabama. Clark later earned
a master’s in social work from
William and Mary College and an
educational specialist degree from
UA. She was a field director with
the American Red Cross in Japan
during the Korean War. Survivors
include a son.
Irene Stewart Hendricks ’47
of Hoover, on March 15, 2015.
Hendricks, who graduated from
IN MEMORIAM ’44
Marguerite Jones “Wita” Harbert, a civic
leader, philanthropist, and former Birmingham-
Southern life trustee, passed away on March 17,
2015, at the age of 91. She was a resident of
Mountain Brook.
While a student at BSC majoring in physical
education, Harbert was an early pioneer in
women’s athletics, playing golf, tennis, softball,
and basketball along with swimming. She was
voted the top intramural female athlete all four
years and inducted into the BSC Sports Hall of
Fame in 2006. She later became a major donor
to the college.
“We are thankful to Mrs. Harbert for her
longstanding support of the college she so loved,”
said BSC President Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith.
“She played an enormous role here on the Hilltop and in our broader community.”
Her most visible contribution to the campus is the Marguerite Jones Harbert Building,
named in her honor in 1988. The building anchors the Academic Quad and houses BSC’s
business, education, and social science departments. She was also a leader in the campaign
to build the Kappa Delta sorority house on campus.
Harbert was the wife of Birmingham-based Harbert Corp. magnate John M. Harbert
III, who died in 1995. The company built Birmingham landmarks such as the Riverchase
Galleria, the Red Mountain Expressway, and the AmSouth-Harbert Plaza and also had
construction projects worldwide.
After graduating from Birmingham-Southern, Harbert worked at the American Red Cross,
heading up the safety service division and supervising all teaching programs in Jefferson
County. Her civic involvement included the Junior League of Birmingham, Advent Episcopal
School, and the Linly Heflin Unit; she also served on several boards.
Harbert loved hunting birds, needlepoint, tennis, bridge, golf, and the outdoors. She won
several golf club championships in North Carolina and Alabama.
She is survived by three children (Dr. Sam Gray ’82, who serves on the BSC Board of
Trustees, is a son-in-law), six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.