Sort by: Class Year Year Awarded Name
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34Year Awarded: 2012
Lloyd H. "Pete" Hughes, Jr., Class of 1943, studied petroleum engineering at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas. He had a brief stint at Corpus Christi Junior College (now Del Mar College) before returning to A&M in 1941, but resigned to assist his family the same year.
He enlisted as an aviation cadet in 1942 in the wake of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. After completing the training courses, Hughes received his wings and commission as a second lieutenant. In 1943 he was assigned to the 564th Heavy Bombardment Squadron, 389th Heavy Bombardment Group at Lowry Field, Colo. The group moved to Europe, and then Benghazi, Libya, where the attack against the Axis oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania was launched. Hughes flew in the last formation at dangerously low altitude, and his plane received several direct hits that seriously damaged his aircraft. He continued to approach the target area, Steaua Romana oil refinery in Campina, with full knowledge of the consequences he faced, with his plane leaking oil and the ground ablaze. He continued to bomb the target area with great precision, even after the left wing of his plane caught on fire. He was the first Texas Aggie awarded the Medal of Honor.
Hughes was married to Hazel Dean Ewing. He passed away on August 1, 1943.
"Pete gave his life and the lives of his crew to carry out his assigned task. To the very end he gave the battle every ounce he had."
- Captain Philip P. Ardery, Commanding Officer, 564th Bomb Squadron
Year Awarded: 2012
George D. Keathley, Class of 1937, studied agriculture at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas after graduating from Cameron State School of Agriculture and Junior College in 1930 with an associate degree in agriculture.
He worked for the Soil Conservation Service in Lamesa supervising soil-erosion projects for the Civilian Conservation Corps before entering the service in 1942. In 1943, he was assigned to the 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division, where he was promoted to staff sergeant and was one of the leading noncommissioned officers in the 1st Platoon, Company B. Atop Mount Altuzzo, Italy, in 1944, Keathley volunteered to take command of two additional platoons whose officers had been killed in action. He led Company B in fending off an enemy counterattack, even after he sustained a mortal wound from an enemy hand grenade. He was the third Texas Aggie awarded the Medal of Honor.
Keathley and his wife, Inez, had two daughters. He passed away on September 14, 1944.
"I believe [he would tell students] to use their time there to learn and grow; to use the tools presented to you to make a difference in something that you are passionate about (as was his goal with farming), and because you never know what circumstances you might find yourself in, or where life might lead you, to take advantage of this opportunity to prepare yourself to make a difference somehow, somewhere.
- Dana McBee, George Keathley's granddaughter
Year Awarded: 2012
Turney W. Leonard, Class of 1942, graduated from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas with a bachelor of arts in agricultural administration. While at A&M, he was involved in the Scholarship Honor Society, Marketing and Finance Club, Dallas A&M Club, and was awarded the Best Drilled Sophomore Award and the Distinguished Student award.
He was first commissioned a second lieutenant in the Regular Army, and later assigned to the Tank Destroyer Center at Camp (later Fort) Hood as an instructor. In the Huertgen Forest at Kommerscheidt, Germany, Leonard repeatedly braved intense enemy fire to direct the fire of his tank destroyers, which enabled his battalion to destroy six German tanks. He went on reconnaissance missions alone to discover what opposition his men faced, reorganized confused infantry units whose leaders had been killed, and continued to fight until he was disabled by a high-explosive shell which shattered his arm.
Leonard was reported missing in action on November 7, 1944—his body was recovered in November 1949 and identified in January 1950. He was the fifth Texas Aggie to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
"You can't put Turney's life and courage into just a few words. He was, indeed, a true Aggie, and his life and courage still inspire Aggies today. Two of my granddaughters (Classes of '06 and '08) attended A&M because of the same feeling of 'being home' that Turney felt.
- -Karen Leonard Anderson, Turney Leonard's niece
Year Awarded: 2012
Tommie E. Lohman, Class of 1959, earned a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas and worked toward a doctor of jurisprudence degree at South Texas School. While at A&M, he was first lieutenant “B”-AAA in the Corps of Cadets and a Ross Volunteer. He was a member of Tau Beta Phi, the engineering honor society, as well as AIME Petroleum Engineering Club and Shreveport Hometown Club.
