Herbert Leland Carter Jr., who reestablished the band program after World War II, helped establish The Collegians jazz band and taught thousands of students over a 41-year career in the music department, died May 21 in Murrells Inlet, S.C., where he was living with family. He was 86.

An accomplished clarinetist and native of Kentucky, Carter received his undergraduate degree from Murray State University, where he met his wife, the late Louise “Put” Putnam Carter. After serving in the Air Force, he received a master’s degree from Columbia University. he came to East Carolina in 1946 and taught here continuously until his retirement in 1987.

He was a pivotal figure in the growth of the School of Music, serving as director of bands and chair of the instrumental Music Department. In a 1984 profile in Pieces of Eight, Carter said that in the late 1940s he “went around knocking on dorm room doors” and located about 35 musicians, mostly veterans who had played in service bands. This first post-world war band was shortly joined by a swing band, The Collegians, and a marching band.

“In those days, the Pirates played football at guy smith stadium. There was no grass, just mud. I remember at one game the field was so muddy one of my horn players walked right out of her shoes,” Carter said in that 1984 profile. Among his many innovations was creation of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a select touring group that performed at meetings of the College Band Director’s national association and the Music Educator’s National Conference. Under his direction, the wind ensemble premiered original works by such noted composers as Gould, Giannini, Dello Joio and Persichetti.

A member of the American Bandmasters Association, Carter served as president of the College Band Directors national association, president of the N.C. Bandmasters Association and as province governor of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. He was selected as one of the ten most outstanding music directors in the United States by School Musician Magazine and received the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence.

After his retirement from the faculty, the Carters served as tutors, volunteered for Meals on Wheels and were active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Memorials should be made to the Herbert l. and Louise P. Carter Collegians Music scholarship in the school of Music.

Kemp House Baldwin ’33 ’55 died June 9 at Cypress glen retirement home in Greenville. She was 94. She taught mathematics at Greenville and Rose High School during a career of more than 30 years and was inducted into the East Carolina Educators Hall of Fame in 2006. She had held positions on both the state and national Council of Mathematics and was an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma international society for 55 years.  


FACULTY

DR. ROLAND FREDRICK “FRED” BECKER of Grimesland died April 12 at age 94. For excellent achievement as an Eagle Scout, he received the Harmon Foundation Scholarship in 1929. During WWII, he taught and directed research at Northwestern in Chicago. He taught at Duke and Michigan State, and helped establish a new medical school at Thailand’s Chiengmai University before moving to Greenville. From 1976 until his 1987 retirement, he taught and did research at BSOM. He was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greenville and the Golden Kiwanis Club, and delivered Meals on Wheels.

CAMILLE B. CLARKE ’34 of Greenville died April 10 at age 93. She taught vocational home economics in public schools in Scotland Neck and Englehard, and was an instructor at ECU, where beginning in 1950, she was the college’s dietician. She ended her 43-year career in academics and government with a decade as a regional dietary consultant in the Eastern Regional Office for the N.C. Department of Human Resources’ Division of Health Services. She received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1983.

REV. ROBERT LEWIS DASHER of Arden died April 10. He was the Lutheran campus pastor from 1963 to 1968, and then served at numerous churches and on national church and community committees. He received the 1994 Lutheran Man of the Year and Lutheran Champion of Youth recognitions, which he received while assistant to the bishop of the S.C. Lutheran Synod. In May, he posthumously received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from his undergraduate alma mater, Lenoir-Rhyne College.

DR. LOUIS WELSH ECKSTEIN JR. of Greenville died April 12. A Swain County native and Marine veteran, he was stationed at Parris Island and Japan, and later worked at Champion Paper. He taught at WCU and Clinton, S.C.’s Presbyterian College before he came to ECU’s business management program, where he taught from 1979 to 2002. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and exercising his dogs in the mountains, and golfing in Greenville.

DR. EDWIN RICHARD GRIFFITH, Lt. Col. (Ret.), of Washington died April 3. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he served in the Army in Korea, Vietnam and Laos, retired from service in 1970. He taught political science at ECU from 1977 to 1984; and sang in the choir at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Washington.

NANNIE LEE WORTHINGTON MANNING LINTON of Winterville died March 31. She taught math in public schools before becoming a professor at ECU in 1956. She and her second husband, John Harvey Linton Sr., also a math professor, retired in 1982.

Former East Carolina men’s golf coach HOWELL “HAL” MORRISON died July 14 in Greenville. He was 78. Morrison’s teams claimed 13 tournament titles during his nine years as head coach. Morrison came to ECU in 1986 and won back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association titles, then claimed five consecutive conference championships from 1990–94. He was inducted into the Golf Coaches of America Hall of Fame in 1988.

