Davidson College – In Memoriam

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, gifted preacher and pastor Pinckney Chambers Enniss, Jr., passed away October 8, 2024, in the presence of his wife of sixty-nine years, Jane Enniss.

Pinckney Chambers Enniss, Jr. was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 16, 1931, to Pinckney Chambers Enniss, Sr. (1894-1972), and Minnie Paschal Enniss (1902-2002). He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1949 and attended Davidson College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1953. Following college, he fulfilled two years of active duty service in the United States Army and during that time met, fell in love with and married Martha Jane Wildman (m. June 11, 1955). After that service, the young couple moved to Decatur, Georgia, where “Buddy,” as he was known to his friends, entered Columbia Theological Seminary in the fall of 1955 and earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1958. He would complete another eighteen years in the Army Reserves, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

While still a student at Columbia Theological Seminary, he was invited to serve as a student pastor for the newly formed Hillside Presbyterian Church in a rapidly growing part of DeKalb County. On graduation from Columbia, he was ordained and served as Hillside’s first pastor, and he served in that role from 1958-1967. It was a period of great social change, and, following the bombing of the Atlanta synagogue The Temple, he was one of the signers of the Ministers Manifesto, “Out of Conviction: A Second Statement on the South’s Racial Crisis,” calling for interracial dialogue and understanding. He led Hillside in an inclusive manner during a period of segregation and invited Lawrence Bottoms, the first African American Moderator of the General Assembly, PCUS, to preach, and hosted the Stillman College Choir from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Known for his powerful preaching, he consistently challenged his congregations to live up to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, vision of the beloved community.

Their first son, David (b. 1956), was born during the seminary years and Stephen (b. 1959), following graduation while the family’s life revolved around the congregation of the “the church on the hill,” as it was called. During his ministry, Hillside undertook three building programs, and the congregation grew to more than five hundred members.

From 1967-1970 he served as pastor of Meadowview Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, before accepting a call to be senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee, Florida (1970-1976). The year he and his family moved to Tallahassee, 1970, he received his Masters of Theology degree from Columbia Theological Seminary, where he wrote his thesis on The Sources of Martin Luther King’s Theology.

In 1976 he answered a call to serve Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta. During his thirteen-year ministry at Central he advocated for the church’s vital role in the life of the city. He opened pathways for women to serve in leadership roles, and Central was the first large church in the Atlanta Presbytery to call a woman, Joanna Adams, as Associate Pastor in 1978. He was invited by Mayor Andrew Young to serve on a Civilian Review Board examining charges of police use of excessive force, long before the Black Lives Matter Movement. He, with the support of Joanna Adams, opened the church’s gymnasium as a homeless shelter, and he was a founding member of Congregations for Affordable Housing, and Chair of the Atlanta Presbytery’s Campaign for Compassion. During his ministry, His alma mater, Davidson College recognized him with an honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 1988, and the following year he received the Martin Luther King, Sr., Community Service Award for service to the city.

After thirteen years of loyal service to the church in the city, he accepted a call to serve as Senior Pastor of The Reformed Church of Bronxville, New York (1989-1997). In each church he served, he brought an ecumenical spirit to his ministry, and in Bronxville he worked to bring together Westchester’s Christian and Jewish communities. After a swastika was found on the wall of the Bronxville train station, he and Bronxville mayor, Sheila Stein, invited the Jewish community to hold a Holocaust Interfaith Service at the Reformed Church. The Bronxville community packed the church for that first-of-its-kind service, and he served on the Westchester Holocaust Commission for the next six years.

Upon retirement, he and Jane returned to Atlanta, where he held the appointment of Theologian in Residence at Trinity Presbyterian Church (1997-2010). Over the years, he held numerous volunteer service roles and served on the Boards of Eckerd College, Queens College, Union Theological Seminary, and Columbia Theological Seminary. In 2002, Columbia Theological Seminary honored him with its Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service to the church. His was a prophetic voice during a time of great societal change and the ongoing pursuit for social justice.

To his family, he was a beloved husband, father and a loving grandfather to Harris Pinckney Enniss and Rebecca Clare Enniss. His family’s grief is too large for words.

He is survived by his wife, Jane, his life partner, and co-pastor in each of their church homes; by his two sons and their wives, David and Jane, and Stephen and Lucy; and by two grandchildren, Harris and Rebecca.

The world is a better place for his presence in our lives, for his intellect, his humor, his moral grounding, and his unwavering commitment to social justice. His family is most grateful for his love and his example of a life lived in search of wholeness in a broken world.

