Category: 1932

Mr. Richard Eugene Swaringen, 102, of Hyde Park Dr., passed away Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, in Wilmington. Richard was born Nov. 15, 1911, in Westminister, Md. to the late Rev. Robert Alexander and Louise Furr Swaringen. He is also preceded in death by his wife, Edith Grove Scott Swaringen.

Richard attended Davidson College and graduated from Duke University, as well as receiving advanced degrees from UNC. He was a career educator, working as a teacher in Forsyth County, at Odell High School, and as a principal at A.T. Allen, Hartsell, and Wolf Meadow schools. Richard was a veteran of World War II, where he was a Captain in the U.S. Army.

He also was a dedicated member of Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school for many years and served in leadership positions.

 He is survived by his daughters, Linda Swaringen Proseus and husband, Richard, of Wilson, Janet Swaringen Montgomery and husband, Frank, of Wilmington; grandchildren, Timothy Edward Proseus and wife, Ashley, of Millsboro, Del., Richard Robert Proseus, of Greenville, N.C. and Meredith Jill Montgomery, of Wilmington; and great-grandson, Edward Alexander Proseus, of Millsboro, Del. Memorials may be made to Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mt. Olivet Rd., Concord, NC 28025.

Online condolences may be left at www. wilkinsonfuneralhome. com.

Paul Stuart Hudgins ’32, of Williamsburg, Va., was born July 30, 1909, and died Jan. 18, 2009.

He graduated from Davidson and West Virginia University School of Law; served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army’s 95th Division, “The Iron Men of Metz”; was wounded in France during the Battle of the Bulge; and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

After WWII, he established a law firm in Bluefield, W.Va. For many years, he served as an attorney for the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs. He served on the Bluefield City Council, the West Virginia State Legislature, the board of visitors of Davis & Elkins College, and as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Bluefield.

He was a proud member of the Kiwanis Club in Williamsburg and a member of the Middle Plantation Club.

He is survived by his wife, Norma Hudgins, 608 Beechwood Dr., Williamsburg, VA 23185; his four stepchildren, the Rev. Howard Gordon (Roberta Saxon), Douglas Gordon (Linda), Melinda Perkins (Larry), and David Cattell-Gordon ’76 (Donna); six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Frank E. Hudgins ’27.

Joseph C. Houston ’32, of Townsend, Tenn., passed away Jan. 2 at his home.

He was the son of the late Rev. Robert L. and Henrietta Muecke Houston, a member of Lake Hills Presbyterian Church, a graduate of Davidson, and a veteran of World War II, having served with the U.S. Navy.

He retired from the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies and the Social Security Administration.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn Davis Rust Houston; brother, Robert Lockhart Houston ’31; and stepson, James U. Rust. Survivors include his stepdaughter, Linda Hale (William Hale), 4300 Stacey Ct., Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250-2115; stepdaughter-in-law, Arleene Rust; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; niece, Ann Houston Fisher; and two great-nephews.

William “T” Woodruff Taylor, Jr. ’32 passed away May 14. He was born April 1, 1912, in Warrenton, N.C., to Dr. W.W. Taylor and Elizabeth Wallace Poindexter Taylor.

He studied as an undergraduate at Davidson and the UNC Chapel Hill. He was forced to quit school because of the Depression and worked in numerous small jobs. He then attended Wake Forest Law School from 1932 until August 1933 when he passed the North Carolina Bar examination.

Immediately after Pearl Harbor, he volunteered for service in the U.S. Army and served until he was honorably discharged.

He practiced law in North Carolina for 60 years, and, in 1962, was a founding member of the Raleigh firm of Maupin Taylor & Ellis, where he practiced until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1993.

While practicing in Warrenton, he served as a prosecuting attorney of the local recorder’s court, as county attorney, as attorney for the town of Warrenton, and represented Warrenton in the N.C. General Assembly for four sessions. He was elected to membership on the board of directors of the Citizens Bank of Warrenton and served on the board for 18 years. He was active in the N.C. Bar Association for many years and served as its president-elect and president, and, as one of the 12 members of the N.C. Bar Association appointed to study problems arising from a limited malpractice insurance market, he became a founding member of Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of North Carolina and served on its board of directors. He also served on the N.C. General Statutes Commission.

He served on the board of trustees of East Carolina University for 15 years and on the board of governors of the University of North Carolina for three years.

In 1991, Mr. Taylor received the honorary degree of doctor of laws from Campbell University. He was appointed to the Campbell University Presidential Board of Advisors in 2001.

Active in Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Warrenton for many years, he served in all positions open to laymen and taught an adult Bible class for 10 years. After moving to Raleigh and becoming a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd, he taught an adult Bible class there for five more years. Mr. Taylor retired to Lexington, Va., in 1993 where he became a member of St. Paul’s Anglican Church and served on its vestry for three years.

A staunch Southerner, Mr. Taylor could tell endless stories of the experiences of his ancestors during and after the Civil War. He wrote a book about the position of the South during the tragic era of the 1860s published under the name Let’s Tell Our Side of It for a Change.