DR. DANIEL RiCHARD STULL of Manchester and Midland, Mich., died March 20 at age 95. He taught chemistry at ECU from 1937 to 1940 before working with Dow Chemical Co. for 35 years. At Dow, he helped develop Styrofoam and with it invented a container called “the Fridge” that was used to transport blood plasma delivered by airdrop to the frontlines during WWII. He wrote several books, lectured on thermodynamics and did printmaking as a hobby.

DR. WILLIAM SCOTT THOMSON of Greenville died April 22. A professor emeritus, he retired in 2005 after 15 years in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. He published widely and held several leadership positions, including editor of The Journal of Teacher Education, EC Scholars director, and elementary education area coordinator.    

1920s
ROSABELLE J. LANCASTER ’26 of Louisburg died March 22 at age 100. She was a teacher and principal, and after getting married, helped her husband run a funeral home. She was active in her church, garden and book clubs, a community concert series, and the Eastern Star.

1930s
ELOISE HYDE MOYE ARNDT ’33 of Farmville died April 16. She studied Latin and English, and after her husband’s death, rejoined the Episcopalian tradition and became the first female vestry member at Farmville’s Emanuel Episcopal Church. She was active in the N.C. Federation of Women’s Clubs and helped organize the Social Service League. As a member of the town planning board, she helped form the Farmville Art Society. While a trustee for the public library, she and her husband helped establish the children’s room and started the Arndt Trust Fund. She also enjoyed traveling, gardening, painting and conversing. SUSIE HIGHT RALEY ’35 of Nashville died May 5 at age 90. She taught in Nash County schools from 1970 to 1984, was a substitute teacher, and worked with children from migrant families. MARY S. WHITE ’37 of Sacramento, Ca., died Mar. 19. A Farmville native, she worked at the U.S. Treasury Department during WWII and later in Raleigh at the Wake County Alcoholism Information Center. She was active in church work in North Carolina and California, where she and her husband relocated following their 1987 retirement.

1940s
MIRIAM CRITCHER BROWN ’43 of Raleigh died April 1. She taught at Francis Lacy School and was active in her church. For the Woman’s Club of Raleigh she chaired the antique show and gift gallery, and she received several recognitions including the state Woman’s Club and Woman’s Club Member with a Heart awards. LT. COL. WILEY BROWN SR. ’47 of Raleigh died April 30. He lettered in football, baseball and basketball at ECTC. During WWII, he served in the Navy, and in 1982, retired after 31 years in the N.C. National Guard. He was a Pirates and Atlanta Braves fan, and played with the Pullen Park and Emmanuel Baptist Church bridge clubs four to five times a week. LOIS LEE BRITTON CARPENTER ’41 of Margarettsville died April 20. She worked with her husband in the Blythe and Carpenter firm and on Saturdays as a clerk in Carpenter’s Store. She was a member of the Eastern Star and the Methodist Women’s Missionary Society, taught Sunday school, and enjoyed baking. MELVA WILLIAMSON HAMILTON ’43 of Bennettsville, S.C., died March 24 in Laurinburg. She was a teacher at Hamlet High School for 15 years, a dietician at Hamlet Hospital for 15 years, and then a nurse beginning in 1982. HARRIETTE LAWRENCE PAGE ’42 ’69 of Tarboro died May 18. She taught home economics at Contentnea and Tarboro High schools in the ’40s, and kindergarten at Willow Grove School after she got her master’s. In the 25 years she traveled and lived overseas with her military husband, she was president of the Officers’ Wives Clubs at Vance and Randolph AFBs and worked with the Red Cross. She later volunteered with Meals on Wheels and Yokefellows, was an elder at her church, and enjoyed crossword puzzles, cryptoquotes, music, crocheting, knitting and ceramics. MARY LOU WILLETS ROBERSON ’40 of Charleston, S.C., died March 27. Active in church work, she taught English before retiring from Wando High School in Mt. Pleasant. LOUISE FILLYAW SMITH ’47 of Winterville and Ayden died May 10. She received a home economics degree from ECTC, taught sewing at the Blind Center of Greenville, enjoyed her family and was active in her church. FLORA CORNELIA “NEILL” BULLOCK WILKINS ’40 of Fayetteville died June 6. She taught school in Fayetteville, sang in the senior choir at her church and was a member of the Cape Fear Botanical Garden and The Lafayette Society.

