Category: 1943

The Rev. Homer L. Good, Sr. ’43 passed away Jan. 4 at Britthaven of Kernersville. He was born Oct. 25, 1913, in Washington County, Tenn., to the late Rev. John and Nancy Caroline Price Good. The Rev. Good graduated from Davidson College with a liberal arts degree. He received an associate degree in pastoral counseling from the School of Pastoral Care of N.C. Baptist Hospital in 1961. He led the movement of relocating First Baptist Church of Kernersville from Main Street to its present location on Oakhurst Street. He served on the General Board of the N.C. State Baptist Convention and on the board of directors of the American Red Cross. The Rev. Good pastored Cornelius Baptist Church in Cornelius and Stony Point Baptist Church in Stony Point. He was named pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Kernersville after his retirement. He also served as interim pastor for numerous Baptist churches in the area. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Hazel Karriker Good, and his son, Richard E. “Rick” Good, Sr. Surviving are two daughters, Caroline Gentry (Marvin) of King, and Lydia Fitzgerald (Bud), 251 Catlin Ln., Kernersville, N.C. 27284; a son, H.L. “Bud” Good of Fort Mill, S.C.; six grandchildren, Jim Camp, Jennifer Martin, Curt Fitzgerald, Kristen Hendrix, and John and Rick Good; two step-grandchildren, Ted Gentry and Priscilla Wood; and a brother, Buford Good of Johnson City, Tenn.

Philip Fransioli Busby ’43 of Fort Lauderdale died November 17, 2006. He attended DavidsonCollege and graduated from Harvard University in 1949. He served in the Merchant Marine during World War II. He worked at Wachovia Bank and at McLean Trucking Co. before joining Sea-Land Service in 1957. He was one of a pioneer group whose development of containerization revolutionized ocean freight shipping and, as a consequence, worldwide commerce. His idea of putting self-contained refrigeration units in shipping containers made long-distance transport of perishable products possible. He was the general manager of Caribbean development at Sea-Land Service and executive director of the Caribbean Shipowners Association for twenty years. Mr. Busby started and managed several ocean transportation companies. Survivors include his wife, Frances Bradsher of Salisbury; children Philip, Byron, 2733 NE 34th St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33306, Spencer, and Bonnie; grandchildren Philip, Gemma, Nicole, Leah, Lina, Lissette, Lilia, Byron, Lara, Avery, and Spencer; and one great-grandson, Christopher Morales. Mr. Busby is also survived by one brother, Capt. John Carroll Busby, and was preceded in death by brother Christopher Nutter Busby.

