Samuel Martin Inman III ’56

A devoted husband, father, preacher’s son, brother, uncle, mentor, coach, raconteur, trouble-shooter, carpenter, repairman, friend, and church leader, Samuel Martin Inman, III, age 88, passed away May 15, 2023, of old age: a venerable way to exit this modern era and begin a refreshed life with his Lord.

The Reverend Samuel M. Inman and Margaret Garwood Inman raised Sam and his older and surviving sister Margaret first in Richmond, Virginia, and then in Charlotte, North Carolina. Following his being among the first class to graduate the new Myers Park High School, Sam played tennis for Davidson College and graduated in 1956, having majored in mathematics and minored in physics. Within 18 months thereafter, Sam also graduated with an industrial engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). During his time in Atlanta, Sam found a focus of his love and attention for the next 67 years: the outgoing, intelligent, transplanted Arkansas Presbyterian Sue Sanders Lile, whom he married in 1958. As he began his career in the newfangled field of commercial plastics, he also served in the United States Army Reserves for 6 ½ years, with a year of active duty at Fort Benning, Georgia, during the Berlin and Cuban Missile Crises.

Sam worked for Celanese Corporation in Rome, Georgia, followed by a transfer with the company to Greenville, where he was a part of the design team that built the Greer (SC) Celanese Polyester Films Plant. Over the course of his professional career, Sam became the manufacturer’s go-to guy in solving problems in production, quality control, research and development, and technical service. In 1992, the successor to Celanese – Hoechst Diafoil – sent him and Sue to Japan, where he spent a year as liaison representative for the joint plastics venture that included operations in Germany (Hoechst AG), the USA (Celanese), and Japan (Mitsubishi Diafoil). A Japanese colleague dubbed him “Mr. Polyester,” which we think was a supreme compliment.

Active in Greenville’s Westminster Presbyterian Church since 1963, Sam served as an elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, youth advisor, basketball coach, and a member of a pulpit nominating committee. For several years, he taught in the “Life Skills” program at United Ministries as part of the pre-GED Program. He served as chairman of the chemistry advisory committee at Greenville Technical College, chairman of the Presbyterian Pastoral Counseling Center, advisor to the Foothills Presbytery for various church strategies and operations, and as a board member and a lead carpenter for The Warehouse Theater. And in his “spare time,” he co-coached youth baseball teams with the YMCA and City League to multiple undefeated seasons.

His passions were rooted in his energetic church and dynamic family, both now spread like a proverbial banyan tree that his father often used in parable. Sam loved walking in the woods, whether in northern Georgia, the two Carolinas, or the West. He loved American history, especially of the Southeast, and was known to breeze through and retain the thoughts and facts of the thickest historical novels that The Open Book stores in Greenville could offer.

Sam is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sue Lile Inman, and their adult children and spouses: Virginia and Steven Postrel, Los Angeles; Sam and Jamie Inman, Greenville, SC; Drs. John and Amy Inman, Mt. Pleasant, SC; and Bill and Karen Inman, Bend, OR. His four treasured grandchildren – Rachel, Nathan, Andrew, and Katherine – also survive him.

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 12:00 p.m., followed by a reception in the church atrium.

Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund, 2310 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29605, www.wpc-online.org; United Ministries, 606 Pendleton Street, Greenville, SC 29601, www.unitedministries.org; or a charity of one’s choice.

David Allison Long III ’57

The Rev. Dr. David Allison Long III entered into the full joy of his salvation on May 4, 2023. David was born in Winston Salem to David Allison Long Jr and Jennie Mae Fife Long of Thomasville, NC on May 17, 1935.

He grew up in Thomasville where he was a member of The First Presbyterian Church and graduated from Thomasville High School in 1953. After high school, David left home to attend Davidson College and later transferred to the University of South Carolina.

While in Columbia he met the love of his life Vermelle “Mellie” Cooper Brearley. After graduation David served in the U. S. Army and shortly afterwards, David and Mellie were married at The First Presbyterian Church of Myrtle Beach, SC on July 1, 1959. Their first home was in Kannapolis where they lived in the Episcopal Rectory and David went to work for Cannon Mills in the personnel department. It was in Kannapolis that David met Dr. Manford George Gutzke who was the professor of English Bible and Christian Education at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. It was over a meal in their home that Dr. Gutzke invited David to Columbia Seminary to visit and two months later he was enrolled in seminary classes.

