The Oldest Living Aggies

Update: Lee James passed away peacefully at his home in Mesquite on Dec. 10, 2020. Read his Silver Taps posting here. Marietta Gaffney Die passed away July 16, 2020, in Austin. Read her Silver Taps posting here. 

The oldest known living Aggie is Col. Lee E. James ’36 of Mesquite, who turned 106 in January 2020.

James received a bachelor's in agriculture and a master's in biology from A&M, where he was also a Ross Volunteer.

Col. George Baram ’37 of California turned 105 in May 2019. He was a cadet at A&M and received a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering.

William D. McMahon ’40 of Longview, Texas, celebrated his 103rd birthday in September 2019. Like Col. Baram, he was in the Corps and received a bachelor's in petroleum engineering.

Marietta Gaffney Die ’68 of Cedar Park, Texas, who turned 102 in November 2019, is (to our knowledge) the oldest living female former student. She received a master's degree in education from A&M and has an Aggie legacy stretching through her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We did a story in January of 2018 when, at the age of 100, she received her first Aggie Ring. You can read it here.

Byrom T. Wehner ’39 of Houston, who turns 102 in March 2020, graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, was commanding officer of the Aggie Band in 1938-39, and was junior class vice president in 1937-38. He was stationed at Rock Island Arsenal during World War II.

Some records in The Association's database do not include birthdates. If you have information about other former students who may be among the oldest living Aggies, please email The Association at AggieNetwork@AggieNetwork.com. 

The oldest Aggie ever to have lived, as far as can be determined by Association records, was Col. Tom C. "Ike" Morris ’33 of San Antonio. He passed away on Oct. 20, 2019, at the age of 109 years. Read more about Col. Morris at tx.ag/IkeMorris33.

The Association of Former Students has a bold vision to engage 100,000 donors annually for Texas A&M by the end of 2020. To learn more, visit tx.ag/100Kby2020. To help us help more Aggies, make a gift at tx.ag/give.