Lohman began his career as a petroleum engineer at Amoco Production Corporation in 1958. In 1962, he moved to Texas Oil & Gas Corporation, where he worked his way up from a district engineer to manager of Gas Gathering & Processing, while concurrently serving on the Board of Directors and president of the Delhi Gas Pipeline until 1988. The same year, he founded Taurus Energy Corporation, and a year later founded TELCO Investments.
He received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the Texas A&M College of Engineering in 2004 and the honor of Distinguished Graduate from the Department of Petroleum Engineering in 2002. He was a member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, served as vice president and director of the Gas Processors Association, and was an inducted into the Hall of Honor by A&M Lettermen’s Association in 2010.
Lohman endowed the Tommie E. Lohman Laboratory for Gas Engineering, established the Carolyn S. and Tommie E. Lohman ’59 Professorship in Engineering Education and an Engineering Graduate Fellowship, funded the “Shaping the Future” statue at the College of Education, and was instrumental in establishing the Lohman Learning Community in the College of Education. He was involved in several organizations, including the Engineering Advisory Council, Chancellor’s Advisory Council, College of Engineering External Advisory and Development Council, A&M Legacy Society and Texas Aggie Bar Association. A long-time Endowed Century Club member, he served as past president of the 12th Man Foundation, as well as the executive committee.
He was active in his church, serving as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Richardson Baptist Church and Fallswood Baptist Church for twenty years combined. Lohman and his wife, Carolyn, had two daughters and lived in College Station. He passed away on February 4, 2012.
"Tommie wanted to go to OU with his best buddy, but his Dad nixed that idea saying 'Jack will go there, pledge a fraternity, and flunk out the first semester, and you will be all by yourself. I want you to go to Texas A&M.' Sure enough, that is exactly what happened to Jack, but not Tommie because he was in the Corps at A&M!"
- -Mrs. Carolyn Lohman, Tommie Lohman's wife
Year Awarded: 2012
Abilene, TX
Bob J. Surovik, Class of 1958, received a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas and continued on to earn a doctor of jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas Law School in 1961. While a student, he was president of the Student Senate and the Singing Cadets, Sophomore Class Secretary and he was listed among the Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities in 1958. He was on the Southwest Conference Sportsmanship Committee, Town Hall Staff, Election Commission, MSC Council, Arts and Science Council, Accounting Society and the Pre-Law Society. He was Adjutant in the Second Battalion, Second Regiment Staff in the Corps of Cadets, and a member of the Student Government Association.
After college, he was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves in Austin, and then a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss. In 1963, he earned an Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service and started practicing law. After working as an accountant for the Texas Department of Agriculture, he was an instructor of business law at the University of Texas at Austin, state representative aide in the Texas House of Representatives before becoming president and shareholder of McMahon, Surovik, Suttle, P.C.
Surovik has served many organizations in Abilene, including the Abilene Industrial Foundation, Abilene Chamber of Commerce, First Financial Bank-Abilene, The Community Foundation of Abilene, the Abilene YMCA, the Volunteer Council at Abilene State School, Hendrick Home for Children, and the Public Responsibility Committee of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and the St. Paul United Methodist Church Foundation, among others.
He is an active supporter of Texas A&M through the A&M Legacy Society, Endowed Century Club at The Association of Former Students, the Former Student Body President Association, the Texas A&M Foundation Planned Giving Council and the Texas Aggie Bar Association. In 1973, he was named Outstanding Young Lawyer by the State Junior Bar of Texas, and he was the Texas Aggie Bar Association’s Aggie Lawyer of the Year in 2011. In addition, he is a past Chairman of the Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees, past Chair of the Board of Directors at The Association, past area representative (West Texas) for The Association, and past president of the Abilene A&M Club.
Surovik resides in Abilene. Two of his three children graduated from Texas A&M.
"At Texas A&M, I gained discipline, a good work ethic, and the realization that all of us have special gifts and talents to share with others."
Year Awarded: 2012
Dr. Robert V. Walker, Class of 1945, studied pre-dentistry at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas before he was drafted into the army. While at A&M, he was named “Best Drilled Man” of H Battery Field Artillery during his sophomore year, 1st Sergeant in his junior year, earned a walk-on position on the freshman baseball team in 1942, and played the full 1943 season of baseball on the A&M varsity team, earning his “T” medal. He earned a doctor of dental surgery degree from Baylor University College of Dentistry in 1947, studied at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine for a year in 1953, and won Honorary Fellowships from both the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 1973 and England in 1984.
