Category: 1943

Thomas S. Greyard ’43, 89, of McDonald, N.C., died May 29, 2011. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary Robinson Greyard, 150 Sandy Rd., Fairmont, NC 28340-8852; two sons, Alex (Teresa) and Harry ’79; and a granddaughter, Mary Alexandra Greyard, a student at East Carolina University. Greyard was born in McDonald and graduated from UNC Chapel Hill. He was an Army veteran of WWII, was in the Battle of the Bulge, and received two Bronze Stars. After the war ended, he graduated from the school of hospital administration at Virginia Commonwealth University and served as the first administrator of Bladen County Hospital in Elizabethtown. After his father’s death, he returned to McDonald to manage the family farm. He later started an accounting practice. He served as mayor, alderman, or clerk for the town of McDonald for more than 30 years, was a member of the Robeson County Agricultural and Industrial Development Commission, and was a member of the advisory committee for schools in Rowland. Greyard’s priorities were his faith, his family, service to his community, and stewardship of land-followed by a respectable enthusiasm for Tar Heel basketball. He attended Iona Presbyterian Church, where he served for many years as an elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, Sunday school superintendent, and treasurer.

Richard Gwyn Smith, Jr. ’43, of Elkin, N.C., died March 6 at his home. Smith was born in Elkin, July 1, 1922, to Ray Harvison and Richard Gwyn Smith. He was a graduate of Davidson. During WWII, he served in the Pacific with the Signal Intelligence Branch of the U.S. Army. In 1947 he married Molly Richardson of Greensboro, N.C., and Greenwich, Conn. He worked with his father and brother in the family manufacturing business, The Carolina Bloomer Company. Smith was a lifelong member of Elkin First United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school and was active in Elkin’s first Boy Scout troop. Surviving are his wife, Molly Richardson Smith, 601 Johnson Ridge Rd., Apt. 171, Elkin, NC 28621; two sons, Richard G. Smith III ’74 (Cali) and Lunsford R. Smith (Moira); eight grandchildren; and one sister, Harvison S. Hamilton.

Frederick C. Boykin ’43, of Pensacola, Fla., was born March 25, 1922, in Akron, Ohio, and passed away peacefully on Dec. 29. Boykin graduated from Davidson and was accepted at Emory Medical School, where he earned his medical degree in June 1945. Boykin served his internship at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Ga., and entered the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in 1947. He was transferred to inactive duty after 28 months of service, and began his neurological surgery training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. He completed his training in 1953, at which time he entered into private practice as a neurosurgeon in Shreveport, La. He practiced there until 1985, when he moved to Florida to enjoy his retirement by pursuing his passion for boating. During Boykin’s medical career, he was on active/courtesy staff at Christus Schumpert Hospital, Willis Knighton Hospital, and Confederate Memorial Hospital (now known as LSU Health Sciences Center). He served as a diplomat on the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and was a member of the Harvey Cushing Society and American Association of Neurological Surgery Society. He was also the first president of the Louisiana Neurological Surgical Society. Boykin was preceded in death by his parents, William A. and Patricia Henry Boykin. He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Lois Little Boykin, 5269 Pale Moon Dr., Pensacola, FL 32507; previous wife, Betty Robinson Hilliard; stepsister, Carol Abdenour; daughter, Babs Roggero (Tony); son, Fred Boykin (Jane); three grandchildren, Aubrie Patton (Todd), Will Roggero, and Hannah Boykin; stepdaughters, Maria Adams (Clay) and Helen Graham; stepson, John Sekas (Erin); and step-grandchildren, Hayes and Grey Adams, Ashley and John Graham, and Sean and Nick Sekas.