After graduation from Seminary in 1965, David received a call to Petersen Memorial Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina where he served for 10 years. During this time he was elected as a commissioner to the 1970 General Assembly. David left Columbia to accept a call to the First Presbyterian Church in Boone, NC. While in Boone he attended Union Seminary in Richmond, VA and received his Doctor of Ministry degree.

He taught in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Appalachian State University for 13 years while also pastoring in Boone. He found joy in teaching whether it was from the pulpit, in a Sunday school class, or on a college campus. A search committee from Savannah Presbytery approached David about planting a church in Richmond Hill, GA. He answered the call to become the founding pastor of the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church. He was honored to be named Pastor Emeritus of this church. While in Richmond Hill, David helped form a ministerial association believing that a strong ecumenical alliance is important to a community.

David and Mellie retired to Greensboro where he continued to be active in his church and community as long as he was able. All of his life David was active in serving others. He was a Rotarian, he served as a hospital chaplain, and he volunteered with the Salvation Army. David had a lifelong involvement with the Boy Scouts of America and was a recipient of The Silver Beaver Award. He was instrumental in the formation of Boone Crisis Pregnancy Center (later named Hope Pregnancy Center) and The Hospitality House of Boone.

He loved flags, history, sharing knowledge, barbeque, books, making and sharing pancakes, bluebirds, the Houston Texans, and the SC Gamecocks. He will be remembered for many things but most importantly was his love and service to His Lord Jesus Christ.

David was predeceased by his parents, his brother William Fife (Bill) Long, and a son John Whitford Long. Surviving David are his wife of 64 years Mellie, a daughter Mary Evelyn “Ebbie” Long Hendrix (Chuck) of Blowing Rock, daughter Elizabeth Long Cook (Jon) of Greensboro, and a son David Allison Long IV (Diane) of Greensboro, a sister Mary Long Jarrell of High Point and two sister in laws, five grandchildren; Matthew Whitford Cook, Hannah Montgomery Cook, Elizabeth Arlee Hendrix, Nicholas Charles Hendrix, and John Kelly Hendrix, as well as five great grandchildren and a number of special nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to express their gratitude to the entire Pennybyrn community and especially the employees of the Congdon Household for their care and compassion. Additionally, the family would like to thank AuthoraCare Hospice for their support in David’s final days.

A funeral service will be held at Buffalo Presbyterian Church in Greensboro on May 13th at 11 o’clock with a reception and time of fellowship with the family to follow the service. Interment will be at Calvary United Church of Christ in Thomasville at 2:30. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to Greensboro Urban Ministry, Buffalo Presbyterian Church, or AuthoraCare Hospice of Greensboro.

Charles Bruce Stegall ’55

Charles Stegall of Raleigh died on April 14, 2023 at the age of 90. Born in Marshville, North Carolina, he was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Bruce Stegall and Georgie Dean Stegall, and his brother Robert Stegall.

He was married to Carolie Hatsell Stegall of Hubert, North Carolina from October of 1964 until her death in July of 2006. More recently, he has been special friends with Heike Schichtel (originally from Germany) from April of 2009 until the present.

Charles attended Wingate Junior College and Davidson College, both in North Carolina, and he was stationed in Germany for 18 months as a member of the U.S. Army. His career was in Radio Programming at stations in New Bern, Greenville, Raleigh for 32 years at WPTF, and Wake Forest for eight years at WCPE.

For many years, he was a member of Unity Church in Raleigh where he was a co-sponsor of the YOU for ten years and head of the Video Team for another ten years. At the time of his death he was a member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. During his time in Raleigh, he has served on a number of boards including Rotary Club of North Raleigh, Friends of the College, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the Student Theater Guild.
His passions were radio broadcasting, classical music, the mountains, and long one-on-one lunches with friends.

