Category: 1945

R. Sam Yarborough, Jr. ’45 of Albany, Ga., died February 1, 2007. He spent two years at Davidson College before he enlisted in the Army Air Corps where he served for three and a half years. He was stationed in Okinawa when WWII ended. After discharge he attended Georgia Tech and later graduated with honors. Upon graduation he returned to Albany where he worked with Albany Concrete Company and Joe Brashears Steel Company, where he retired after twenty-eight years as executive vice president. Sam came out of retirement to work with the State of Georgia as the on-site engineer of state jobs in Albany, Americus, and Tifton. While at Georgia Tech he married Betty Jane Garvey and together they raised four sons. He was a charter and current member of Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church. He was the first Sunday School superintendent and a deacon in the church. Since retirement he served as a member of the “fix-it” department, helping those who have needs in the church. He was a member of the Lion’s Club for fifty-six years and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award as well as serving as president for several years. He was the president emeritus of Mended Hearts and was very involved with Habitat for Humanity, serving on their local board. He also received the Service to Mankind award from the Sertoma Club. He is survived by sons Robert Samuel III (Colleen) of Florida, Rayburn Norbert (LaDonna) of Tennessee, Joseph Berney of Albany, Michael Webb (Diane) of Albany; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; brother Thomas Stokes (Louise) Yarborough ’46 of Albany and sister Leah Yarborough (Ridley) Monk of Sylvester, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jane.

Robert Penick Whaling ’45, died July 22, 2006, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He lived his entire life in Winston-Salem. He graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1940. He received a postgraduate degree from McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1941. He attended Davidson College before serving in the U.S. Army Infantry during World War II. After the war, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1948 with a B.A. in economics. While at Chapel Hill, Bob was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and played on the UNC golf team. Bob began his business career with P.H. Hanes Knitting Co., traveling the New England states and Canada. He then went to work for the Armrey Co., sponsor of the Armfield Plan, as a sales manager, and later became its president. He joined Pilot Insurance Agency in 1953 and became the senior managing partner in 1980. The agency was sold to Aon Risk Services in 1986, and he was chairman of the board until his retirement in 1991. Bob served as president of the Winston-Salem Association of Insurance Agents, and served three terms as a state director of the North Carolina Associates of Insurance Agents. He received the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation in 1961 and the Agent of the Year award in 1989. He served several terms on the board of the Chinqua-Penn Foundation and was a lifelong member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He won the Forsyth Country Club Golf Championship in 1965. He worked with the Forsyth County Public Library, Boy Scouts, YMCA, Goodwill Industries, and others to locate and identify old photographs. He compiled a collection of pictures that are on display in many of these organizations. Survivors include his wife of fifty-four years, Mary Lu Wright Whaling, 18 Graylyn Place Ln., Winston-Salem, N.C. 27106; and their three children, a daughter, Cassandra Whaling Wierman, and son-in-law Mark Steven Wierman of Davidson; two sons, Robert Penick Whaling Jr. ’74 and daughter-in-law Betsy Butcher Whaling and Forrest Alexander Whaling and daughter-in-law Cynthia Thomas Whaling of Winston-Salem; six grandchildren, Mary Penn Whaling, John Alexander Whaling, Forrest Alexander Whaling Jr., Catherine Mathias Whaling, Robert Thomas Whaling and Austin Wright Whaling; a sister, Ann Whaling Long, of Nashville, Tenn.

James Lewis Bibb ’45 of Waxhaw, N.C., died suddenly January 27, 2006, while duck hunting with his closest friends in South Carolina. He left Davidson College to serve as a decorated fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. He flew the P-47 Thunderbolt airplane as cover for bombers over France and Germany in World War II. Upon his honorable discharge from the service, Lewis joined the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Burlington, N.C. Upon relocation to Charlotte, he joined the firm of R.S. Dickson & Co., and later E.F. Hutton & Company. He completed his professional career with retirement from the Ruddick Corp. He was an avid sportsman with a passion for duck hunting. Surviving are his wife, Brenda Babb Bibb, 7206 Grover Rogers Rd., Waxhaw, N.C. 28173; one son Jim Bibb and wife Ellen of Nashville, Tenn., five daughters Berkeley Jones of Charlotte, Lolly Bibb of Bartlett, N.H.,, Penny Lukens and husband Rob of Wyomissing, Pa., Liza Garrity and husband Michael of Minneapolis, Minn., and Curtis Smith and husband Tom of Cary, North Carolina; two stepsons, Nick Costanza and wife Ramona of Sandy, Utah; Chris Costanza and companion Dave Gleave of Washington, D.C.; one stepdaughter, Kelly Cannon and husband Mike of Waxhaw. There are nineteen grandchildren.

John R. Maness ’45 died Dec. 26, 2005. He was called into the ASTP program in 1943; later into the Infantry where he fought with the 78th Infantry Division where he fought across Belgium and Germany. He graduated from UNC–Chapel Hill in 1947 after a long hospitalization with frozen feet. He was president and CEO of his family business, Dixie Bedding Company, of which the Serta Mattress Co., was a division with plants in Greensboro, Augusta, Ga., Omaha, Nebraska, and Clear Lake, Iowa. He was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Greensboro. He served on the Serta National Board for over fifteen years and on many civic and philanthropic boards. He sold his company in 1990. He shared his love of golf with many friends and family and enjoyed his retirement in Greensboro, South Carolina, and Florida. He is survived by his wife Carolyn J. Maness, 4401 Woodsage Dr., Greensboro, N.C. 27410; two daughters, Mrs. Henry A. Dudley, Jr. of Chevy Chase, Md., and Miss Carolyn C. Maness of Raleigh, N.C.; his son-in-law Henry C. Dudley Jr.; and two grandchildren, Carolyn Dudley and Henry a. Dudley III.