In Memoriam

Dr. Ernest Harrison Stines ’50, Canton, N.C., September 22, 2022

Margaret Ann Lee Yandell ’50, Columbia, S.C., August 26, 2022

John Shaw McGirt, Jr. ’51, Waynesville, N.C., December 6, 2022

Betty Frances Shoaf Privette ’51, Kannapolis, N.C., October 11, 2022

Vannie Frances Willingham Torrance ’51, Milledgeville, Ga., October 18, 2022

Joseph “Joe” Luther Womack ’51, Aiken, S.C., August 20, 2022

Sarah Jean Lunsford Bumgarner ’52, Andrews, N.C., December 17, 2022

Barbara Ann Herrin Chason ’52, Hickory, N.C., February 12, 2023

William Wood Sanders ’52, Four Oaks, N.C., April 22, 2022

Matthew Thomas Wood ’52, Chapel Hill, N.C., November 1, 2022

Ray Franklin DeBruhl ’53, Cary, N.C., August 30, 2022

Robert Wendell Sodergren ’53, Suffolk, Va., October 14, 2022

Rose Nelleen Adair Thackston ’53, Spartanburg, S.C., April 8, 2022

Barbara Joyce King Black ’54, Easley, S.C., October 1, 2022

Joyce LaVerne Ellis Kile ’54, Norfolk, Va., August 31, 2022

Gladys G. Price Wilson ’54, Altamonte Springs, Fla., February 8, 2023

B. Fletcher Carter ’55, Alexander, N.C., February 4, 2023

William “Bill” Daniel Walke ’55, Greensboro, N.C., September 17, 2022

Joseph Lawrence Lynch ’56, Fort Mill, S.C., February 9, 2023

Carolyn Blake Porter Sturgill ’56, Chilhowie, Va., May 31, 2022

Larry Robert Summey ’56, Spartanburg, S.C., August 22, 2022

Kathleen Elaine Sanford Whisnant ’56, Cary, N.C., October 27, 2022

JoAnne Weber Alexander ’57, Statesville, N.C., January 15, 2023

Robert Glenn Carter ’57, Fayetteville, N.C., January 14, 2023

Bobby “Bob” Lee Cox ’57, Powhatan, Va., November 4, 2022

Gerald “Gerry” Foster Davis ’57, Charleston, S.C., October 1, 2020

Shirley Yvonne Donahoo Rhyne ’57, Wilmington, N.C., March 14, 2023

Horace Livingston Hawes ’58, Leland, N.C., November 26, 2022

William “Billy” Kenneth Padgett ’58, Walterboro, S.C., October 3, 2022

Norman Andrew Parris ’58, Webster, N.C., August 22, 2022

William Cloice Plemmons ’58, Marshall, N.C., October 11, 2022

Phyllis Anne Kellough Ballenger ’59, Raleigh, N.C., September 16, 2019

Norwood Bernice Woodard ’59, Raleigh, N.C., November 20, 2022

Joe Monteval Wright ’59, Bradenton, Fla., September 18, 2022

1960s

Dr. Robert “Bob” William Meldrum ’60, Bloomsburg, Penn., August 22, 2021

Linda Lee Sherwood Osborne ’60, New Port Richey, Fla., December 6, 2021

Henry Odell Beck, Jr. ’61, Greensboro, N.C., December 20, 2022

Gene Raymond McCreary ’61, Greenville, N.C., August 30, 2022

Larry Edwin Snead ’61, Covington, Va., August 10, 2022

Danny Mitchell Wall ’61, Brentwood, Tenn., September 24, 2021

Joseph Euel Taylor ’65, Waynesville, N.C., February 3, 2023

Gary Glenn Parker ’66, Lexington, Ky., October 8, 2022

John Roy Dulaney ’67, Burnsville, N.C., March 2, 2021

Lola Kathryn “Kathy” Mauldin ’68, Hillsborough, N.C., July 11, 2021

Betty Ann Baker Price ’68, Eastover, N.C., December 9, 2022

Robert Lindsay Wall, Jr. ’68, Madison, N.C., December 5, 2022

Earlene Lucille Radford Davis ’69, Mars Hill, N.C., November 23, 2022

Gordon Wendell Plumblee ’69, Burlington, N.C., October 6, 2022

1970s

John David Brookshire ’70, New York, N.Y., September 8, 2022

Mary Carol Harris Ard ’71, St. Simons Island, Ga., August 1, 2022

Elvira A. Carpenter Howard ’71, Fuquay-Varina, N.C., September 16, 2022

Dr. William Thaddeus “Thad” Hamilton ’72, Loganville, Ga., February 14, 2021

John Spurgeon Primm ’72, McLeansville, N.C., February 14, 2023

Roger Blue Smith ’72, Sumter, S.C., August 28, 2022

Agnes Osei Kessie Codjoe Akotuah ’73, Bolingbrook, Ill., May 16, 2022

David Forrest Cole ’73, Fayetteville, N.C., March 26, 2023

Susan Neely Waren ’73, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 21, 2022

