Category: 1946

Dr. Nathaniel Garrison, Sr. ’46 of Elon College, N.C., died June 17, 2006, while vacationing at Cherry Grove Beach. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during World War II. He achieved the rank of lieutenant commander and served in the Pacific Theatre. He returned to Burlington as co-owner of Mast Garrison Insurance with his brother, Staley, for eight years. He obtained degrees in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1959, he graduated from UNC School of Dentistry and practiced dentistry in Burlington until he retired in 1994. He was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington, where he served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. Survivors include his wife of sixty-one years, Jane Foushee Garrison, 6 Poplar St., Elon College, N.C. 27244; four sons, Nathaniel Garrison, Jr., Gary R. Garrison, Frank E. Garrison, and P. Michael Garrison; a daughter, Janat Scharmm; and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a brother, Staley F. Garrison, Jr. ’44.

Raymond G. Miller ’46 of Greenbrae, Calif., died March 15, 2006. Survivors include his loving wife, Dorothy M. Miller, 175 Upper Via Casitas Apt. 19, Greenbrae, Calif. 94904; three children, Marian, Susan and Raymond, and three grandchildren.

The Rev. James A. Nisbet ’46 of Sanford, N.C., died March 2, 2006. He was a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va. He also did graduate work at the University of Richmond, Church Development Executives, and the National Training Management Laboratory. He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha honorary musical fraternity. He served two pastorates in Presbyterian churches in Olivia and Wallace. He was a staff member for twenty years at the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Board of Christian Education, serving as regional director of Christian education in Mississippi, as director of children’s work, and as secretary of the Division of Education and Parish Life. Following his service as a staff member of the Board of Christian Education, he was the executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Southeast for fifteen years with offices in Augusta, Ga. He retired from that position in 1988. During his ministry, he served as a trustee for Queens College (Charlotte) and the board of directors of Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Ga. He also served in numerous other committees and councils among them, president of the Georgia Church Council, moderator of North Mississippi and Piedmont Presbyteries and as a commissioner severals times to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He was a member of Foothills Presbytery; active member of the Rotary Clubs in Augusta, Wallace, and Sanford; and was president-elect of the Wallace Rotary Clubv when he moved from Wallace. He was married first to Shirley Ruffner Burnside of Malden, W.Va., and after her death to Jean Patton Johnson, 1932 Larkspur Dr., Sanford, N.C. 27330. Other survivors include four daughters, Elizabeth Lynn Nisbert of Chesterfield, Va., Nancy Reid Nisbet of Richmond, Va., Mary Nisbet Asbury of Rome, Ga., and Virginia Alice Nisbet of Atlanta; four step-children, Lynn Johnson McCullough, Bryant Patton Johnson, Jo Ann Johnson Eskridge, and Julie Johnson Conder; a brother, William L. Nisbet, two sisters, Phoebe Nisbet Kinlaw and Margaret Nisbet Kittrell; five grandchildren, and one great-grand child.

William McKoy Ragsdale, M.D., ’46 of Myrtle Beach, S.C., died January 28, 2006. After Davidson, he graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina. He trained at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and served as a M.A.S.H. doctor in the Korean Conflict. He established practice in Myrtle Beach in 1954 as one of the first physicians in Horry County. He was a member of Bible Fellowship Baptist Church, Little River, S.C. Survivors include his wife, Carole, 1216 Fox Tail Dr, Longs, S.C. 29568; his sons, the Reverend William Theodore Ragsdale and family; Joseph Wylie Ragsdale, M.D., and family; Skip Carrick and family, Neil Patrick Carrick and family; and Bryan Webster Carrick and son.