John Montgomery Belk ’43, noted business and civic leader and philanthropist, died August 17. He was born in Charlotte on March 29, 1920, to the late Mary Irwin Belk and William Henry Belk. He was chairman emeritus of Belk, Inc., the nation’s largest privately owned department store company that was founded by his father in Monroe, N.C. in 1888. Mr. Belk retired as chairman and chief executive officer of the company on May 26, 2004, after a distinguished career during which he served for fifty years as chief executive officer. Mr. Belk joined the company in 1945, following his service during World War II in the U.S. Army infantry. He began his career working in the Belk store in uptown Charlotte, and subsequently held key top management positions in the company’s central buying office organization, the predecessor of Belk Stores Services, Inc. He became president of the various Belk store corporations in the early 1950s and served at the helm of the company until his retirement. His leadership and vision during his tenure at the helm of Belk enabled the company to become one of the South’s most successful and respected retailers. John attended Charlotte public schools and McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and received a bachelor of science degree in economics from Davidson College in 1943. Immediately following graduation from Davidson, he served in World War II in the U.S. Army infantry, attaining the rank of lieutenant. He was discharged in October 1945, but was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. Throughout his career, Mr. Belk was involved in numerous activities to improve the business climate and the quality of life in Charlotte and the Carolinas. This included serving as president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in 1964, and serving as Mayor of the City of Charlotte from May 1969 to December 1977, one of the longest tenures of any mayor in Charlotte’s history. Under his leadership, Charlotte grew rapidly and emerged as a major financial and distribution center in the Southeast and a shining star among the nation’s cities. He was an avid promoter of Charlotte as a center for air travel and following his service as mayor served on the Charlotte Airport Advisory Committee and was its chairman in 1980. Among his many leadership positions, Mr. Belk was chairman of The Belk Foundation and a member of the board of directors and a past chairman of the National Retail Federation. He has held national leadership positions with the World Presidents Organization, the American Management Association and The Conference Board, and was a member of the board of directors of the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. During his career, he served as a director of a number of public corporations, including PMC, Inc., Wachovia Corporation, Quantum Chemical Corporation, Texas Industries, Inc., Lowe’s Companies, Inc., and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Inc. Mr. Belk served on the board of visitors of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the North Carolina Council on Management and Development and was a former member of the board of trustees of Union Theological Seminary. He served for nearly fifty years as a member of the board of trustees of Davidson College. Additionally, Mr. Belk was a long-time member and former president of the Presbyterian Hospital Foundation, a member and former director of the Charlotte World Affairs Council, and served as honorary chairman of the USS Charlotte Commissioning Committee. In 1995, he established the John Montgomery Belk Scholarship program at Davidson College with a $28 million pledge, the largest gift ever to Davidson by an individual. Mr. Belk announced the creation of the Claudia W. Belk International Scholarship Fund at her alma mater, Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, on the occasion of her birthday on July 10, 2007. Long active in Scouting, he was a Distinguished Eagle Scout and had been awarded Scouting’s highest honors, including the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, and Silver Buffalo awards. He was a past president of the Boy Scouts of America Southeast Region, and served on the Advisory Council of the BSA National Executive Board. In 1988, the BSA named him a Baden-Powell Fellow. The former Mayor received numerous local, state, and national awards for his business and civic achievements and contributions. They include: the Gold Medal Award from the National Retail Merchants Association in 1973; the North Carolina Distinguished Citizen Award from N.C. Governor James B. Hunt, Jr.; the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1981; the Citizen of the Carolinas Award from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in 1992; the University Award from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 1993; the World Citizen Award from the Charlotte World Affairs Council in 1997; the Excellence in Management Award from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Rotary Club, and The Charlotte Business Journal in 1998. He was inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame sponsored by the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry and Junior Achievement in 2000. In 1990, Davidson College dedicated the John M. Belk sports arena in recognition of his leadership and participation in sports at his alma mater. In 1981, the U.S. Interstate 277 loop around uptown Charlotte was named the John Belk Freeway in honor of his civic and community leadership. He was awarded honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Johnson C. Smith University and Davidson College in 1980, and Queens University in 1998. In addition, he was an Elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, and a devoted member of the Rhodes Johnson Sunday School Class. He also was a member of the Masonic Order and the American Legion. He is survived by his wife of thirty-six years, Claudia Watkins Belk, 435 Hempstead Pl., Charlotte, N.C. 28207; daughter, Mary Claudia Belk Pilon (Jeffrey); three grandchildren, James M. Pilon, John M. Pilon, and Katherine B. Pilon; brothers, Irwin Belk ’45 and Henderson Belk ’45; sister, Sarah Belk Gambrell; and niece Katherine Belk Morris ’04. He was preceded in death by his brothers, William H. Belk, Jr.’38 and Thomas M. Belk ’46.

