Category: 1954

William “Bill” Lee Morris III ’54, husband of Lynne Joyce Morris of Fairview, N.C., and Isle of Palms, S.C., passed away suddenly of a heart attack on March 28. Morris was born on Jan. 28, 1932, in Concord, N.C., son of the late William Lee Morris, Jr. and Winifred Pegram Morris, and brother of the late Mason Morris Brooks. He received a bachelor’s degree from Davidson, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity; served in the U.S. Army, where he was a flight instructor; and had a long and successful career that began with Wilson Aircraft Sales and Service and continued with Ford Motor Co., Nightingale-Conant Executive Training, Zimmer Orthopedics, and, at the time of his retirement in 1997, concluded as the president of his own company, Zimmer Morris, Inc., in Asheville. Morris was an avid aviator (earning his pilot’s license as a teenager, one of the youngest ever to do so in N.C. at that time), and dearly loved the outdoors, hunting, flying, Davidson College, Duke basketball, and his family. His many memberships included Sales and Marketing Executives of Asheville, the Davidson Wildcat Club, Bulls Bay Golf Club, Asheville Rifle and Pistol Club, and he was a lifelong member of the NRA. He was an outgoing man with a great sense of humor who never met a stranger and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Lynne Joyce Morris, 52 Cherry Forest Ln., Fairview, NC 28730; daughter, Chris Anne Morris (Jeffery West); daughter, Amelia Morris; son, Lee Reichard Morris; granddaughter, Maggie West; and first wife and children’s mother, Christine Reichard Morris. Donations may be made in his name to the Davidson Athletic Foundation, Box 7172, Davidson, NC 28035-7172.

Richard “Dick” Y. Thorpe ’54, of Dallas, Tex., passed away Feb. 20 at Community Hospital in San Angelo, Tex. Thorpe was born in Nashville, Tenn., to Moneta Allison and Richard Y. Thorpe, Sr. on Feb. 22, 1931. He served two years in the U.S. Air Force. After an honorable discharge, Thorpe attended Vanderbilt University and graduated from Davidson. He held management positions with L.D. Brinkman, Jones Mills, Galaxy Carpet Mills, and was CEO of Landmark Carpet Mills. After retirement, he was a philanthropist for handicapped children and children in need in the Wimberley area. Survivors include his former wife, Sara Elizabeth Thorpe; two sons, Dr. Richard Thorpe III (Karen), P.O. Box 797, Winters, TX 79567-0797, and Arthur Benjamin Thorpe (Alison); daughter, Allison P. Thorpe; and one brother, John Thorpe (Nancy).

Larry Stephen Champion ’54, professor emeritus of English at N.C. State University, died Feb. 11 of congestive heart failure. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Nancy Blanchard Champion, 5320 Sendero Dr., Raleigh, NC 27612-1810; a daughter, Rebecca C. Wood (Edgar); a son, Larry Stephen Champion, Jr. (Jennifer); a sister, Doris C. Bernsen (Harold); four grandchildren, Cameron Wood, Andrew Wood, Sara Champion, and Sydney Champion; nephew, Stephen N. Jolly; and nieces, Billie Poole and Brenda Bergevin. Born in Shelby, N.C., he was the son of Flay O. and Mary A. Champion. He was preceded in death by his parents and by a daughter, Mary Katherine Champion. Champion received his B.A. from Davidson, where he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, his M.A. from the University of Virginia in 1955, and his Ph.D. from UNC in 1961. From 1956-58, he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. After having taught at Davidson for one year and, as a teaching fellow, at UNC for two years, Champion joined the English department at N.C. State University, where he was promoted to professor and served as head of the department from 1971-84. He retired from the university in 1994, having completed 34 years of teaching and administrative duties. Champion published 11 books and more than 50 articles in professional journals. Twice the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award at N.C. State, he was elected to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 1966, and was named Alumni Distinguished Professor in 1987. He was a faculty member for special programs at the National Humanities Center and at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and he served as consultant for various university presses and professional journals and for the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. Following retirement, he continued to serve as book correspondent for the International Shakespeare Bibliography.

Perry Harvey Biddle, Jr. ’54, 78, of Nashville, Tenn., died Feb. 10. His parents were Daisy Yandell and Perry Harvey Biddle. He was born in Meridian, Miss., and grew up in rural Alabama and North and South Carolina. Biddle was an Eagle Scout. He was educated at Davidson, Union Theological Seminary (Va.), and Vanderbilt Divinity School. He also did graduate study at New College of the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He was student assistant at First Presbyterian Church (Staunton,Va.), and Aberdour and Dalghety churches in Scotland. He was the minister of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church (Memphis, Tenn.), Westminster Presbyterian Church (Mobile, Ala.), First Presbyterian Church (Starkville, Miss.), and First Presbyterian Church (Old Hickory, Tenn.). Early in his ministry and throughout his life, Biddle was a strong advocate for civil rights. He wrote at least a dozen books and many articles, including resources for clergy and devotional literature. He was an avid traveler and reader. He was a member of Leadership Nashville, Freolac Club, Palaver, and Nashville Assoc. of Rabbis, Priests, and Ministers. A special joy for Biddle was nominating Holmes Rolston III ’53 for the Templeton Prize, and later accompanying Rolston to London to receive the prize presented by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. Biddle is survived by wife, Sue Sherman Biddle, 916 Evans Rd., Nashville, TN 37204-4034; daughter, Lindsay Louise Biddle ’83 (John Mann); son, Perry Biddle III ’85 (Mary Davis Biddle); grandsons, Perry “Petey” Biddle IV and Sawyer James Biddle; step-granddaughter, Jane Mann Steiner (John); step-grandsons, Nicolas Mann (Kim) and Elliott Mann (Katie); great-grandson, Ian Tariku Steiner; sister, Stella Biddle Fitzgerald (George Fitzgerald); niece and nephew, Ann Fitzgerald Aichinger (Frank) and George Biddle Fitzgerald (Amy); sister-in-law, Louise Sherman; and nephew, Stephen Pressley Sherman (Becki Wright).

Robert “Bob” Bugg Brannan II ’54, of Concord, N.C., passed away Jan. 6. Brannan was born Aug. 12, 1932, in Nashville, Tenn., to Henry Miller Brannan and Rebecca Cooke Brannan. He grew up in Charlotte and attended Davidson, where he played golf, then transferred to UNC Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 1954 with a degree in business. After spending two years in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Korea, he began a successful career in banking working for Mutual Savings and Loan, Home Federal Savings Bank, and First Charter Bank in Charlotte, and was president of Cabarrus County Savings and Loan in Concord. Brannan was an active member of the Rotary Club in both Charlotte and Concord, and was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts in both communities. His favorite pastime was golf, and when he was not working hard at the bank, one would find him playing golf. Golf was a lifelong passion of his starting at a young age as he caddied at Myers Park. A gentleman one day asked him if he would like to learn how to play golf. A few short years later in 1950, he won the 1950 Junior National Four Ball Championship. Brannan was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Concord, where he served as a deacon, and Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. His welcoming smile and kind heart will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Brannan is survived by his sister, Ann Brannan Repetto, and the mother of his three sons, Shirley Brannan. He is also survived by his three sons and their families, Bob Brannan (Debbie), 1260 Giverney Ct., Concord, NC 28027, and their two children, Elizabeth Brannan and Rob Brannan; Bill Brannan; and Tate Brannan (Michelle) and their two children, David Markwell and Aldin Zbacnik. He also has five nieces and three nephews.