Obituaries
In Memoriam
Dr. Loyce W. Turner ’48 | Loyce W. Turner, 93, passed away April 16, 2021. He earned both his undergraduate degree and DVM from Auburn, then served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps for two years. He later operated a veterinary clinic in Valdosta, Georgia, before running for the Georgia State Senate, where he served as a senator from 1975-1998 before stepping down due to the illness and death of his first wife, Annette. During his time in the Senate, Turner served as Senate Majority Whip, chairman of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and sat on the Appropriations and Higher Education Committees. Among the achievements he held most dear was introducing the legislation that elevated Valdosta State College to university status. After stepping down from office, he was appointed to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, where he served for another 13 years. Survivors include his wife, Ingrid, three children, one stepchild, one sister, five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
Dr. Amos D. Dillard ’51 | Amos D. Dillard, 86, passed away July 9, 2014. He lived in Denton, Texas, and is survived by his wife, Ramona.
Dr. Homer A. Watts, Jr. ’52 | Homer A. Watts, Jr., 92, passed away May 16, 2020. Following service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he earned his DVM at Auburn and opened Watts Veterinary Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a pioneer in canine eye surgery and was a recipient of the American Animal Hospital Association’s Veterinarian of the Year Award. He also served on the boards of the Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Hospital, Christian Health Ministries Foundation and First Baptist Church of New Orleans Foundation. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorann. Survivors include five children, 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Dr. William R. “Bill” Klemm ’58 | William R. “Bill” Klemm, 86, passed away June 25, 2021. Following his Auburn graduation, he served in the U.S. Air Force and later retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He also earned a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Notre Dame before joining the veterinary pharmacology faculty at Iowa State University. He finished out his academic career as a professor at Texas A&M University, where he was a widely published researcher and a Sigma Xi Distinguished Scientist. A Distinguished Alumnus of Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine, he was the author of 20 books and his blog, Thank You Brain, had over 3 million reader views. He was preceded in death by his wife, Doris. Survivors include two children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Dr. Julian Robert Sandefur ’60 | Julian Robert Sandefur, 85, passed away June 4, 2021. Survivors include his wife, Joann, two children, one grandchild and one sister.
Dr. Bobby Gene Taylor ’60 | Bobby Gene Taylor, 90, passed away April 28, 2021. After earning his DVM from Auburn, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Safety Division for 44 years. He was also a veteran of the Korean War and the Alabama Air National Guard. He was preceded in death by his wife, Johnnie Faye, and four siblings. Survivors include two daughters, one grandson, two brothers and two sisters.
Dr. Robert “Bob” Rabern Crowe ’61 | Robert “Bob” Rabern Crowe, 85, passed away May 17, 2021. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he helped many younger veterinarians begin their own careers and start veterinary practices in and around Birmingham, Alabama. He was preceded in death by a daughter. Survivors include his wife, Carolyn, two daughters, five grandchildren and two brothers.
Dr. Carolyn Jean Trout Gay ’62 | Carolyn Jean Trout Gay, 84, passed away April 11, 2021. After earning her DVM at Auburn, she was a veterinarian for more than 50 years, serving the Summit, Boyd County and Ashland, Kentucky, areas. She was preceded in death by her husband, Melton, and one brother. Survivors include four children, one sister, 15 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
Dr. George D. Brown ’63 | George D. Brown, 83, passed away May 14, 2021. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Kentucky before completing his DVM at Auburn where he was president of his senior class. Following graduation, he operated the Todd County Animal Clinic in Elkton, Kentucky, from 1964 through 2010 and served one term as president of the Western Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association. He was also a co-owner and operator of Brown’s Tobacco Warehouse in Russellville, Kentucky. Brown was preceded in death by one brother and one sister. Survivors include his wife, Betty, one son, three daughters, 15 grandchildren, 10 great– grandchildren and one brother.
Dr. Keith Willard Powell ’66 | Keith Willard Powell, 80, passed away May 1, 2021. A graduate of the University of Florida, he earned his DVM at Auburn before volunteering for the U.S. Air Force and serving in the Vietnam War. He later operated Powell Animal Clinic, a small animal practice in Hollywood, Florida, for 34 years. He was an avid athlete, competing in events including the New York City Marathon. He also played multiple instruments and enjoyed piano, accordion and guitars. Survivors include his wife, Justine, two children, three grandchildren and one sister.