Geraldine Smathers Britt ’74, Candler, N.C., February 20, 2023

Susan Ruth Austell Holdway ’75, Greer, S.C., October 26, 2022

Thomas Clifford Trantham ’76, Asheville, N.C., October 11, 2022

Randall Gordon Henry ’77, Farmington, N.Y., January 28, 2022

Jennifer Lynn Plemmons Robinson ’77, Leicester, N.C., September 12, 2022

John Marshall Worley ’79, Honea Path, S.C., October 31, 2022

1980s

Sandra Danell Bond Germain ’80, Concord, Ga., January 30, 2023

Dr. Troy Larkin Day, 95, longtime friend, supporter, and trustee of Mars Hill University, passed away March 22, 2023, in Kannapolis, NC. He was a faithful Christian, whose faith and love of Jesus Christ was his guiding principle. His life was characterized by service to community, leadership roles, graciousness, living by example, and love of family.

Day was born in 1927, in Connelly Springs, N.C. He served in the United States Navy in WWII, stationed in Yokohama, Japan and, upon his return, graduated from Mars Hill College in 1948, with a major in accounting. Day had a long career in banking, retiring as city executive of First Union National Bank in Kannapolis, N.C.

He was also an entrepreneur who started Day Enterprises, Inc., a Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell franchise with 27 restaurant locations across North and South Carolina, and several other businesses including Southeastern Credit Bureau, Inc. and Car Fare, Inc.

Deborah “Debbie” Ann Weatherly Strait ’82, N. Myrtle Beach, S.C., November 23, 2021

Ruby Elizabeth Gillespie Smith ’84, Brevard, N.C., September 4, 2022

Rev. John Jackson Hicks ’89, Union Mills, N.C., October 9, 2022

1990s

Pamela Cheryl Cleveland Mann ’92, Brevard, N.C., November 15, 2022

Raymond “Randy” Randall Virnelson ’93, Spruce Pine, N.C., November 7, 2022

Roslyn Fay Reed Carney ’99, Alexander, N.C., November 16, 2022

Faculty/Staff

Bobbie Jean Nicholson, retired computer science faculty, Penrose, N.C., February 13, 2023

John Charles Wells ’78, retired athletic training faculty, Hendersonville, N.C., October 30, 2022

Nancy Medford Wood, retired math faculty, Canton, N.C., September 12, 2022

David Riggins, retired athletic director, Cornelius, N.C., April 19, 2023.

At various times, he served as chair of the Building

Our University capital campaign, as chair of the university’s board of trustees, and as a member of the university’s foundation board. He and his wife, Pauline, were the lead donors for the construction of Day Hall, completed in 2016. He was awarded the doctrate of humane letters by Mars Hill University in the 1990s.

In addition to his service to MHU, Day was a deacon in First Baptist Church of Kannapolis and received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from N.C. Governor Pat McCrory. He held numerous church, community, and civic positions in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County.

The Days had three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

David Riggins Coach & Director of Athletics, 1986-2018

David Riggins, the retired longtime Director of Athletics at Mars Hill University, died April 19, 2023, following a period of declining health. He was 71. Riggins began his 32-year career at Mars Hill in 1986, when he became the Lions head men’s basketball coach. Over his 13 years as coach, Riggins compiled a 184-179 record, and is the winningest men’s basketball coach in school history. He guided his Mars Hill teams to three postseason appearances including the 1994 SAC Championship title. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year in 1994.

In 1993 he added duties as assistant athletics director and in 1998 became the athletics director, a position he held until his 2018 retirement. Riggins was inducted into the Mars Hill Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.

Riggins was actively involved in NCAA committee work, having served on the NCAA Legislative Committee, NCAA Budget and Finance Committee, and the NCAA Playing Rules Committee, and as chair of the NCAA Championships Committee. Riggins served two years as vice chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council. He also served on the NCAA Division II game environments committee. That group initiated its work in July of 2007 with a summit held in Washington D.C. which Riggins chaired. He also chaired the NCAA task force regarding NCAA Division II eligibility issues.

Upon his retirement, the playing surface in Stanford Arena in Chambers Gymnasium was named in his honor as the David Riggins Court. In 2019, the South Atlantic Conference established the David Riggins Service Award, which is presented annually to an administrator from a member school who shows outstanding service to the SAC.