William Priestley Conyers III ’43, 89, of Princeton, N.J., formerly of Ridgewood, N.J., passed away peacefully Sept. 8 surrounded by family at the University Medical Center at Princeton. Devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend: he will be deeply missed by all who have known and loved him. He was born Aug. 9, 1921, in Greenville, Greenville County, S.C., as the first child of William Priestley Conyers, Jr. and Olivia Fitts Wallace. He received his B.S. from Davidson. He was a captain of the Tank Corps in the U.S. Army serving from 1943-46, developing new tank technology, and stationed on the island of Okinawa. He received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va., and completed additional graduate study at the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, studying under theologian Karl Barth. He was pastor of First Presbyterian Church and Wildwood Presbyterian Church, both of Morehead City, N.C., and First Presbyterian Church, Belmont, N.C. He was executive associate to the president and dean of students at Union Theological Seminary. Following a move to the N.Y. area in 1964, Conyers trained at the American Foundation of Religion and Psychiatry in New York City, and was a staff therapist at the Long Island Consultation Center, Queens, N.Y., therapist and marriage counselor at the Psychotherapy Center, Fair Lawn, N.J., and counselor for the Palisades Counseling Center for the Palisades Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. In 1969 Conyers created the Center for Counseling in Ridgewood and Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., and maintained a private practice until his retirement in 2005. He was a diplomate of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, a clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, and a licensed marriage counselor for the state of N.J. Conyers married Janice Marguerite “Marge” Mason of Charlotte, N.C., in 1945. He was a devoted husband for 42 years, and raised seven children with Marge. After her death in 1997, he married Helene Sally Feldhun Franklin. Conyers was preceded in death by his only sister, Olivia Conyers McManaway, in 2006, and his eldest son, William Priestley Conyers IV, in 2007. He is survived by his wife, Helene, 155 Raymond Rd., Apt. 222, Princeton, NJ 08540-9643; his son, James Conyers; his daughters, Anne Conyers Hom, Olivia Van Wagner, Carol Conyers, Mary C. Sullivan, and Janice Conyers; his stepson, Joel Franklin (Nancy L. Messner Franklin); five grandchildren, John R. Sullivan, Jr., Courtney M. Hom, Marguerite M.S. Van Wagner, Isabel C. Van Wagner, and William Y.S. Comparin; two step-grandchildren, Daniel E. and Samuel B. Franklin; and nieces, Lillie Smith, Mary Tucker, and Elizabeth Richie.

Wallace M. Gamble ’43, formerly of Davidson, N.C., died Aug. 29 at the home of his nephew, Bill Gamble. He was born Jan. 29, 1922, in Davidson, a son of the late Joseph G. and Connie Williamson Gamble. He was a graduate of Davidson, and he retired as an administrative supervisor at the Mooresville plant of Burlington Industries. During WWII, he served as a Navy lieutenant (J.G.) in Europe and Asia. He was a lifelong member of Davidson College Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon and elder. Gamble had over 50 years of membership in North Mecklenburg Post 86, which gave Lake Norman YMCA its first home and gave Legion Park to Cornelius. For the Davidson Lions Club, he was treasurer for many years and president for two terms. Gamble was a past district governor for Lions District 31-C and was a Jack Stickley and Melvin Jones Fellow. He loved to garden and to share his flowers and vegetables. Gamble was one of the founders and contributors in starting The Pines at Davidson and provided the location for the new St. Albans’s Episcopal Church. In his mother’s honor, he established a book fund in her name at Davidson College, as she had been a schoolteacher. Surviving are his brother, Joseph G. Gamble ’38, 11602 Savannah Dr., Fredericksburg, VA 22407-9105; sister-in-law, Sue M. Gamble; nephew, Bill Gamble; and five nieces, Connie Koch, Cecelia Grosse Ray, Nancy Grosse Kelley, Mary Grosse Snizer, and Elizabeth Gamble Bryant. He was preceded in death by sisters, Laura M. Gamble, Mary E. Gamble, and Hilda G. Grosse (late husband, William Maurice Grosse, Jr. ’43), and brother, Wayne W. Gamble ’48. Memorials may be made to Connie Williamson Gamble Library Fund at Davidson College Library, Box 7200, Davidson, NC 28035-7200.