Thomas G. Lane, Jr. ’43 of Charlotte died July 1, 2007. A graduate of local schools, he attended McDonogh School in Maryland, Hampden-Sydney College and graduated from the Law School of the University of North Carolina with a J.D. degree. During World War II, he was in the U.S. Naval Reserve on active duty and in command of a LCT with Sherman tanks and personnel to land at H Hour on D Day, June 6, 1944, at Omaha Beach on the Coast of France and later on the USS LSM 425, returning from the Marianas as skipper to Seattle, for decommissioning in 1946. Upon finishing law school, he entered the practice of law in Charlotte in 1948 and practiced with H. Parks Helms from 1961 to 1988 when he retired. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and Phi Alpha Delta fraternities, and was solicitor of the Charlotte City Recorders Court from 1949–53, and judge pro tem of that court from 1957–59 and was the public administrator of Mecklenburg County from 1955 to 1983. He was an active member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church since joining in 1933. He served as a deacon, elder, Sunday school teacher and president of the men’s Bible class. He volunteered at Presbyterian Hospital. He was a former member of Sharon Civitan Club and was an active member of the Rotary Club of Charlotte. He had been active in the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, the United Way, Mecklenburg Historical Association, Hugh Torrence House and Store, the Levine Museum of the New South, the Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society, and the Navajo Club. Survivors include his wife of sixty years, Mary Caroline, 2040 Hopedale Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28207; and daughter, Carol L. Dawson and her husband, Dr. Alfred G. Dawson of Florence S.C., and their children, Dr. Catherine D. Tobin, Alfred G. Dawson, Jr., Caroline Dawson and Melody Dawson; son, Thomas G. Lane, III and his wife, Jane of Bargersville, Indiana and their children, Alex Lane and Kevin Lane; daughter, Katie L. Price and her husband, Timothy of Winston-Salem, N.C. and their children, Christine Price and Carey Price.

James Samuel Mitchener, Jr., M.D. ’43 died April 10, 2007, at Scotland Memorial Hospital in Virginia. At Davidson, he was a member of the varsity basketball team. He later earned his M.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md. While in medical school, Jim met Sara Elizabeth Carton (Sally) of Coshocton, Ohio, whom he married on January 24, 1948, in Baltimore, Md. They celebrated their fifty-ninth wedding anniversary this year. Jim trained as a surgeon in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Church Home & Hospital. After completing his pathology internship at Duke Hospital in Durham, he served in the United States Army in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 1951 until 1953. He and Sally then settled in Laurinburg, where he began a general surgery practice. He retired in 1994. During these years, he also provided his surgical services to the hospitals in Hamlet, N.C., and Bennettsville, S.C. Jim was an active member of the American College of Surgeons and the North Carolina Medical Society. He was also a member and served as president of the North Carolina College of Surgeons as well as the Scotland County Medical Society. Dr. Mitchener served as a Scotland County commissioner for eighteen years, serving as chairman at his term’s end. He was a past president of the Rotary Club and the Scotland County Chamber of Commerce. Jim volunteered for twenty-two summers and served as a physician at Camp Sea Gull in Arapahoe. In 1985, he and Sally lived for an extended period in Tenwek, a village in western Kenya, where Jim volunteered his services as a doctor in the mission hospital located there. Jim was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Laurinburg, where he taught Sunday school for several years. He enjoyed playing golf and tennis, and was, for many years, a regular runner. Survivors include his wife, Sara Carton Mitchener, 704 Morrison Ln., Laurinburg, N.C. 28352-4221. He is also survived by seven children, twelve grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren: Dr. James Samuel Mitchener III ’73 and wife, Cary, and their son, Jim, of Roanoke, Va.; Victor Carton Mitchener, and wife, Becky, and their children, Roland Mitchener, Anne Stuart Mitchener, Katie, John, and William Moore, of Charlotte; Albert Stevenson Mitchener, and wife, Sally, and their children, Jay and McNair, of Charlotte; William Thomas Mitchener, and wife, Vicky, and their children, Ruffin, Larson, and Mary Carton, of Charlotte; Sara Elizabeth Mitchener Daniel, and husband, David, and their children, Robert and David, of Wilson; Dr. John Edward Mitchener, and wife, Julia ’91, of Winston-Salem; and Mary Harriet Mitchener Gray, and husband, Lee, and their children, Will and Mitch, of Greenville, S.C. Jim was preceded in death by his first son, J.S. Mitchener, another son, Paul Williams Mitchener, and his brother, Calvin Chambers Mitchener ’46 of Charlotte.