A celebration of his life will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 11:00. Gifts in his memory may be directed to the Central Presbyterian Church Outreach and Advocacy Center, Columbia Theological Seminary, or the Agape Youth and Family Center.

Michael Flemming, 76, died on Monday, October 7, 2024, surrounded by his wife Carter and sons David and Will. The cause of death was complications from a stroke.

Mike was born in 1948 in New Orleans and grew up there with his sister Mary and brothers Jim and Paul. He graduated from Franklin High School, and attended Davidson College in North Carolina. He graduated with a BA in 1970, and was a proud alum for life. Mike then moved to Washington, DC where he worked full-time as a legislative assistant in the office of Senator Thomas Eagleton while also attending Georgetown Law School. In Eagleton’s office, he met Carter Dudley. The couple was married in 1972 and had two boys, David and Will. He and Carter made their home in Alexandria, Virginia, and raised their boys there, including Daymond Jackson, whom they happily consider their third son.

Mike served as a law clerk for Judge Albert V. Bryan, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 1987, Mike became a partner in the Northern Virginia firm Boothe, Pritchard and Dudley, which is now McGuire Woods. He was a banking and corporate attorney, and served as the Managing Partner of the Tysons Corner office.
Mike joined Smithfield Foods in 2005 and served in a variety of leadership positions on its legal team over the years. He was named chief legal officer in 2019. Mike was described by his colleagues at Smithfield as a gentleman with a quick, dry wit and a no-nonsense approach to business. He cut to the chase, never minced words and served Smithfield Foods with a high level of integrity. One of Mike’s legacies at Smithfield will be the outstanding legal team he built.

In addition, from 2016-2023, he served on the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University, including three years as chair of the finance committee.

Mike also was an avid sports fan, and enjoyed many golf trips with friends and his sons to Scotland and Ireland.

But above all Mike loved his family. He was enormously proud of his wife Carter, especially her network of devoted friends and her extraordinary service to their Alexandria community. He relished his nights listening to Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants games, to hear his two sons, both baseball broadcasters. He adored his daughters-in-law, Jessica and Jennifer. And he was a devoted and wonderful Bub to his five grandchildren, Carter, Katie, David, Bailey and Charlie. His office walls were covered with pictures of them, and he never tired of telling others of their accomplishments.

Family will receive friends at the Parish Hall of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Old Town, Alexandria, at 228 S. Pitt Street, on Sunday, October 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. Funeral services for Mike will be held at St. Paul’s on Monday, October 14, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mike’s honor to the Campagna Center in Alexandria, or Virginia State University in Petersburg, VA, or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria.

Charles Glass Smith died Sunday, October 6, 2024.

Born March 27, 1938, he was the son of the late Charles Leonard Smith and Margaret Aileen Smith. His wife of 58 years, Vera (Vicki) Gurley Smith preceded him in death in 2019. He is survived by daughters Sarah Ann Wyatt (Frank D. Wyatt) and Patricia Lynn Smith, all of Greenville, South Carolina. In addition he has two grandchildren, Parker Andrew Wyatt and Matthew Stephen Wyatt.

Charles was a native of Valdese, North Carolina and attended North Carolina public schools. During his high school career he earned both scholastic honors and athletic awards. In 1955 he was named to the First Team Western North Carolina Scholastic Football Team. The same year, he earned first team all-conference and honorable mention all-state football honors. He chose to attend Davidson College on a full football scholarship. Charles graduated from Davidson in 1960 with a degree in economics. Later in his life he attended the Securities Industry Institute Management Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1982.

Charles’ employment career began in 1960 as a management trainee with the New York Life Insurance Company in Charlotte, North Carolina where he worked for 5 years in various management roles. In 1965 he was promoted to the firm’s Asheville agency as manager. In 1969, Charles joined the firm of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith in Asheville, North Carolina as a stock broker. In 1974 he was instrumental in assisting with the opening of a new Merrill Lynch office in Greenville, South Carolina where he serviced small to medium sized institutional accounts and individuals. In 1976 the Robinson-Humphrey Company approached Charles and asked him to join the firm and open a new office in Greenville. Charles joined the Robinson-Humphrey Company, LLC of Atlanta, Georgia in 1977 as a senior vice president and manager in the firm’s new Greenville, South Carolina office. He served Robinson-Humphrey in this role for over 20 years ultimately building the office into one of the leading securities and investment firms in the state. In addition, he was instrumental in establishing and managing satellite offices for the firm in Asheville, North Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina. He achieved numerous firm awards during his years of service. Charles retired from Robinson-Humphrey in 1998. After a short retirement of several years he was employed in 2004 by the accounting firm of Elliott Davis, LLC in its wealth management subsidiary as director of asset management. Later on, he also served the firm as president of Elliott Davis brokerage services, LLC. In 2006 Charles once again retired. In his final retirement he continued to serve the NASD (now FINRA) as an arbitrator and was certified to chair arbitration hearings, a position he held for over 15 years.