A Memorial Service is scheduled for Friday, May 5, 2023, 11 AM at White Memorial Presbyterian Church on Oberlin Road in Raleigh. The service will also be streamed.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to White Memorial Presbyterian Church (Music Program), 1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, NC 27608 or to North Raleigh Rotary (Ukrainian Orphan Program), PO Box 17724, Raleigh, NC 27619.

James D. Davis ’56

James Dilley Davis, age 89, passed away peacefully in the early evening of April 6, 2023 in Harrisonburg, Virginia after a challenging battle with Alzheimer’s. Jim was born on March 22, 1934 in Marlinton, West Virginia to James Layman Davis and Helen Dilley Davis. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Sybil Davis Compton, brother Larry Davis, and brother William Davis.

Jim grew up in the Allegheny Mountains in the prosperous little town of Marlinton in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. He was raised in the family apartment above Davis Motors, his father’s auto garage, farm equipment and automobile dealership. He spent his younger years repairing trucks and delivering John Deere tractors & American Motors cars for his dad to customers across the state – sneaking away to swim in Knapps Creek with his friends whenever he had a free moment. Jim was a voracious reader, a lover of classical music, and a passionate student of history and was always very proud to have won West Virginia’s prestigious Golden Horseshoe Award for excellence in state history in 1948.

After graduating from Marlinton High School in 1952, Jim started his university education at Davidson College, intending to become a Presbyterian minister. As graduation approached, he found himself at a crossroads and left college, volunteering to join the U.S. Army. Jim served for two years in Germany and Lebanon. While posted to Heidelberg, Corporal Davis met and fell in love with a young university student, Gunda Elise Ursula Stassen. Jim returned to the U.S. in 1959 to complete his undergraduate studies in History and English at West Virginia University and authored many letters to Gunda back in Germany. Inspired by their time together and her own spirit of adventure, Gunda decided to join him in America and they married in 1960 in Jim’s hometown of Marlinton. The young couple settled soon after in Morgantown, West Virginia where Gunda worked at the local hospital and Jim continued his education. Jim received his law degree from the WVU College of Law in 1963.

With diploma in hand, Jim took a job with Deere & Co, joining the Industrial Relations Department and the young couple moved to East Moline, Illinois. Jim began his career at the John Deere Plow Works, rising to eventually become Deere’s Global Vice President of Industrial Relations when he retired in 1988. While Jim’s professional responsibilities required that he represent the company, his Mountaineer upbringing gave him a unique ability to connect in a truly personal way with his counterparts in the United Auto Workers, the International Association of Machinists & the Patternmakers Unions and he was always very proud of the lifelong friendships he built with union and management colleagues alike. Post retirement, Jim served as the President of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Chairman of the Scott County Republican Party, the Chairman of the USS Iowa recommissioning task force and as a member of the board of the Principal Financial Group funds. During these years, he also partnered with regional businesses and political leaders to bring to life a new Midwest-based airline – AccessAir – and built a successful consulting practice, a true public-private partnership that brought numerous steel and other heavy manufacturing jobs to Iowa.

In his later years, Jim had more time to indulge his ever-present passion for gardening and could often be found on his tractor, planting hostas, and fighting off the deer that came to view his little Eden as a buffet. Throughout his life, he remained extremely active in community life – with State and County government, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the Bettendorf Presbyterian Church and in organizing and fighting for causes about which he felt strongly – particularly protecting the rights of retirees. His last great battle was a multiyear effort to level the playing field for Iowa with respect to the taxation of retiree pensions. The bill that he had pushed so hard to create was passed by the Iowa legislature and signed into law just a year before his passing.

Jim is survived by his wife Gunda Stassen Davis, his children Matthew Davis, Andrew Davis, and Sybil Johanna Davis, his grandchildren Max Davis, Emma Davis, Jack Davis, Avery Davis, Brinley Davis, Graham Davis, Aubrey Davis, and Alastair Davis-Spence.

Jim’s ashes will be inurned at Mountain View Cemetery in Marlinton, West Virginia at a date to be determined in the Fall of 2023. A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held on August 5, 2023 at the Weerts Funeral Home, 3625 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport Iowa. Visitation will be from 10am-12pm with the funeral service to follow at 12pm.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that any memorial donations or contributions be made to The Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Bettendorf Presbyterian Church, or the Alzheimer’s Association.