Page 61 - Southern Magazine-Winter/Spring 2013

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CLASSNOTES
James Emmett Popwell Jr. ’52
of Birmingham on Oct. 14, 2012.
Popwell served in the U.S. Army
during the Korean War. He was
past president of the Young Men’s
Business Club of Birmingham
and a member of Kiwanis Club
of Birmingham. His business
career was with Alabama Gas
Corporation, where he retired in
2005 as director of new business
development. Popwell was a
member of Canterbury United
Methodist Church. He enjoyed
tennis and golf.
William “Bill” Henry Howard
’54 of Austell, Ga., on July
8, 2012. Howard received a
master’s degree in chemistry from
Northwestern University in 1956.
Among his career occupations,
he worked as a research chemist
at Chemstrand in Decatur and
finally as senior environmental
chemist until his retirement with
the Savannah River Site in South
Carolina, where he developed the
SRS Environmental Compliance
Training Program. Howard was an
amateur photographer who won
first place in the Amateur Division
for the State of North Carolina.
He instilled a love of nature in
his children and grandchildren
and loved astronomy, the ocean,
SCUBA diving, sailing, tennis, and
more. His father, Chaplain Col.
WillisT. Howard, graduated from
Birmingham College—a precursor
to BSC—in 1909.
William “Bill”W. Baxter ’54 of
Pensacola, Fla., on Sept. 29, 2012.
Baxter spent a distinguished career
in the U.S. Air Force, including
time as pilot of Air Force Two.
Upon retirement, he became an
administrator at Baptist Hospital,
where he was instrumental in
beginning the Life Flight Program.
After 10 years with Baptist, he was
the legal administrator with Beggs
and Lane law firm for an additional
10 years. Baxter was active in the
community, serving as president of
the Arts Council and Opera Board,
among many other affiliations.
Among his survivors are his wife,
Patricia Pace Baxter ’57, and a
son, Col. Richard Baxter ‘83 of
Cantonment, Fla.
Beverly Smith Reece ’54 of
Snellville, Ga., on Aug. 31, 2012.
She served as a church organist for
40 years in Alabama and Georgia.
She also worked with the GID
Department at Crawford W. Long
Hospital and the dental school
at Emory University. Reece was
a devoted member of the Tom
M. Wages Funeral Home staff
in Snellville and created prayer
scarves as a ministry to others
suffering with illness. She and her
husband were founding members
of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
in Snellville.
Connie Jean Conway Caldwell
’56 of Roswell, Ga., on June 28,
2012. Caldwell graduated from
BSC with honors and went on
to earn a master’s degree in
journalism from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. She
later returned to Birmingham,
her hometown, and accepted a
position in the public relations
department at South Central Bell.
She subsequently became the
first female employee to attain
management level in a Bell System
company. Caldwell was active in
the Methodist church her entire
life and served in many capacities.
Producing church newsletters led
to her second career as owner of
a typesetting and graphic design
company serving the Atlanta area
called Creative Type & Design.
In Memoriam ’45
Dr. Lamar S. Osment of Mountain Brook, who
held a distinguished career in medicine, died Aug. 2.
Osment was born in Pascagoula, Miss., and in 1926
moved to Birmingham, which he called home. He
was a graduate of the UAB School of Medicine.
He served in World War II as a gunnery officer of
DE 221, U.S.S. Solar. While unloading ammunition
at Earle, N.J., in 1946, an explosion took the lives of
seven men and left Lt. Osment with extensive second-
degree burns that required prolonged hospitalization.
Upon graduation from medical school in 1951,
Osment completed a residency in dermatology at
University Hospital of Birmingham and entered private practice adjacent to St.
Vincent’s Hospital. He was on the professional staff of several local hospitals
including University Hospital, the VA Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and St.
Vincent’s Hospital.
Osment served on the faculty of The UAB School of Medicine from 1951 until
his death. He was the author of several scientific articles and book chapters and
was a member of several professional societies, including the American Academy of
Dermatology and the Alabama Dermatological Society (president: 1958 and 1978).
He held membership in numerous community organizations, including
Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church, the Birmingham-Jefferson Historical Society,
and the Birmingham Audubon Society.
A music enthusiast, Osment specifically loved classical works, traditional country
music, and traditional bluegrass. He could play several musical instruments,
including the mandolin, ukulele, guitar, and French horn. Most recently, Osment
had an essay published in Arlington: Birmingham’s Historic House, a collection
of essays edited by Carolyn Satterfield. He took particular pleasure in traveling
extensively with his wife.
He is survived by his wife, adopted daughter, and brother, James Parker
Osment ‘56 of Orlando, Fla.