East Carolina remembers

Eunice Edwards Broadhurst

Nell Marsh Helms

Frances Marie Overton

1930s
EUNICE EDWARDS BROADHURST ’38 ’57 of Rutherfordton and formerly of Mount Olive, died Oct. 25 at age 90. She was a retired fifth-grade teacher for Wayne County Public Schools. DELORESE SMITH CAVINESS ’36 of Fuquay-Varina died Oct. 16 at age 94. Before her 1978 retirement, she taught elementary school and was a principal in Harnett County for 26 years. Interested in history and genealogy, she established the Chalybeate Springs Baptist Church Heritage Room. She was one of three teachers who piloted the Harnett County Head Start Program in the 1960s. ISABEL “BELLE” HUNT GLOVER ’32 of Bailey died Dec. 3 at age 96. She taught school in Nash and Richmond counties before marrying and moving to Bailey. She was then a postal clerk from 1939 to 1961 and postmistress until her 1976 retirement. She was board president for the Country Doctor Museum, secretary for the public library board and a district officer in the Eastern Star. NELL MARSH HELMS ’30 ’44 of Chapel Hill died Nov. 19 at age 97. During WWII, when her husband was a Marine, she was a recreation director for the Red Cross at Eglin Air Base in Florida. They later lived on a farm in Wilkes County, where she taught eighth-grade science and was active in her church. IDA HAIR LANCASTER ’36 of Fayetteville died Oct. 20 at age 90. She taught school for more than 35 years and was active in Highland Presbyterian Church. KATHERINE DICKERSON MUSTIAN ’33 of Warrenton and Wilson died Dec. 4 at age 93. She taught in Warren County schools for 30 years. POLLY MELVIN OETTINGER ’35 died Sept. 30 at age 94. A Linden native, she taught music for eight years at the Caswell School and was the librarian for 21 years at Kinston’s Northwest Elementary School. She was active in the Queen Street Methodist Church and played piano for Sunday school classes for 50 years. FRANCES MARIE OVERTON ’33 of Charlotte died Oct. 14. She taught school in Salisbury, Pinehurst, and in Charlotte at Eastover Elementary School for 23 years. EVELYN STEGALL PIERCE ’36 of Wilmington died Nov. 9 at age 92. Originally from Union County, she lived in Charlotte until the 1970s when she and her husband moved to Wilmington, where they were active in College Acres Baptist Church. MARILYN HENDERSON STARLING ROGERS ’38 of Jacksonville died Oct. 31. She was a teacher in Onslow County Schools and was active in regional historical and cultural societies.

1940s
EDMOND JOSEPH “JOE” ACREE JR. ’49 ’53 of Aulander died Nov. 29. At ECTC, he was on the Men’s Judiciary and the Wilson Hall House Committee, and was a Phi Sigma Pi brother.  In addition to teaching Sunday school for 50 years, he was a coach and history teacher at Aulander High School and retired as assistant superintendent of Bertie County Schools. MITCHELL S. AVERY SR. ’43 of Winterville and Asheboro died Dec. 2. He served in the European Theater during WWII. He worked with his brothers at Edwards Auto Supply and was active in his church. EDNA EARLE LEWIS BAKER ’49 of Farmville died Dec. 14 at age 100. In Greene County, she established the school and public libraries. In Pitt County, she was a principal and eighth-grade teacher in Fountain before becoming general supervisor for the county school system. During that time, she helped establish libraries and kindergartens in all of the elementary schools, and supervised the system’s first special-education program. LOUISE CHANDLER COBLE ’42 of Burlington died Nov. 23 at age 87. She was a teacher and principal before becoming a homemaker and Meals on Wheels volunteer. HAZEL BOWEN ELLIS ’42 of Waynesville died Oct. 21. A Greene County native, she taught school and worked for Atlantic Coastline Railroad in Wilmington before getting married. She was active in Beta Sigma Phi sorority. REAR ADM. WILLIAM MORRIS GREENE ’43 died Dec. 8. At ECTC, he was the Men’s SGA president and played offensive and defensive end on the 1941 undefeated football team. After 31 years in the Navy he served as executive director of the N.C. State Ports Authority and an adjunct professor at ECU. In 1963, he was named ECC Alumnus of the Year, and in 1992, was inducted into the ECU Athletic Hall of Fame. He was married to Virginia Cooke Greene ’46 for 63 years. Donations may be made to the ECU School of Music. LAURA BETH SMITH HOWARD ’48 of Greenville died Oct. 19. Originally from Chalybeate Springs, she was active in the Memorial Baptist Church, enjoyed quilting and basket making, and had three sons and four grandsons who are Eagle Scouts. CHARLES HUDSON SR. ’40 and ALICE MOORE HUDSON ’42 of Ringgold, Ga., and formerly of Greenville, both died Nov. 15, of natural causes after 62 years of marriage. He was in the Navy during WWII and later became president of Blount Fertilizer Co. and an officer at M.O. Blount and Sons of Bethel and Blount Petroleum in Greenville. He was in the Kiwanis Club, and she was in the Senior German Club of Greenville and two bridge clubs. Both were golfers and members of the Seventy Six Supper Club. IRIS DAVIS HUNSINGER ’40 of Greensboro died Oct. 4. She taught English at Central Junior High and Page Senior high schools in Greensboro and was assistant principal at Smith Senior High School. Donations may be made to educational foundations for scholarships. EVELYN PENDERGRASS LEWIS ’40 of Lake Waccamaw and formerly of Wrightsville Beach died Oct. 19. She taught home economics in Robeson County before getting married and moving to Jacksonville, where she continued to teach and was a Red Cross volunteer.

