Dr. Thomas Eugene Stump (Captain, USN Ret.), 93, passed away on August

3, 2026.

He was a member of Tarheel Central Chapter of MOAA from at least January 2003.

Having attended Franklin & Marshall College for two years on a full academic scholarship

before enrolling at Temple University School of Dentistry. He graduated at the top of his

class in June 1957.

As a participant in the U.S. Navy's Ensign 1195 Program, he graduated from dental school

as a lieutenant in the Navy and was accepted into the Dental Internship Program at the

Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. Upon completion of the program, he was assigned

to a two-year tour of duty aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) with the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.

At the conclusion of his sea duty, Tom was reassigned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot

Dental Clinic in San Diego, California. He was then deployed to Atsugi, Japan, for three years.

Tom later entered the Navy's Oral Surgery Residency Program, completing his first year in Bethesda, Maryland, and the remaining two years in Great Lakes, Illinois. Upon completing his residency, Tom was deployed to the South China Sea during the Vietnam War, serving two tours of duty aboard the hospital ships USS Repose (AH-16) and USS Sanctuary (AH-17), where he treated combat-related injuries.

After returning to the U.S., Tom was briefly stationed at Naval Operations Base in Norfolk,

VA, before returning to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA as Chief of the Dental Department. There, he supervised the training programs for first-year General Dentistry residents and third-year Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery residents.

During his tenure in Portsmouth, Tom co-authored the book Management of War Injuries to the Jaws and Related Structures, published by the Naval Medical Research Institute, Department of the Navy.

He also earned a master's degree in education from George Washington University,

graduating first in his class. Tom spent the final four years of his distinguished 22-year Navy career at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Annapolis, Maryland.

He retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain.

Following his military retirement, Tom was recruited by the Bowman Gray School of

Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to establish and serve as the Oral and

Maxillofacial Surgeon for its newly created Department of Dentistry. From 1979 to 1998, he provided both clinical care and instruction to future healthcare professionals. He later

joined the private oral and maxillofacial surgery practice of Dr. James Walter and Dr.

Michael Whitehouse, where he practiced until his retirement in 2002.

Our softly spoken but loving Chaplin "has moved onto the next chapter of his life", as he would say. He was a retired pastor of the United Methodist Church.

Earlier, upon graduating from NC State University, Dennis served as an officer with the US Army’s 25th Infantry Division in the Vietnam War and was decorated for valorous and meritorious service while serving in combat, receiving the Bronze Star.

Upon returning home from military service, Dennis began a career in the furniture industry and spent 35 years in a variety of roles with several major furniture companies.

Later he attended Duke University in preparation for his calling to the ministry. In addition to his passion for preaching the Word of God, he enjoyed working for homeless advocacies, both civilian and ex-military.

He will be deeply missed for his good company and caring words to us individually, and as he prayed over us at our dinner meetings.

RIP

Born 18 April 1945, George Angle passed 5 March 2026.

We shall deeply miss George with his quiet but always thoughtful contributions to our Chapter, from its inception. He attended his first meeting on 9 January 2001.

George joined the United States Air Force in 1971. He trained at Craig Air Force Base before heading to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. This began a distinguished aviation career that took him and his family overseas for more than a decade, including assignments in Germany and Spain and a stint with the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. Known by fellow airmen as a “pilot’s pilot,” he flew the U-3, U-6, UV-18, EC-135, C-130, and C-12, and served as an Instructor Pilot, Chief Special Operations Pilot, Chief of Operations and Training, and Chief of Standardization/Evaluation. His service included worldwide C-130 missions across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, duty as a Forward Air Controller in OV-10A aircraft in Thailand during the Vietnam conflict, and support of operations during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and other honors for his service.

His unwavering service to our Chapter included:

• He joined The Retired Officers Association (TROA) at the time, in February 2001.

• 13 Feb 2001 – George Angle was asked to work The Officer Placement Service (TOPS) and local potential members, who will be sent Newsletters for 3 months to continue after that if they join.

• March 2001 – He started to help edit the newsletters and agreed to work with the TROA Tragedy Assistance Program (TAPS) Program.

• Secretary – January 2002-December 2017

• President – January 2018-December 2019

George's obituary by his dear friend John Bloom's obituary is in the "download" file above.

The planes mentioned in the Obit are in the "Extra Photos" above George's photo.

1936-2024

Howard Atkinson Wallace, Jr., 88, of Wallburg, passed away peacefully, November 27, 2024, at his home surrounded by his family.

Howard proudly served in the United States Navy, enlisting as a 3rd class seaman and rising to a commissioned officer and the rank of Lieutenant Commander when he retired after 24 years of service to his country. He received a bachelor's degree from William Carey College and dedicated the rest of his career to serving others, eventually retiring from full-time work as Administrator at Westover Church.

While stationed in Puerto Rico, Howard gave his life to Jesus Christ and his passion for the Lord impacted his family and countless others who continue to live out his legacy today.

We are saddened to report one of our newest members, Richard Hipwood, has passed after a brief illness. He and his wife, Nalyn, only just joined us in 2023 and were thoroughly enjoying being back in the company of other men and women having military experience.

Richard served in the United States Air Force for 8 years achieving the rank of Captain. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal for his service.

As a devoted husband, friend, and photographer, he enjoyed traveling,

taking photos, and everything about cars. Richard graduated from Drake University with his bachelor’s degree and then went on to receive his master’s degree from Arkansas. He was closely involved with the Corsa Rossa car club and the Alfa Romeo owners club, he also frequently visited the Virginia International Raceway.

At age 95, Captain Ira N. Schwarz, US Navy Retired, left the bridge and passed away September 22, 2023. Ira was not alone; members of the Tarheel Central Chapter of MOAA were present during his last moments. He will be interned in The Arlington National Cemetery.

