Kenneth W. Chambers

Kenneth W. Chambers, Old Dominion's first safety officer, died Dec. 7 after a brief illness.

After retiring from active duty as a naval aviator in 1974, Chambers joined the university's security department in October 1975, where he worked until 1983. He is credited with starting Old Dominion's safety program, which has since evolved into the offices of Environmental Health and Safety, Risk Management and Fire Safety.

Chambers, a 1944 graduate of the U.S. Navy Academy, was a veteran of the Korean War. He retired from the Navy with the rank of captain.

He is survived by his daughters, Candice Suvari of Los Angeles and Melissa Mahoney of Virginia Beach; his son, K. William Chambers Jr. of Kingwood, Texas; and his sister, Elizabeth Lucas of San Antonio, Texas.

Carolyn Estelle Beale Shank of Virginia Beach, a former business manager for the Old Dominion University Ballet, died Dec. 31 from complications of coronary obstructive pulmonary disease.

Shank, who was born in Fargo, N.D., in 1935, joined the Ballet office in August 1989 as an hourly office services specialist. She moved to a full-time position as theater production specialist in October 1990, staying in that job until her resignation in March 1995.

Survivors include her husband, Ross Edward; her daughter, Margaret E. Shank-Gaus of Virginia Beach; and her sister, Sandra June Ducharme of Vancouver, Canada, B.C.