1950s
JAMES IRVING BENNETT ’50 of Greenville died May 16. He lived in Beaufort County and Farmville before entering the Army. For over 43 years, he was a tobacconist in the Far East Asia tobacco market for A.C. Monk Tobacco Co. In retirement he lived in Pine Knoll Shores with his wife of 53 years, Wila Stansill Bennett. CHANNING HILLIARD “C.H.” FRIES JR. ’51 of Nashville died May 12 at age 92. He taught in Nashville for four years before joining the Navy and serving in North Africa and Italy during WWII. From 1946 until his 1977 retirement from Nash County Schools, he was a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and 16-year superintendent. In 2001 he received the Exemplary Life Service Award from Catawba College for his work in education. He held several church offices, played music for church and civic meetings, and enjoyed gardening and surf fishing. NELSON BRYAN GILLIKIN ’56 of Beaufort died April 18. He was in the Coast Guard and Air Force, and retired as a major from the Air Force Reserves. He started working at Barbour’s Marine & Supply in 1956 and eventually became the owner. Gillikin was a Mason, Shriner, member of the Scottish Rite, chaired the N.C. Pilotage Commission and local Democratic Party and served on the Carteret County boards of education and county commissioners. JOHN CARL “J.C.” GRADY SR. ’56 of Emerald Isle died June 12. A Kinston native, he was a route salesman for Coca Cola before being drafted into the Army in 1950 for the Korean War. He was a teacher, coach and administrator in N.C. and Virginia for 35 years, and in 1967 led the Princess Anne High School football team to be undefeated Virginia state champions. He received a heart transplant at Duke in 1993 and was married to Mary Rose Aldridge Grady for almost 57 years. DR. EDWARD PAGE HENRY JR. ’50 of Hopewell, Va., died April 8. A dentist in Hopewell for 53 years, he was also a WWII Army veteran, a city councilman, vice mayor of Hopewell in 1962, a master of his Masonic Lodge, a member of several professional dental organizations, and was active in his church. SAMUEL ERNEST JACKSON ’58 of Knightdale died March 31. After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, he was a utilities coordinator for the NCDOT for 33 years. An avid golfer, he also was active in church work and volunteered at his children’s school. JOE E. KING ’53 of Wilmington died March 17. A merchant marine, he was a member of the 82nd Airborne and served in Korea. For 37 years, he worked in public health protecting shellfish waters locally for the state. KENNETH HARLON NEAL ’55 of Goldsboro died March 17. A Marine Corps captain, he was active in his church and the Goldsboro Kiwanis Club. He retired from Wayne Community College as chair of the business department, where in 1997 he was named Administrator of the Year and received the George E. Wilson Award for teaching excellence. SARAH PICKETT NEILSON ’57 ’58 of Wilmington died March 19. For 30 years, she taught elementary school in Florida and North Carolina. W.D. “PETE” WALKER JR. ’57 ’59 of Myrtle Beach, S.C., died May 28. He was a teacher and school administrator and coached championship track and field and basketball teams. TED LEE WILLIAMS SR. ’59 of Wilmington and Spring Hope died April 21. A four-year veteran of the Air Force, he was president of Williams Fabricate (Hangers/Williams Cleaners) and developed the prototype for the CO2 method of environmentally friendly dry cleaning. He held several offices in the N.C. Association of Launderers and Dry Cleaners, was on the board of directors for Wachovia, and received the Plant Design Award from the International Dry Cleaning Association and the Governor’s Award for Arts and Humanities for volunteer work for the Cape Fear Museum. He also enjoyed riding his motorcycle.

1960s
CAROL FRANCES CASEY BYRD ’65 ’66 ’80 ’84 of Mount Olive died March 14. She was active in church work and the N.C. Association of Educators. She retired from Wayne County Public Schools as a teacher at Brogden Primary School in Dudley. JERRY WALTER MOORE ’64 of Charlotte died June 6. He worked as a real estate appraiser in Raleigh before moving to Charlotte in 1972. He recently founded the Moorseville-based American Development Industries and was on the board of directors for Asheville’s Safe Haven for Men. WILLIAM CLARK RACKLEY ’68 of Cary died May 6. He was an avid fan of the Pirates and history-themed travels in the American West and Southwest. On one of his favorite trips, he followed the Oregon Trail from Independence, Mo., to Portland, Ore. Memorials may be made to the ECU Educational Foundation. JOHN EDWIN ROBERSON ’62 ’64 of Virginia Beach died March 20. A Robersonville native, he retired after 38 years in Virginia Beach City Public Schools as a math teacher and administrator. He was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War, past president of the Kempsville Lions Club and a senior doubles champion tennis player. DR. GUY PORTER ROSE JR. ’61 of Chicago died March 18. A New Bern native and retired Navy Reserve captain, he worked as a teacher, principal and professor. CAROLYN JOYCE WYNN STEVENSON ’63 of Richmond, Va., and Henderson, died June 9. A Warren County native, she retired after 33 years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia and was active in Flat Rock United Methodist Church. JEAN LETELLIER WYNNE ’64 of Rocky Mount died April 10. She worked as an Eastern Airlines flight attendant and a Mary Kay senior sales director. She was active in Rocky Mount’s Junior Guild, Luncheon Pilot Club, and Church of the Good Shepherd, and was named Rocky Mount Garden Club Woman of the Year in 2001.