Riggins played basketball in college at Francis Marion University before receiving both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina.

Riggins is survived by his wife, Rita, and sons Chase and Kyle and their families.

JoAnne Alexander ’57, Trustee Emerita

“And our efforts through the glad years thy tribute bring.” Friends of Mars Hill University will recognize those words from our alma mater, and as a student, I had trouble envisioning what exactly those words meant. Not anymore. The life of JoAnne Weber Alexander (class of 1957) captures the sentiment perfectly. JoAnne was the 1993 Alumna of the Year, and she was the first woman to serve as chairperson for the board of trustees. Those efforts certainly bring tribute to MHU.

JoAnne was a talented musician, a funny friend, a smart business woman, and a dedicated Christian who tirelessly served her church whenever and wherever she was needed. Those efforts also bring tribute to MHU.

However, more than any quantifiable accomplishment, JoAnne’s character is her greatest tribute to MHU. She had such a positive outlook on life, and her optimism was infectious. She had the gift of making others feel important and loved, and that resulted in her being a mentor to many young people in her community. That is because JoAnne found joy in using her gifts to help others succeed. Her life was one of service, and the spirit she brought to that service made her a natural leader.

Nancy Medford Wood, Faculty Emerita Professor of Mathematics 1956–1994

Nancy Medford Wood, faculty emerita in mathematics, passed away December 12, 2022, in Canton, N.C. She taught mathematics at MHU for nearly four decades, from 1956 to 1994.

Dr. Don Russell, Nancy’s neighbor and colleague in the math department, described her as an “excellent classroom instructor” who planned her teaching schedule around daily office hours beginning at 3 pm. Students often stayed in her office until past 6 p.m., he said. Her favorite mathematics courses to teach were geometry, the number systems course for elementary education majors, and the first course in calculus.

Nancy Medford graduated from The Women’s College of the University of North Carolina, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. In 1956, she earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Western Carolina University and she began teaching at Mars Hill College that same year.

In the summer of 1958, when it became obvious to faculty that MHC would become a senior, four-year college, rather than a junior college, Nancy was instrumental in writing the new curriculum for a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

She taught that when you serve, do it from your heart. Do it because you are needed. Do it because you can. And, do it with joy.

JoAnne served in all those ways. When I was a senior in high school, JoAnne took me to Mars Hill. Gave me a tour of the campus. Introduced me to the president of the college and encouraged me to apply for a scholarship—that scholarship required an in-person interview, which made me nervous. But, JoAnne was on campus that day, and she gave me a good dose of confidence before I headed in. Then, she drove me home.

That is just one small example of the many kindnesses that JoAnne extended to so many people. Though she is missed, she will always be an inspiration. May we each carry a little of her sparkle into the world and to those who need it. In doing that, our efforts through the glad years thy tribute bring.

The class of 1961 dedicated their 2011 Laurelette to Nancy, with these words: “Mrs. Wood is known for her deep concern for individual students even as she demands the best from them. She challenged many of us to learn, and even excel, in trigonometry and algebra at Mars Hill.”

According to neighbor and colleague Brenda Russell, Wood was also a fun-loving, adventurous woman, who enjoyed enjoyed hikes, picnics, explorations of small towns, plays, concerts, etc. with her colleagues. Especially memorable, Brenda Russell said, were the picnics to Craggy Gardens that Nancy encouraged groups of faculty to take after graduation in May for a number of years. She also tended to be the member of the department who planned showers, parties, and dinners.

“She always wanted to bring joy to others and had a melodious laugh that was contagious,” Brenda said.

When, in 1998, Nancy’s colleague Art Wood became a widower, his son, Bob Wood, asked Nancy and her friend, Helen Castelloe, to include Art in some of their frequent “adventures.” By late 1999, Art Wood and Nancy Medford were engaged, and they married on January 1, 2000.

According to Bob, the wedding brought “food and family in large portions” to Nancy’s life. Art and Nancy Wood enjoyed traveling, and took many adventures together (and sometimes with others), including places like New Zealand, Alaska, New England, and the western U.S.

After many years of art lessons, Nancy was also quite an accomplished artist. At her memorial service, many of her paintings, surprising to her family in both their quality and number, were displayed. Nancy was a long-time member of Mars Hill Baptist Church, where she served as a youth leader in her early years. In later years, she held numerous positions and in retirement, she often ministered to others by visiting nursing homes in the area.

See the Extras page for more memories of Nancy Medford Wood and the Department of Mathematics and Physics by Dr. Don Russell. www.mhu.edu/extras