In Memoriam

Scholarship donor Audie Presley Belcher Jr. passed away June 18. He is the father of the late Presley Calloway “Cally” Belcher, who played defensive back on the Lumberjack football team and died of head trauma following a spring practice in March 1994.

In 1963, Audie enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving three years in Germany. He attended college, met his wife, Helen, and in 1971, the couple welcomed Cally, their only child.

Audie worked for 30 years with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division. A devoted Lumberjack football fan, he continued to attend all Lumberjack home games until his health failed.

Audie and Helen established the Cally Belcher Memorial Football Scholarship at SFA in Cally’s memory.

SFA staff member William “Bill” Barnes-Cox passed away Sept. 20. A native of Danville, Illinois, he attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Bill married Dr. Randi Barnes-Cox, a faculty member in the Department of History, in 1995, and the couple moved to Nacogdoches in 1999.

Since 2006, Bill served as a graphic designer and media coordinator for the SFA Office of Admissions.

Former SFA faculty member Dr. Donald Dean Gregory passed away Oct. 27.

Gregory served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1959 as an aviation electronics petty officer second class on VP-47 seaplanes, which gave him the opportunity to see the world. While serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, he rose to E-6 petty officer first class.

In 1971, Gregory arrived at SFA to serve as a political science instructor. He later was named chair of the political science and geography department, serving 14 years in that capacity.

His teaching specializations included judicial process, American legal systems and constitutional law. Gregory published numerous articles and presented papers on Texas politics, constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as the pre-law advisor for 30 years and was twice selected as SFA Advisor of the Year. He co-founded the Texas Moot Court Association and coached SFA’s Moot Court Team. He also served as chair of the SFA Student Conduct Review Board for more than a decade and represented the university on three Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation visitation teams.

Gregory was named professor emeritus of political science, geography and public administration by the SFA Board of Regents upon his retirement in 2004.

Dr. Alan B. Larson, former associate professor in the professional counseling graduate and rehabilitation services undergraduate programs, passed away Aug. 7.

Larson devoted his life to the education of those with disabilities. He strived to ensure disabilities did not hold anyone back from accomplishing the smallest tasks or the largest dreams. A highlight of his life was organizing a disability pride parade in Nacogdoches. He served on the Mayor’s Council for Disabilities and the Goodwill Industries Board.

Glenn E. Wells ’80, ’86, ’01 & ’02, a member of the SFA Band Directors Hall of Fame, passed away June 24. Wells received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from SFA and later returned to the university to earn his Master of Education and principal certification.

He taught for 39 years at various schools, including at junior highs, high schools and colleges. He retired as the director of bands for Kilgore College in 2018.

During his career, Wells served as a band division chair for the Texas Music Educators Association and the Association of Texas Small School Bands, as well as concerto competition chair for the Texas Community College Band Directors Association. He was inducted into the Texas Band Masters Hall of Fame this past spring.