A beloved advisor, mother of two, and five-year UT employee passed away unexpectedly this past Monday.
Meg Combs was only 35 years old when she died from what are believed to be natural causes. Her two daughters are both under 5 years old.
Those who remember her on campus, including several English and Writing faculty at a conference in New Orleans, are shocked and saddened by her death.
“She was amazing,” said Professor Rebecca Ingalls. “She was always very positive.”
And though advising can be a thankless job, “She was always smiling. Always,” Ingalls said.
A faculty and staff e-mail notification from Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Mills says that Combs “will be remembered by her colleagues across the University for her tireless work on behalf of students and their interests, for her take-charge attitude, and for her kind and open-hearted nature.”
Combs joined the UT community in 2003 as an academic advisor, after serving as assistant dean in student affairs at the University of Florida and Greek Llfe coordinator at Texas A’M.
After arriving at UT, Combs and her husband Dennis started a family, with the birth of daughters Caitlin Mattingly in 2004 and Taylor Olivia in 2006.
After working full-time for a couple of years, during which she became assistant director of academic advising, Combs took some time off in 2007 to care for her young children.
She returned to UT as a part-time employee this year and followed up her earlier efforts by focusing on advising and its use in Gateways classes.
She had previously worked on advising concerning first-year student registration, transfer student orientation and programming for student athletes, according to Mills’ e-mail.
She is survived by her husband, Dennis “DG” Combs; her children, Caitlin and Taylor; her mother, Kaye Manning; and sisters, Tracey LaRenzie and Heather Manning, according to an online obituary.
Combs’ memorial service will take place this Friday at 6 p.m. at the Blount Curry Funeral Home on MacDill Avenue.
The Minaret will post thoughts and memories of Meg Combs in a subsequent issue, so please feel free to leave comments below the article or email them to minaret@ut.edu.