He was called back into the army in 1951, where he advanced from 1st lieutenant to captain at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio in 1953. During his tenure there he joined the BAMC Comets baseball team and played at the national championship level in 1951-52. It was here that he was introduced to oral surgery and was encouraged to continue his education, and he became a certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon in 1958. Walker was an assistant professor, and then professor as well as Chairman of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and ended his time there as Professor Emeritus.
Walker held leadership roles and remained active in many societies and associations around Texas, such as the American Trauma Society, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Dallas County Dental Society and the Southwest Society of Oral Surgeons, just to name a few. He won numerous honors and achievement awards, like the Texas Dental Association Gold Medal for Distinguished Service in 2003, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dallas County Dental Society in 2002, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Baylor College of Dentistry (now Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry) in 1999. He was a founding member, board member and past president of the Texas A&M Medical-Dentistry Society, past chair and vice-chair of the College of Science External Advisory and Development Council, member of the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets Association, The Association of Former Students, the Texas A&M Foundation and the 12th Man Foundation. In 1994, he established the Emily and Robert Walker Endowed Scholarship in Science at Texas A&M, followed in 1995 by the Emily and Robert Walker ’45 Endowed Lectureship in Biology. In 2004 he was honored with induction into the Texas A&M College of Science Academy of Distinguished Former Students.
Walker and his wife, Emily, had one daughter and two sons. He passed away on April 28, 2011.
"Dad really enjoyed the Corps and playing baseball. He was a walk-on player for the baseball team, and beat out a recruited player with a scholarship for shortstop. He was very happy to win the Best Drilled Man award for his unit, over students who had come from large city high schools with ROTC programs. It was a big disappointment when he was drafted at the end of his junior year, and he didn't get to wear his boots or take a position of leadership in the Corps as a senior."
- -Trey Walker, Robert Walker's son
Year Awarded: 2012
Eli L. Whiteley, Class of 1941, graduated from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas in three years with a bachelor of science in agriculture. He entered North Carolina State College before being drafted into the army, but returned in 1946 after he was discharged to earn a Master’s degree.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and later served as a training officer at Camp Wolters. He received orders for Europe and was assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, where he joined Company L as a rifle platoon leader. In 1944, while leading his platoon in an attack at Sigolsheim, France, Whiteley was hit and severely wounded in the arm and shoulder, but continued clearing hostile troops from strong points. He continued fighting, even though his eye was pierced by a shell fragment, and led an attack which cracked the core of the enemy resistance. He was the sixth Texas Aggie awarded the Medal of Honor.
Whiteley returned to A&M in 1946 as a lecturer in freshman agronomy classes before earning a Ph.D. in agronomy in 1959. He would remain a part of the Texas A&M faculty and was eventually named a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
Whiteley and his wife, Anna, had two sons and three daughters—one of whom attended Texas A&M. He died of a heart attack on December 2, 1986.
"His training and experience as a member of the Corps of Cadets benefited him during the time he served in the U. S. Army during World War II. The values instilled upon him during his time at Texas A&M, the values of duty, honor, integrity, and service to others, ultimately led to his return to Texas A&M, where he obtained a doctorate degree, and then served Texas A&M for 31 years."
- -Alice Whiteley-Wiese, Eli Whiteley's daughter
Year Awarded: 2011
Baltimore, MD
Adams earned his bachelor’s degree in architectural design from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. As a student, he received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for Outstanding Service to the School of Architecture and was active with the Student Conference on National Affairs.
After graduation from A&M, he worked for several architectural firms before joining RTKL Associates in Baltimore in 1967. He became president in 1968, CEO in 1971, and chairman of the board in 1987. He was one of the first Americans to hold a “first class Kenchikushi” (architecture) license, awarded by Japan’s Ministry of Construction, and he is a licensed architect in the United Kingdom. He served as chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows from 1997 to 1998, and founded and chaired for 17 years the AIA’s Large Firm Round Table. He worked with President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy on the design of Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House, helped select the site for Kennedy’s presidential library and was project director for the Kennedy gravesite memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and received its Kemper Medal in 1997.
