In Memoriam (Fall, 2014)

In Memoriam
Read more at sph.unc.edu/news.

Diane Calleson, PhD
Dr. Diane Calleson, clinical associate professor in the Public Health Leadership Program, lost a long, brave fight with a rare ovarian cancer on Aug. 15.

Calleson was a gifted and beloved mentor to many students during her almost 15 years at UNC. Just prior to her last recurrence of cancer, she was preparing to leave for Fogo Island, Newfoundland, to pursue research as a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of a National Geographic Society grant.

She leaves behind her husband Jerry Calleson, manager of the online instruction group in the School’s Instructional and Information Systems unit, and many colleagues who were inspired by her courage and mourn her loss.

Keith Crisco
Keith Crisco, Gillings School Advisory Council member, died at his home in Asheboro, N.C., on May 12, apparently as a result of cardiac failure. He was 71.

His rags-to-riches life story was an inspiration. Born to parents who did not finish high school and reared on a farm in Stanley County, N.C., he completed college at nearby Pfeiffer University and then obtained a Master of Business Administration degree at Harvard. He served as a White House fellow in 1970–1971. Crisco became president of Stedman Elastics, in Asheboro, in 1978. In 1986, he co-founded Asheboro Elastics and continued to oversee the company until his death.

Clarence Edward Pearson, MSPH
Clarence Pearson, global health consultant and alumnus of UNC’s school of public health, now the Gillings School of Global Public Health, died May 24 in New York City. He was 89.

“In losing Clarence, we have lost one of the ‘greats’ among our School’s alumni,” said Jo Anne Earp, ScD, professor of health behavior at the Gillings School. “For the past 20 years, well beyond the age when many have retired, he was a national leader on global aging. As an AARP board member and author and editor of many books, he was a powerful advocate for leveraging public health approaches to support healthy global aging, including walkable communities, universal housing design and more.”