Baylor Mourns Death of Retired Chemistry Professor

Dr. Virgil L. Tweedie, 88, professor emeritus of chemistry at Baylor University, passed away Dec. 17 in Waco.

Visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, at Thurman Funeral Home, 108 S. Pine St. in Norborne, Mo. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22, at Thurman Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Fairhaven Cemetery, in Norborne, Mo.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, at Baylor. The time and location will be announced at a later date.

Tweedie was born Feb. 18, 1918, in Norborne, Mo., the son of Russell and Lura Tweedie. He grew up on a farm in Stet, Mo., graduated from Stet High School in 1936, and received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He was granted his doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin in 1951.

Tweedie taught chemistry at Baylor from 1946-48 and 1950-88. He taught approximately 10,000 students and supervised several doctoral graduates throughout his 40-year career. He was faculty sponsor of the Beta chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta at Baylor and chaired Baylor's Premedical/Predental Advisory Committee for 24 years. He was a 60-year member of the American Chemical Society and was a founding member of the Texas Association of Advisers for the Health Professions.

In 1943, Tweedie married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Helen Hultz. The marriage lasted 55 years, ending when Helen preceded him in death in 1998.

Survivors include daughters, Cheryl Pearce of Sugarland, Texas, and Martha North of Waco; son, Ken Tweedie of Phoenix, Ariz.; sisters, Rachel Miller of Norborne, Mo., Lois Forsythe of Carrollton, Mo., and Betty Poyner of Prescott, Ariz.; granddaughters, Kimberly Pearce, Kelli Pearce, and Lindsey North; grandsons, Bryan Tweedie, Matt Tweedie, and Aaron Tweedie; and great-grandson, Degan Tweedie.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to be made to "The Virgil L. Tweedie Family Endowed Scholarship in Chemistry" at Baylor University, One Bear Place #97026, Waco, TX 76798, or to Providence Hospice, 4830 Lakewood Dr., Suite 2, Waco, TX 76710.