Fall 2002

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Deaths

Martha Decker Deberry, JM 1953, died Sept. 9 in Chapel Hill, N.C., after a long bout with cancer. She was 71. She was one of the first female students at UF and received the Alumni Leadership Award while a student. She was also national traveling secretary for Phi Mu. In recent years, she worked as an interior decorator and operated two retail businesses. She was active in many charitable causes, including the Children’s Home Society in North Carolina. She is survived by her husband, Arthur; a son, David; a daughter, Juliane; and two granddaughters.

Robert Fong, MA 1984, a heart transplant recipient in 2000, died in Chicago on May 1. He was 44. Fong was the subject of an interview in the Spring 2001 communigator. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and two young sons—Brian and Kelan.

Arthur Lord, TEL 1963, a retired award-winning NBC News producer who covered many of the major stories since the 1960s, died Sept. 25 in Los Angeles. He was 60.

Lord covered the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, the Apollo moon landings and the Iran hostage crisis, among other major stories.

Lord was bureau chief in Saigon in the final days of the Vietnamese War and, according to a Los Angeles Times report, “he arranged the evacuation of 104 of NBC’s Vietnamese employees and their family members … and he bribed officials with $100 bills to get the NBC contingent to safety.” The rescue was dubbed “Operation Peacock” after the network’s symbol.

Lord won two Emmys and a Peabody Award. He was president of the Los Angeles Press Club.

He is survived by his wife, Susan; a son, Michael, and two daughters, Sharon and Marlene.

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