1950s
EDITH ANN MANGUM FOWLKES BERRY ’53 of Morehead City died Nov. 7. She retired from teaching at Beaufort Middle School. MAJ. JAMES BULLOCK ’52 of Lutz, Fla., died Sept. 19. He was an Air Force fighter pilot for 23 years, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1969 and the Air Medal. A postal worker for 18 years, he was named Postman of the Year. His average bowling score was 185, and he also enjoyed golfing and fishing. GRETCHEN ASKEW EVANS ’57 of Las Vegas, Nev., and formerly of the Rosewood Community, died Oct. 23. She was a long-time schoolteacher. JOHN C. HAMILTON ’54 ’62 of Beaufort died Nov. 11. He played baseball at ECU and retired from East Carteret High School after 31 years as a teacher and coach. He was active in Atlantic United Methodist Church, the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and the Decoy Carvers Guild. HAROLD LEON JACKSON ’57 of Burlington died Oct. 27. He was a foods chemist for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and retired as an environmental engineer at Burlington Industries. He was in the National Guard for 13 years, held office in his church, and enjoyed golfing and fishing. FRANCES DILDA MCARTHUR ’51 died Oct. 25 at age 96. A Fountain native, she taught school for 33 years in Pitt County and Pinellas County, Fla. After her 1971 retirement, she was a substitute teacher for 10 years and helped found a remedial reading program at a high school in Florida. WILLIS “BILL” GALLOP MCCOTTER ’59 of Morehead City died Sept. 23. He played baseball on the Cleveland Indians’ farm team in Green Bay, Wis., before attending college. After graduation, he was a teacher and coach in Petersburg, Va., and later worked for the federal government. JAMES FRANCIS “JIMMY” SHINE JR. ’59 ’73 of New Bern died Oct. 10. He was an Army radio operator from 1952–1955, and until his 1989 retirement from the public schools, a teacher and sports/school administrator in Carteret and Craven counties. He received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine recognition from Gov. Jim Hunt in 1985 and was inspector for the state for the North Carolina East Railroad. The 2007 football season was his 45th year of perfect attendance at ECU’s games at Ficklen Stadium, and he was recognized as the only Craven County Pirate with perfect attendance. HARVEY LEE STULL ’51 of Covington, Va., died July 23. He was a member of ECTC’s boxing team from 1949 to 1951. He retired after many years with WestVAco. MICHAEL C. THEMIDES ’57 of Virginia Beach, Va., died on Feb. 15, 2007. Married to CAROLYN P. THEMIDES ’57, he was a teacher, coach, principal and personnel specialist in Franklin, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. BILLY NUNN WARREN ’55 of Farmville died Dec. 31. He was the intramurals tennis champion in college and later played semi-pro baseball and tennis. He was a tobacconist for more than 45 years, mostly with A.C. Monk & Co. He was an avid golfer and supporter of ECU athletics. He battled heart disease for more than 26 years, and his was the story that helped secure funding for the new cardiovascular center at the Brody School of Medicine. SYLVIA JEAN PATE WOOLARD ’56 of New Bern died Nov. 10. She was active in Spring Garden Baptist Church for 50+ years.

1960s
BRUCE ARTHUR COOPER ’61 of Boynton Beach, Fla., died Nov. 12. He was a budget official for several organizations, including the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, United Nations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, for which he worked from 1985 to 1991 in Vienna, Austria. He lived in Damascus, Syria, before retiring to Florida. HENRY LEWIS COPELAND SR. ’63 of Stuarts Draft, Va., died Oct. 17. He was a retired realtor and was a Baptist preacher for 20 years in Apex and Brookneal and Lynchburg, Va. NATHAN HENRY GAY SR. ’62 died Nov. 21. He was a teacher and a coach for several sports at Union High School for 22 years, during which time he led basketball teams to a record of 398 wins and 127 losses, 15 conference championships, and five district championships. The Union High School gym there is named for him. He received 10 coach of the year awards and was a board of education member for Sampson County. CARL WAYNE KING SR. ’67 of North Myrtle Beach died Oct. 8. He worked in wholesale and retail clothing and was owner/operator of the Village Shop in North Myrtle Beach before becoming a realtor. HELEN MCPHERSON POPE ’61 of Greenville died Dec. 25. She was 65 and had operated the Snooty Fox clothing shop downtown for many years. She was active in the Service League, the Downtown Greenville Association, Arlington Village Association and had served on the Greenville BB&T Advisory Board. JOHN DANIELS ROSE III ’66 of Henderson died Oct. 11. He worked at the Henderson Daily Dispatch before becoming president of Rose Farm and Rentals Inc. and WIZS 1450-AM. JAMES PHIL SOMERS ’65, of Indiana, Pa., died Nov. 26. He was an Alpha Epsilon Phi brother and captain of the golf team. He taught biology in Virginia Beach—where he also beat Curtis Strange in a golf tournament—before joining the family car sales business and later opening Indian Springs Chrysler-Plymouth. He was active in his synagogue and the Indiana Country Club.