He is a member of The Association of Former Students Century Club and on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the College of Architecture. He has endowed three professorships and a scholarship at A&M and was the College of Architecture’s chairman for the One Spirit One Vision capital campaign. He also lectures at A&M each year. He was selected as an Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Architecture in 1998.
Mr. Adams is active in business, arts, education and civic organizations as chairman of the Board of Regents of the American Architectural Foundation, chairman and trustee of the National Building Museum and chairman of the Governor’s International Advisory Council. He has served as chairman of the board of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, chairman of the Design-Build Institute of America, and commissioner of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. He founded and has served for 20 years as chairman of the board of the World Trade Center Institute.
Adams and his wife, Janice, have four children, two of whom attended A&M, and 11 grandchildren.
“What I gained from Texas A&M that has been beneficial to me in my career and life is the positive thinking and the ‘we can conquer anything attitude.”
Year Awarded: 2011
Bryan, Texas
Bethancourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering and later received his executive M.B.A. from Duke University. While at A&M, he was a student senator, vice president of the Student Engineering Council, and president of the Hughes Hall Student Council.
He went to work after graduation for Getty Oil Co., rising to area manager in the company’s Bryan office by 1982. He then spent more than 15 years with Texaco, beginning as area manager in the Victoria, Texas, office and culminating as Texaco Corporation vice president and president of worldwide productions operations. He joined Chevron Corp. in 2001 as vice president of human resources. Since 2003, he has been an executive vice president at Chevron. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and a former member of its Board of Directors.
Bethancourt is a member of The Association of Former Students Endowed Century Club and is the chairman-elect of the Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Debbie, Class of 1976, have endowed several scholarships and a professorship. John has been a consistent supporter of the university’s Department of Petroleum Engineering. He also supports the football and baseball programs and has been a major force behind planned renovations to Olsen Field. In 2007, he was named an Outstanding Alumnus of A&M’s Dwight Look College of Engineering.
He has been a volunteer Little League coach in Victoria, Wharton and Midland, is a former director of Midland Junior Achievement, and is a member of the Board of Governors of Miramont Country Club in Bryan.
Bethancourt and his wife have four children, all of whom graduated from Texas A&M, and ten grandchildren. All four children have spouses who also graduated from Texas A&M.
“I gained a strong sense of the A&M values, which have stuck with me. I learned leadership skills that have served me well over the last 37 years.”
Year Awarded: 2011
San Antonio, TX
Bolner graduated from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in business. He was a distinguished student for four years, a member of the Corps of Cadets, executive officer of the Texas Aggie Band and a distinguished military graduate.
After graduation, Bolner was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Korean War. After six years as a partner in the family grocery store, he founded and became president and CEO of Bolner’s Fiesta Products, Inc., a San Antonio company manufacturing and distributing food seasoning products worldwide. In 1979, he was named U.S. Grocery Supplier of the Year.
Bolner was awarded the Archbishop Francis J. Furey Outstanding Award Medal in 1969, and in 1979, was the first recipient of the Central Catholic High School Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1982, he was the recipient of the National Conference of Christians and Jews Award. In 2004, he was named an Outstanding Alumnus of A&M’s Mays Business School. He has endowed four scholarships at A&M and is a life member of Sterling Evans Library and a charter member of Texas A&M’s Chancellor’s Circle and of The Association of Former Students Century Club. He is also a member of the 12th Man Foundation, the Texas A&M Foundation Legacy Society, the San Antonio A&M Club and has served as class agent for the Class of 1949 for several years.
Bolner has served many charitable organizations in the San Antonio area. He served as president of the Witte Museum Board, the San Antonio Museum Association and the San Antonio Symphony Society, and served on the boards of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the Cancer Therapy Research Center, the San Antonio Fiesta Commission and many others. He is active in his church, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, and is a past president of the Parish Council. The 2011 Humanitarian Award given by Catholic Charities was awarded to Mr. Bolner this year.
Four of his seven children and three grandchildren have graduated from Texas A&M and another granddaughter is a current student.
"Texas A&M has a great networking system. When you see another Aggie ring, you know you have another friend you are just waiting to meet."