Category: 1967

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Thomas Campbell Leslie’67

Thomas Campbell Leslie died March 16, 2026 from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Tom was born July 13, 1945 to Jean Campbell and John T. Leslie, MD and grew up in Avondale Estates, GA, where he was starting quarterback for the Avondale Blue Devils. Tom was a business leader, a teller of tales, a legendary tomato grower, a loving father and husband, and a life-long learner who was fascinated by history, engineering (both modern and ancient), and urban development. He had a particular interest in the history of his native Atlanta and his beloved neighborhood of over 50 years, Midtown.

Tom attended Davidson College and then Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. After two years in the U.S. Public Service during the Vietnam War, Tom returned to school to earn a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.

Tom’s career took him from San Francisco to Milledgeville, GA, then back home to work in solid waste research and planning for the Atlanta Regional Commission. ARC is also where he met his future wife, Mary Head. Tom spent many years at the engineering firm Jordan, Jones and Goulding before leaving to become Executive Director of the Georgia Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and then the Georgia Engineering Alliance. After his first retirement he returned to GEA in a consulting role, and wrote a monthly column for Georgia Engineer Magazine. When he finally fully retired he was able to spend his hours reading, researching Atlanta history, gardening, traveling with Mary and visiting grandchildren in New Orleans and Abingdon, VA.

Tom was a dedicated member of Central Presbyterian Church and served in a number of leadership roles including the Session and the Finance and Stewardship Committees.

Tom is survived by Mary, his wife of 49 years, his children Amanda Livingston (husband Andrew) and Jack Leslie (partner Morgan), grandchildren Vivian Leslie, Mona Leslie, Clara Livingston and Arthur Livingston, brother Robert Leslie (Kent) and sister Linda Mobley (Russell) as well as two nieces and a nephew.

A Memorial Service will be held Sunday April 12, 2026 at 2PM at Central Presbyterian Church. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Outreach and Advocacy Center of Central Presbyterian Church. https://centralaoc.org

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Drewry Hampton Morris IV ’67

Drewry Hampton Morris IV, age 79, of Auburn, Alabama, passed away peacefully in Atlanta, Georgia on March 7, 2025. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 15th at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church of Auburn. Burial will follow at Town Creek Cemetery with Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home of Opelika directing.  The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

Mr. Morris was born on June 6, 1945, in New York City to Drewry Hampton Morris III and Pallie Brown Morris. Drewry “Hamp” Morris grew up in Geneva, Alabama, where he spent many happy years. At a young age, he discovered his love of the French language.

Hamp obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at Davidson College before continuing to Yale University, where he earned a Master of Arts. He received a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. D. H. Morris accepted his first teaching position at Auburn University in 1971, where he eventually retired in 2013. For more than four decades, the professor shared his excitement and passion for the French language and French history with thousands of students. Over the years, students often referenced his class as their favorite during their time at Auburn, citing that “he made learning fun.”

Hamp met his wife, Karen Russell Morris, at Auburn University. They were married at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish Church in Auburn on April 25, 1981. They welcomed Casey, their first child, into the world, followed by Courtney and Drew.

A loving father, Hamp was always there for his children, whether helping with homework or a school project or attending a recital or sporting event. He had a close bond with each of his children, which carried into their adulthood, and he meant the world to them.

Hamp enjoyed travel, was a gifted storyteller, a thoughtful writer, and a talented musician. His wonderful laugh could light up a room. He was friendly to everyone he met and often helpful to complete strangers.

He will be fondly remembered by many as one of the kindest, most gentle souls, with nothing but love in his heart.

Hamp is survived by his three children: Casey Morris, Courtney Morris Wesson, and Drewry Hampton Morris V (Elizabeth); his grandchildren, Mathew Wesson, Adelaide Morris, and Drewry Hampton Morris VI; and his sister, Janet Smith.

Hamp was preceded in death by his father, Drewry Hampton Morris III, his mother, Pallie Brown Morris, and his wife, Karen Russell Morris.

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Joseph S. Buffington ’67

Dr. Joe was born on February 19, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia. He passed away peacefully on August 2, 2024. He was 79 years old.

Dr. Joe earned his BS from Davidson College in 1967 and was on the wresting team. He went to medical school at Duke University. He joined the Army and headed the OB/GYN departments in Nurnberg, Germany. Later, he went on to head the OB/GYN department at Walter Reed Hospital before going into private practice at Montgomery General Hospital. During his career Dr. Joe delivered more than 3000 babies.

Dr. Joe met his wife Bette at Duke University Hospital where she was a nurse. They were married at Duke Chapel and the family moved to Germany. In 1979, Dr. Joe and family returned to the states where he opened his OB/GYN practice at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney, MD.

Dr. Joe loved boating on the Chesapeake Bay, spending time in St. John, USVI, and Sunset Beach, NC. He was a devout member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Olney, MD. Dr. Joe was kind, dedicated, and hardworking. Over the past 24 years he valiantly battled Parkinson’s disease. He was unbelievable resilient and kept a positive attitude. His motto was “Never Give Up.”