1970s
LINDA LOUISE FORBES ’76 of Ayden died Oct. 12. She was the 1970 salutatorian at South Ayden High School and taught adult education at PCC before teaching in Craven County schools and becoming an ordained minister. She was also in the top two percent of the Who’s Who for the American Teachers Association. ANDREW H. GIBBONS JR. ’71 of Logan, Utah, died Oct. 31. In the Navy during WWII, he served on the USS Hancock, joined the Air Force in the 1960s, and later became an ROTC instructor at ECU and taught library science at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley for many years. JAMES EARL GODWIN ’74 of Rocky Mount died Nov. 16. He was in the Navy and worked at the Wildwood Lamp Company. JAMES MERRON KENNEDY ’78 of Rocky Mount died Oct. 9. He worked at Dillion Supply Company in Rocky Mount, and was president of the Rocky Mount Jaycees and a board member for realtor homebuilder and mortgage lenders. WILLIAM W. “BILL” LEE JR. ’77 died Oct. 27, 2007. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the Navy in 1968. He then worked for Computer Sciences Corporation in Falls Church, Va., until 1973 when he returned to Greenville and founded the general contracting and real estate firm Bill Lee Enterprises. He and his son owned Millennia Properties, another Greenville real estate firm. He was also an Eagle Scout and a former Pitt district chairman of the Boy Scouts. GAIL ORR MCKENZIE ’74 of Birmingham, Ala., died Sept. 23. She taught science for 18 years at Samford University, and Bevill and Jefferson state community colleges. She chaired the biology department at Jefferson. She received several professional recognitions and was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She volunteered with several church and civic organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the Junior League. RONALD E. YORKE ’71 of Fort Wayne, Ind., died Sept. 26. Originally of Kannapolis, he worked at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne.

1980s
FREDERICK ROSS CONYERS III ’80 of Raleigh died Nov. 19. For 20 years he specialized in international business development in Asia for G.E. Mortgage Insurance/Genworth Financial. HELEN LYNN “MIMI” KITE ’87 of Grimesland died Nov. 15. She worked in the automobile business and raised alpacas. PAUL RAYMOND MURPHY ’80 of Lumberton died Oct. 9. He was an Air Force captain, a physical therapist at Woffard Hall in San Antonio, and later owner of Wilmington Physical Therapy. MARILYN RUSSELL PLASTER ’82 of Raleigh died Nov. 13. She worked at Duke University Medical Center for 15 years and Duke Raleigh Hospital for 18 years. LINDA WINTON PYNN ’87 ’03 died Oct. 14. She was a family nurse practitioner with ECU Neurology Associates.

1990s
DIANE RENEE LUNSFORD ’87 of Raleigh died Nov. 16. For almost all of her 20 years working with special-needs infants, she was a special-care and delivery nurse at the Rex Hospital Family Birth Center. LEONARD “LEN” G. MARTIN JR. ’96 of Ruffin died Nov. 11. He worked in maintenance at Isometrics in Reidsville. KELLIE DANIELLE VALDEZ PAGANO ’97 of Lorton, Va., died Oct. 24. She was a teacher and researcher at the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School at Gallaudet University. She was also a member of the Gallaudet Performing Dance Company and the Wild Zappers Deaf Dance Theater Company.


FACULTY DEATHS

DR. L. KAREN BALDWIN of Greenville died Nov. 14. She was a professor of folklore in the English department and taught in the Women’s Studies program. She co-edited Folk Arts and Folklife in and around Pitt County: A Handbook and Resource Guide (1990) and oversaw the ECU Folklore Archive. She was active in the NO OLF campaign and the Sierra Club, and was married to Ernie Marshal, who taught in ECU’s philosophy department from 1964 to 1996. Donations may be made to the Friends of the ECU Folklore Archive.

DR. ALLEN FRANK BOWYER of Winterville died Dec. 9 at age 75. He was head of the cardiology section at BSOM from 1978 to 1986 and was the first doctor to perform a cardiac catheterization at PCMH.  In the late 1960s he helped produce international-award-winning films that used computer graphics to simulate heart motion. In 1985 he co-developed a computer model of left ventricle wall motion that helped better diagnose heart disease. He ended his 40-year medical career when he retired from East Carolina Heart Specialists in 2003.