Dr. ROBERT BOB LEE AUGSPURGER of Ponte Vedra, Fla., died May 17. He taught economics at ECU from 1974 to 1979. Dr. JERRY “JAKE” LEATH MILLS of Washington, N.C., died July 22. A teacher of English Renaissance literature at UNC Chapel Hill for 31 years, he taught part time at ECU between 1996 and 2006. Dr. FEARGHUS O’FOGHLUDHA of Durham and Clonskeagh, Dublin, Ireland, died July 10. He was a visiting professor of physics at ECU from 1993 to 1997. His long career focused on radiation in the field of physics and his work included stints at NASA, the Oak Ridge nuclear facilities, Duke University, the Atomic Energy Commission, CERN and other institutions. RUTH HAWKINS PAULK of Lexington, Ky., died May 17 at 91. She taught in the home economics department from 1967 to 1968. She was the wife of the late Joe B. Paulk who taught in the same department from 1967 to 1970 and died on April 14.
S TA F F ALFRED BENTON CATES JR. of Greenville died Aug. 7. A Navy and Air Force veteran, he was the administrative supervisor in ECU’s AFROTC Department from 1953 to 1957. DORIS SHIRLEY FAULKNER of Greenville died July 12. She retired from the ECU Dowdy Student Store in 1986. KEVIN CHRISTOPHER FLANAGAN of Greenville died May 1. He was the dive safety officer at ECU.
Robert “Bobby” Hodges ’54 ’61 of Wilmington, a member of both the ECU and the North Carolina Sports Halls of Fame, died Sept. 21. He was 82. A native of Kinston, he earned AllAmerica honors in both basketball and football at ECU. While a student, he met and married ECU cheerleader Drusilla Bain ’54 of Erwin, who died in 1993. He was a member of the ROTC at ECU and later served as a captain in the Air Force. He coached basketball at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory for eight years. There, he was named the Small College Coach of the Year in 197172. Hodges was honored by the N.C. High School Athletic Association as one of the top 50 athletes in the state during the past 50 years. After retiring from coaching in 1978, he was headmaster of Cape Fear Christian Academy in Erwin, N.C. He joined the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles in 1987 and was served as DMV commissioner from 1991 to 1993. Three children and five grandchildren survive him. Donations may be made to the Wilmington Family YMCA or the East Carolina Educational Foundation (the Pirate Club). Hall of Fame coach Earl Smith ’39, whose basketball teams won four consecutive Southern Conference championships, died Aug. 5 in Fayetteville. He was 95. A member of three sports halls of fame, Smith also coached the baseball team for nine years, including East Carolina’s first NCAA post-season appearance in 1964. He had only one losing season in 14 years as a basketball and baseball coach here. His basketball teams had a 53-40 record while his baseball teams won 185 games while losing 103, which remains the third-best winning percentage in school history. He was inducted into the ECU Sports Hall of Fame in 1977 just five years after coaching his last game for the Pirates. He then became a professional baseball scout for 20 years, mostly with the San Diego Padres.
University Archives
Dr. KENNETH E. TAYLOR of Palm Bay, Fla., died May 24 at 96. A WW II veteran who achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, he taught criminal justice and social work courses at ECU from 1971 to 1981.
TIMMY “GRIM” GRIMSLEY of Ormondsville died June 12. SARAH HELENE KIRKPATRICK KAVANAUGH of Chapel Hill died Aug. 1. She retired as an assistant to the director of the ECU News Bureau. JONATHAN LILWALL of Greenville died July 30. He was a surgical resident coordinator at ECU. CHARLES FREDERICK LITTLETON of Winterville died June 16. In 2003, he retired from ECU after more than 20 years as an electrician. JEAN VICK SUTTON of Greenville died July 15. She worked for 15 years as a medical technologist at the ECU Student Health Center.
Bill Friday (right) with ECU Chancellor Leo Jenkins June 9, 1978
Bill Friday, former UNC system president, 1920-2012 “We would all do well to try to be more like Bill Friday.” —ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard
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