Dr. Ralph W. Womer, Jr., ’69 | Ralph W. Womer, Jr., 77, passed away May 3, 2021. After earning both his bachelor’s degree and DVM at Auburn, he served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. Following his military service, he returned to Auburn where he eventually became an instructor of small animal surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine before opening his own practice, Village Veterinary Clinic, in 1973. He later opened an extension of this clinic called the Cat Cottage. After selling both practices in 1999, Womer performed veterinary relief work services across Alabama for eight years while also performing small animal veterinary practice inspections for the State of Alabama. In 2006, he co-founded Moore’s Mill Animal Hospital in Auburn and he was a past president of the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association. Survivors include his wife, Carol, two children and four grandchildren.
Dr. Charles Kenneth “Ken” Roberson ’72 | Charles Kenneth “Ken” Roberson, 72, passed away May 18, 2021. He practiced both large and small animal medicine in Clermont, Florida, for many years. Survivors include his wife, Kay, two daughters, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Dr. Dale Vernon Stevenson, Jr., ’74 | Dale Vernon Stevenson, Jr., 70, passed away June 18, 2021. Before earning his DVM at Auburn, he earned his undergraduate degree from Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania and a master’s from West Virginia University. An amateur inventor, he held many patents in his name. His experiments with pH (acid/base) compounds yielded both professional successes and promising breakthroughs in diverse arenas including animal husbandry, dermatology and citrus greening. He was preceded in death by one sister.
Dr. Vickie Knight Eason ’81 | Vickie Knight Eason, 64, passed away November 27, 2020. She was a life-long resident of Durham, North Carolina, and devoted her life to animals.
Dr. Mark Durham Kidd ’84 | Mark Durham Kidd, 61, passed away April 4, 2021. After earning his DVM, he owned two successful veterinary clinics in Vestavia and Shelby County, Alabama. He was preceded in death by his mother and one brother. Survivors include his wife, Mandy, one son, his father and one brother.
Dr. Robert Michael Purvis ’85 | Robert Michael Purvis, 66, passed away April 2, 2021. A graduate of the University of Florida, he earned both a master’s and DVM at Auburn. He later owned and operated his own animal clinic in Monticello, Florida, before joining the staff at Florida A&M University as an extension veterinarian in the College of Agriculture Veterinary Technology Program. He was the first veterinarian to diagnose the West Nile Virus in the state of Florida and coordinated the use of new and alternative treatments to improve the survival of infected horses. He was also well known as the leader of the Encore band and the band’s Willie Nelson tributes. Through the years, Encore helped raise over $1 million for various charities including Ronald McDonald House, the American Cancer Society, Big Bend Hospice, Shriners and various animal shelters. Survivors include two sons, one grandchild, two brothers and two sisters.
Dr. Haywood “Woody” Bellingrath Bartlett
Dr. Haywood “Woody” Bellingrath Bartlett ’64 | Haywood “Woody” Bartlett, 84, passed away June 13, 2021. A graduate of the University of Alabama, he served in the U.S. Army before earning his DVM from Auburn. Early in his career he owned a mobile veterinary practice, but as his horse and cattle operation grew, he focused that practice on his own animals and started a local hardware, feed and seed store named The Feed Lot in Pike Road, Alabama.
He soon launched into breeding and buying cutting horses with many of his early broodmare acquisitions purchased from the King Ranch and other Texas-based breeding facilities. He later expanded his breeding operations to a large ranch in Chugwater, Wyoming, where he began infusing his long-standing ranch horse herd with cutting horse blood. Bartlett was intent on breeding versatile quarter horses and he was fascinated with every colt crop. The cutters that did not make his show horse program in Texas were sent to the ranch as broodmares, as well as some of the stallions. The list of famous cutting horses in his ranch horse herd was vast. Quick Henry, a AAA-AQHA Champion and money earner on the track, in halter and in reining, was the base of his broodmare band on the ranch. He sired 54 AQHA performers from halter to racing.
Bartlett loved the cowboy life and enjoyed sharing it with others. He gained a sense of appreciation for pedigrees and breeding from Pete Reynolds, who bred American Quarter Horses for more than 70 years. His first mare was a three-in-one package purchased for $500. From that mare he built a legacy breeding program that won him the 2016 Zoetis AQHA Best Remuda Award for producing outstanding quarter horse bloodlines.
It was the spring each year when the colts hit the ground that excited Bartlett the most, and he regularly invited Auburn professors and students to help with the new arrivals. He was especially interested in the large animal veterinary programs at Colorado State University, as well as both Auburn and Texas A&M University. Bartlett was also a pilot and late into his life he still flew a Stearman, a Piper Cub, a Cessna and a Navy T-6 “Texan” World War II vintage aircraft.
He was preceded in death by his second wife, Kelly. Survivors include his former wife, Ruth, two sons, two grandchildren and one sister.
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