IN MEMORIAM: REMEMBERING GUILFORDIANS

These members of the Guilford College community passed in early 2020. A full list of obituaries is available on the Community Notes page at www.giving.guilford.edu.

C. Dilworth Pierson '66

C. Dilworth Pierson ’66

"C.D." died Jan. 23 in Wilmington, Del. C.D. was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends and Welcome Society of Pennsylvania and a leader within the Quaker community. He served as the Executive Director of the Friends Center Corporation in Philadelphia for 32 years. A lover of traveling, gardening, reading, classical music and genealogy, he especially enjoyed playing croquet. C.D. was a graduate of George School and is survived by his wife, Georgia Boines Pierson. Together, the couple has provided for a gift in support of the Hege Library upon Georgia’s passing.

Washington Zebedee Walusala Rakama '64

Washington Zebedee Walusala Rakama ’64

Washington was Guilford College’s first graduate of African descent and was recruited along with his fellow Kenyan Ayub Watakila ’65 in spring 1962 to enroll at the College. They joined James McCorkle ’66, a local African American on campus that fall. “To attend college in another country, particularly in the South during a turbulent period in Guilford and the United States’ history, would have taken a lot of courage,” said President Jane Fernandes. After graduating with a degree in Economics, Washington earned a Master’s degree at UNCG. In his career he was Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Government of Kenya as well as Town Clerk of Kakamega, Nanyuki and Kitale. At his death on March 29, he was the patron of Banyala ba Ndombi in the Luhya Council of Elders.

J. Binford Farlow '50

J. Binford Farlow ’50

“Bin” was a leader in the Quaker community, an ardent supporter of Friends Center and former College staff member. He grew up in nearby Randolph County and was married for 69 years to Jewell Beeson, a Guilford classmate. Bin earned an Economics degree and played on basketball teams with JapaneseAmericans admitted during the internment period around World War II. He and Jewell were founding members of Jamestown Friends Meeting, and he was clerk of North Carolina Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting. His skills as a builder and craftsman were applied on construction-focused mission trips and Habitat projects. Along with Judy Harvey, he helped found Friends Center and he and Jewell established an endowed fund for Quaker education and seminar support. He died March 25.

Charlie Harrison '71

Charlie Harrison ’71

Charlie parlayed his Guilford student experience into a career of college and professional basketball coaching. He earned a Biology degree and served as the Quakers’ manager and student athletic trainer for teams coached by Jerry Steele in the late ’70s that included stars like Bob Kauffman ’68 and M.L. Carr ’73. Charlie was an Assistant Coach at Indiana, Clemson, Oklahoma and Iowa State, and an acting Head Coach at New Mexico. He was Head Coach at East Carolina University from 1982-87, following Dave Odom ’65. He coached professionally with the NBA’s Buffalo Braves and in Switzerland. Following his coaching career, Charlie founded an environmental services company that he owned and operated for 13 years. Guilford inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. He died April 13.