Civic, charitable and social endeavors were a major part of Charles’ life. He was a member of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce where he served as Chairman of 300 for Greenville, an economic development arm of the chamber as well as a chamber board member. One of Charles’ favorite endeavors was serving on the board of the South Carolina Council of Economic Education where he was chairman for 2 terms. He also was on the board of the Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital Foundation where he chaired the investment committee. Charles served as a charter board member of the Commerce Club. He was a member of the Greenville Country Club, Shadow Oaks Racquet Club and the Poinsett Club. He was a board member of the South Carolina Securities Dealers Association and was elected chairman for 2 terms. In 2015, Davidson College awarded Charles its “Outstanding Alumni Service Award” for his many years of devotion and dedication to the college.

Charles was a great sports fan enjoying Davidson College basketball as a season ticket holder for many years. He was also an avid fan of college football. At age 16 he was introduced to bird hunting and participated in the sport for over 50 years. He also loved shooting sporting clays and fishing.

Memorials should be made to the Davidson Athletic Fund (209 Ridge Road, Box 5000 Davidson, NC 28035) or to Bon Secours Hospice (1836 W Georgia Rd. Simpsonville, SC 29680).

Good night sweet prince, flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

Auburn Cleatus Lambeth Jr, Jackson, Mississippi, passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the State Veterans Home in Oxford, Mississippi, at the age of 94.

He was born June 23, 1930, in Decatur, Georgia, to Frances (Hamilton) Lambeth and Auburn C. Lambeth Sr. His early years in Decatur were spent playing baseball with his three sisters and picking tobacco with his relatives in North Carolina. He was an excellent student and well loved by all his classmates. Auburn excelled in sports especially baseball, basketball, and football. The Atlanta Journal dubbed him the “boy with the golden arm”. Auburn attended Davidson College on a football scholarship where he played quarterback. He chose Davidson over offers from larger universities because of Davidson’s academic excellence. Auburn was admitted into the Davidson College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. After graduation, he went on to play professional football as quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Hamilton,Ontario.

Auburn was a proud Korean War veteran, having received a bronze star for his bravery and valor. He was honorably discharged and returned to marry Nancy Timberlake whom he had met at Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. They went on to have a son Charles Anderson and a daughter Linda Louise. Nancy passed in 1980 after a long battle with cancer. On January 7, 1984, he married Rebecca Linda Johnson (Brent).

Auburn was the manager of Lincoln National serving many clients in the Jackson area. He was involved in many civic clubs and activities including the North Jackson Kiwanis club which he served as president. He enjoyed worshiping at Covenant Presbyterian Church, teaching Sunday school, singing in the men’s choir, and was the longest serving active elder, serving 31 years.

He was a true Renaissance man. He loved reciting poetry, singing around the piano, and traveling with friends, especially to the Cotswolds in England. He was known and admired for his kind strength and genteel spirit. Most of all he dearly loved his family, and will forever be known as a wonderful husband, loving father, grandfather and brother and friend to many.

He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Rebecca Linda Lambeth (Jackson, MS); son, Andy (Jennifer) Lambeth (El Paso, TX); his daughter, Linda (Robert) Fisher (Powder Springs, GA); his two stepchildren Gene (Shelli) Brent (Germantown, TN); Sarah Frances (John) Hardy (Oxford, MS). Also, surviving are nine grandchildren, Mary Catherine Lambeth, Robert (Chelsea) Lambeth, Wilson Lambeth, Christina Brent, Preston Brent, Caroline Brent, Anne Hardy, Sallie Hardy, and Julia Hardy. He was preceded in death by his first wife, and his three sisters Virginia, Margaret, and Lynda.

When asked, Auburn said he wanted to be remembered for “putting other people first, giving them love and affection, and my faith in God.”

Auburn’s life will be celebrated with a funeral service at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 4000 Ridgewood Rd, Jackson, MS 39211 and officiated by Josh Cole. Friends and family may visit an hour prior to the service from 1:30–2:30 p.m. A graveside service will follow at Parkway Memorial Cemetery.

Memorial Donations may be directed to “Canopy Children’s Solutions”, 1465 Lakeland Dr, Jackson, MS 39216, “French Camp Academy” 1 Fine Pl, French Camp, MS 39745, or Covenant Presbyterian Church, 4000 Ridgewood Rd, Jackson, MS 39211.