Dr. Joe is survived by his wife Bette, his three children Joe Buffington II., Witt Cobb, and Francie Cobb Wright, his eleven grandchildren Lily, Jeb, Grace, Emily, Katie, Daniel, Andrew, Cameron, Trever, Nate, and Daphne. Visitation will be held Thursday, August 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Barber Funeral home, 21525 Laytonsville Rd, Laytonsville, MD 20882. The funeral Mass will be held Friday, August 16 at 10 a.m. at Saint Peter’s Church 2900 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd. Olney, MD. A reception in the family home afterwards at 1 p.m., 21020 Layton Ridge Dr. Laytonville, MD. In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Michaeljfox.org. Online condolences may be expressed at barberfhlaytonsville.com.

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Marcus B. (Mark) Simpson, Jr. ’67

Marcus B. (Mark) Simpson, Jr. passed away November 19, 2023 in Hendersonville, NC.

Mark was born to Marcus B. Simpson, Sr. and Nora Grace Simpson 79 years ago in Sanford, NC and grew up in Statesville, NC.   Mark had an endless curiosity about the natural world that was especially inspired by his father and by his favorite teacher, Lois Goforth.  His love of nature and especially birds led him to join the Carolina Bird Club as a teenager in the 1960’s long before it was cool to be a young birder.  Legendary CBC contributor and author Eloise Potter encouraged his interest and an accidental meeting (staring at a bird and running into the car he was following on a birding trip) with ornithologist and author Roger Tory Peterson sealed the deal.

Mark went on to study biology at Davidson College where he met fellow birders and lifetime friends Doug Pratt, Sterling Southern, and Jim Davidson.  He studied biology under renowned professor Thomas (Bugs) Daggy, who further contributed to his interest in the natural world. From there Mark continued on to medical school at UNC-Chapel Hill and completed his internship and residency at Yale and Johns Hopkins Universities.  After serving in the US Army at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital he had a highly successful and productive career as a Pathologist, both teaching and directinghospital laboratories at Duke University, George Washington University, the University of Pittsburgh, and finally returning home to North Carolina to retire from his final position at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.  He loved writing and was a prolific contributor to medical journals specializing in blood banking and transfusions.

As busy as his career kept him, medicine was never his only interest.  He always found time for his love of ornithology and natural history and was a frequent contributor to such publications as “the North Carolina Historical Review”, “the Archives of Natural History”, as well as decades of contributions to the quarterly publication of the Carolina Bird Club, “The Chat.”  His specialty in the birds of the Southern Appalachians culminated in his tour de force 1992 publication of Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains (UNC Press).

Mark was preceded in death by his talented first wife, Sally Simpson, with whom he contributed articles on early whaling off the NC coast, and is survived by his second wife, Marilyn Westphal, who shared his passion for birds and the mountains and with whom he contributed articles on breeding Hermit Thrushes and Northern Saw-whet Owls in the Southern Appalachians.

Mark was a truly remarkable person who will be greatly missed by his friends and relatives, and he was a kind, loving husband and best friend to his heartbroken wife Marilyn.

A memorial service will be held for Mark in spring 2024 in his beloved Blue Ridge Mountains.  Exact location will be announced.  All are welcome to contribute to the memory of Mark with donations to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation or Conserving Carolina.

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Ralph Erskine Blakely, Jr. ’67

Ralph Erskine Blakely, Jr. died of lymphoma on August 31, 2023 in Mount Pleasant, SC. Ralph was born on May 7, 1945, in Rock Hill, SC to Ralph Erskine Blakely and Ollie Mae Freeman Blakely.

Ralph grew up in Rock Hill in a close-knit family. From childhood he was fascinated by the sounds and structure of pipe organs. At nursery school he amazed the staff by building an organ from blocks, which he “played” with panache; at church he refused to leave the sanctuary until the last notes of the postlude had sounded.

He attended Winthrop Training School and graduated from Rock Hill High School. He received the BA from Davidson College, where he majored in Music and Classics. After a brief period of graduate study in organ, he apprenticed himself to an organbuilder in Charlotte, NC. He then founded Blakely Organbuilders on Depot Street in Davidson, which built and maintained pipe organs in the Southeast, from Georgia to Virginia.

Following their retirement, he and his partner, Wilmer Hayden Welsh, the Davidson Chapel organist and professor of music, moved in 1994 to Tradd Street in Charleston. There Ralph became a keen supporter of the Gibbes Museum of Art, where he served on the Board of Directors; he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Storm Eye Institute and an active supporter of Davidson College. In downtown Charleston he was a familiar figure as he walked his Great Dane. After Bill’s death in 2008, Ralph revived his interest in Greek and translated Homer’s Iliad into English prose as a memorial to him; it was published in 2015 by Forge Press. In 2021, he moved to South Bay in Mount Pleasant, SC and in 2022 to the Shem Creek Health Center at South Bay.

Ralph is survived by his sisters, Mary Blakely Speer (Eugene Speer) of Cranbury, NJ and Jennie Blakely Benton (Douglas Benton) of Church Hill, TN; one nephew, David Benton; a great-niece, Bailee Benton and a great-nephew, Waylon Benton, all of Church Hill. The family is grateful to Paula Singleton for her devoted care of Ralph in these last months. Burial will be private. Memorials may be sent to the Storm Eye Institute of the Medical University of South Carolina (www.fundraise.musc.edu) or to Davidson College (https://davidson.edu/makeagift).