1970s
GILBERT “MAC” MCLEOD BAILEY JR. ’70 ’79 of Clayton died April 8. A Moore County native, he was in the Air Force from 1963 to 1966 and worked for the N.C. Department of Revenue for 27 years before retiring in 1998. MICHAEL W. BOYD ’73 of Hendersonville died April 9. He was a coach, librarian and English teacher in Virginia and North Carolina, and the author of a coaching-themed work entitled Deeper Water: A Fictional Memoir. CATHERINE IRENE DICK ’77 of Lexington died May 24. She worked for Lexington and Thomasville furniture companies, and Belk’s. She was active in her church and was a member of Lexington’s planning and zoning board and the charity league. CHARLES EDWARD “ED” FORBES ’73 of Elizabeth City died May 4. An Army veteran, he worked for Elizabeth City’s parks and recreation department and was active in Riverside United Methodist Church. MARGARET STEWART SCOVIL ’70 of Raleigh died March 29. A Delta Zeta sister, she worked in the computer industry, most recently as an inside sales representative for Cisco Industries. ALICE DAVIS VANN ’75 of Murfreesboro died April 30, her 80th birthday. She and her husband managed Vann Gin Co. After their two children were grown, she went to college and earned two degrees. She retired in 1995 from counseling at Chowan College and Hertford County High School.

1980s
SCOTT MATTHEW BOWNS ’86 of Gaithersburg, Md., died March 23. During the 15 years he had brain cancer, Bowns, an Alpha Sigma Chi brother, and his wife were active in the annual Race for Hope. GARY L. BROWN ’84 of Charlotte died May 9. He worked for the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte and Huron Consultants, and entered Southern Evangelical Seminary in the 1990s.

1990s
STAFF SGT. MICHAEL DELAMERE ’97 of Jacksonville died May 12. A former ECU rugby player, he was an active duty Marine and a member of MARSOC. He enjoyed Harley Davidson motorcycles and was married to ALICIA DAWN RAYNOR DELAMERE ’99. KEISHA MICHELLE LEE ’90 of Williamston died March 26. After teaching at Tarboro High School, she served on local, state and national committees to help people with developmental and physical disabilities and marital issues. ANITA MARIE MATZ ’96 of Wilmington died May 31. She was a nurse at Dolly Vincent Hospital in San Benito and Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, before teaching nursing in Washington, D.C., and starting in 1988, at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington. She retired in 2006 and enjoyed gardening and animals. KRISTI LYN KEISER RIPEPI ’90 of Charlotte died May 10 from a rare pneumonia. Born in Dearborn, Mich., and raised in Charlotte, she worked in product distribution and customer service, and enjoyed her family and animals.


2000s
ELIZABETH ANN TEMPLE CROSSAN ’02 of Wilmington, Del., died March 21 from brain cancer. She was a Delta Zeta sister, an ECU Ambassador, a member of campus ministries and the College Republicans, and a mother of two sons. JENNIFER LOUISE RAGLAND EVANS ’02 of Bethel died March 12. She worked in BSOM’s obstetrics and gynecology department and with patient access services in the family medicine department. A former member of the Marching Pirates, she volunteered with the School of Theatre and Dance, Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Williamston, and with the Rocking Horse Ranch Therapeutic Riding Program. JOAN MARIE PELLETIER ’01 of Miami, Fla., and Raymond, Maine, died May 8. She worked in marketing for Winn-Dixie, and later at the On Ideas and First- Team advertising agencies. She was engaged for a year and recently finished sewing her self-designed wedding dress. Clothing design and dance were her hobbies. MATTHEW CURTIS SINGLETARY ’06 of Greenville (left) died April 12. He received the Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award, was the math department’s outstanding senior, and maintained a 4.0 GPA in his graduate courses, all while battling muscular dystrophy. He enjoyed watching college basketball, playing video games and chatting online with friends.