Henry M. “Hank” Eldridge I N
M E M O R I A M
“He was always willing to serve.”
By Chick Jacobs The Fayetteville Observer
Most folks called Henry M. “Hank” Eldridge “Doc.” It was partly a term of endearment, partly respect. In the 50-plus years he lived in Fayetteville he did plenty to earn both. Doc Eldridge, who died Aug. 9, was one of the sharpest mathematical minds in the state, a founder of Fayetteville State University’s Omega Psi Phi chapter and a charter member of his church. Still, he didn’t think himself so important that he wouldn’t hop into the concession stand at Bronco ball games to help out, or cook breakfast for the men’s group at College Heights Presbyterian Church. “That’s one of the wonderful things about him,” said Dr. Willis McLeod, former chancellor at Fayetteville State. “He had such a great mind, yet it seemed he was always willing to serve others.” His son, Henry Eldridge III, said his dad defied the “bookish” persona people might expect. “He loved books, loved to read,” Eldridge said. “But then you’d turn around and he was cooking breakfast at church. He appreciated other people, and never was one to shut himself off from them.” McLeod agreed. “He was very social in crowds, but he didn’t impose himself on you. However, if you ever asked his opinion, he could give it to you very directly.” Eldridge was born in December of 1924 in Montgomery, Ala. The son of Henry and Eliza Eldridge, he displayed a scholastic gift for math and graduated as his class valedictorian. He attended Alabama State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1946. While at Alabama State, he was introduced to a group that played a large role in his life, the
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Omega Psi Phi fraternity. “Omega Psi Phi meant the world to him,” his son said. “That’s why when he arrived at Fayetteville, he worked so hard to organize a chapter on campus.” Eldridge earned a master’s degree at Columbia in New York, and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1951, Eldridge was offered several choices as a professor. His final choice: the Mathematics Department at Fayetteville State Teacher’s College. By 1956, he was the chairman of the areas of science and mathematics at the college. He met Mary Terry, a music teacher at the college, and they were married in 1959. Mary Terry Eldridge went on to become chairman of the Fayetteville Board of Education. Once the Eldridges made Fayetteville their home, they began branching out in the community. Henry organized the Beta Chi chapter of Omega Psi Phi, and the couple were charter members of College Heights Presbyterian Church. “He served our church and the people here,” said Pastor Garfield Warren. “For the longest time, he would arrive early, cooking breakfast for the men’s meetings.” Many of the couple’s good deeds were done in private. Eldridge’s son recalled one time when one of Doc’s math students was interviewing for a teaching position, but didn’t have a good suit to wear. “Dad took him down to Fleishman’s on Hay Street and made sure he had a suit to get that job,” he said. Another time, a promising student was considering leaving the school because of illness at home in New York. Eldridge gave the student the keys to his car to drive home, telling him only to return the keys when he got back. “It was actually very smart on my dad’s part,” the younger Eldridge said. “He knew that the student would have to drive back to return the car, and if he did that, he’d come back to school.”
After 24 years at the school, Eldridge left to work with the state Department of Public Instruction in 1975. After retirement, he continued to study, to learn. He didn’t do the usual leisure time things, his son said. “No golf, no fishing, and he rarely watched TV. But he loved to read.” He continued to attend church regularly, even as his health faded. When he wasn’t in church, Warren said, you knew he was feeling bad. “He wasn’t a complainer,” McLeod said. “He continued to give of himself for his school, his church and his community. “There are few men who dedicated themselves more to the community than he did,” McLeod said. “All of us would do well to study the life of Henry Eldridge.”
This story was reprinted with permission from The Fayetteville Observer – Copyright 2010