After high school, Ira spent three years in Aeronautical Engineering at Virginia Tech, but his education was cut short by the death of his father. In 1949, Ira joined the Navy where he completed heavier-than-air flight training and was assigned to lighter-than-air dirigibles and served a post-WWII tour defending the east coast from submarines.

He briefly flew amphibious aircraft like the PBY-5 with his next tour as an instrument flight instructor in SNJ & SNB aircraft, followed by General Line School at Monterey where Ira learned about ships and ship handling. He went on to Hawaii for a tour in VU-1, during which he completed jet transitional training. In 1960, Ira reported to the Naval Post Graduate School (NPGS) in Monterey, CA for further studies in Aeronautical Engineering.

Upon graduation, and switching to Aeronautical Engineering duty, Ira reported to the Senior Program Office (SPO) as Head, Inertial Navigation Section, and a part of the Navigation Branch. His group was responsible for the Ships Inertial Navigators (SINS), the heart of successful navigation at sea. To feed these systems they developed a satellite navigation system (later introduced for civilian use as GPS). They simultaneously perfected a periscope capable of exposure for only 30 seconds that recorded a 17-star fix. As he explained, “If you can know exactly where you are, you can accurately predict where your missiles will land!”

He next commanded the Navy Aero Structures Laboratory at Naval Station, Philadelphia, PA. (1966-1968). In Viet Nam with the Marines, he determined the cause of and solution for the catastrophic losses of H-46 and H-53 helicopters. Ira and his team determined what the structural life of the blades was and how long they could be over stressed before failure would occur. Thereafter, blades could be replaced on a timed basis before catastrophic failure occurred, a new standard that saved hundreds of crews and troops!

His next tour (1968-1971) was as the Officer Assignment Officer for all AED Officers, followed by Air Systems Command (1971-1973) as Head, Structures Branch. In this position Ira was privileged to serve on the initial design team for the F-14 aircraft. Part of his responsibility was the Airborne Mine Countermeasures Equipment and support and Ira again returned to Viet Nam when it came time to remove the mines from harbors there.

His next assignment (1973-1975) was as Commanding Officer, Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu, CA. Ira became Commander, Pacific Missile Test Center from 1975-1976. This command comprised over 7,800 square miles of sea test range with three airfields; Point Mugu, San Nicholas Island and Barking Sands (in Hawaii). His responsibilities included testing each airborne missile against every navy aircraft platform.

Following that tour Ira returned to Washington as Deputy Director, Navy Space Program. In 1977 Ira retired from the Navy. As an aviator he logged over 8,000 flight hours in multiple types of military aircraft.

After retirement Ira became a major player with results in 1998 after nine years of North Carolina litigation that had the North Carolina Supreme Court uphold a decision that a breach of contract had occured and that State and Local government retirees were due a refund of taxes paid during years 1989 – 1997. The State agreed to put up a fund of $799 Million, under control of the Court, to refund the contested taxes paid by all North Carolina government retirees, Federal (military & Civil Service) and State and Local retirees. The Court was to administer the refunds, and Ira was appointed by the Court as Director, Settlement Administration.

The refunds were paid to all claimants by 2002. The final result was that every claimant, over 183,000, received a refund of all taxes paid to the State for the years 1989-1997 on government retirement benefits, PLUS an average interest of 19%.

A truly remarkable life of great accomplishments. RIP

With the deepest of regrets we are posting the loss of a long time dear friend of our Chapter.

CAPT Shelba H. “Hank” Wade, Jr., USN, (Ret) passed away on April 12, 2023, after a seven-year valiant battle with cancer.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1955, and became a naval aviator in 1963. Following his marriage to Gaye Sowers in 1963, they traveled to Rota, Spain for his first tour of duty. Other tours included Pensacola, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. After leaving active duty, Hank and Gaye moved to North Carolina and raised their two daughters, Deborah and Ashley. He continued his service in the Navy reserves until he retired with the rank of Captain in 1985. Hank worked as general manager of CENCO, Inc. and served as the company’s chief corporate pilot.

Community service was very important to him. He was active at Advance United Methodist Church in committee work and teaching. Hank also served as President of the Stratford Kiwanis Club, and in more recent years as President and other offices in the Tarheel Central Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America.

He will be sorely missed by us all. RIP

Terry Lee Hales, Col.,USA, Ret.

December 14, 1946 — April 9, 2023.

Colonel Hales was a proud veteran in the US Army and retired as a full bird colonel after 30 years with his service including two tours in Vietnam. A decorated military leader, he had the respect of many around him. After serving on active duty, he taught ROTC at Oak Ridge Military Academy, RJ Reynolds High School and Davie High School for over 20 years, teaching students the value of respect, loyalty and duty to country. He served these same students both inside and outside of the classroom.

Colonel Hales joined our chapter in 2015.

We are distressed to report that Lt Co. Fred Price passed away on 5 August, 2021. Our second loss within a months time.

Fred was a new member to our Chapter so we were just getting to know him when Covid stopped our meetings. His obituary follows.

We are deeply saddened to report that Col. Cheston lost his battle with cancer on 29 July, 2021. An especial loss as he and his wife, Captain Laurie Wesely, had only just joined our Chapter in November of 2019. We had been looking forward to integrating them both deeply into the activities of the Chapter.

Attached is the cover and back of the program of remembrance at Clemmons Presbyterian Church, 3 August, 2021.

CDR Glen Miller, USN - Past Chaplain. 12/5/21

COL Roy Adams, USA...........................12/19/21

CAPT Bob Thompson, USN....................11/10/21

RIP