Category: 1972

Dr. James Gregory (Greg) Johnson, of North Litchfield, passed away quietly at his home surrounded by family on January 30, 2024, after a long battle from pulmonary fibrosis.

Dr. Johnson was born on August 1, 1950 to James Truman and Inza Farmer Johnson and grew up in Easley, SC, where he was captain on the Easley High Green Wave 1967 State Championship team.

Greg attended Davidson College where he played football, was a member of the Honor Court, Beta Theta Pi, and Gamma Sigma Epsilon, national chemistry society. Greg remained devoted to Davidson, serving as president of the Davidson Athletic Fund and member of the Davidson Board of Visitors. Greg was always a Davidson Wildcat.

Greg practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 38 years after graduating from MUSC and finished a ob-gyn residency at MCG. He then spent two and half years practicing at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base before returning to Greenville where he served as managing partner for both Greenville Ob-Gyn and then Greenville Gynecology Group. He also served as chairman of the department of Ob- Gynecology at Greenville Memorial Hospital. He served on the faculty of the Ob-Gynecology residency program at GMH where he was awarded a national excellence in teaching award.

Greg also was an elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenville where he chaired the Stewardship Committee. He was board member of the Greenville YMCA and was very involved in his children’s school, Christ Church Episcopal, where he chaired the Booster Club and served on the School Board.

He is survived by Elise Wall Johnson, wife of 54 years; daughters, Susan Wall Johnson and Anna Elise Johnson, and was predeceased by his son, James Rutledge Johnson. He is also survived by a sister, Camille Eades.

A private memorial service will be planned at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Davidson Athletic Fund or A2S Foundation, a faith- based school and outreach in Nigeria, founded by Andrew Lovedale, Davidson Class of ’09.

Ronald W. Crockett Jr., age 72, of Bristol, Tennessee passed away on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at Bristol Regional Medical Center. Ron was a native of Bristol, Tennessee.

He was a graduate and valedictorian of Tennessee High School. After graduation Ron attended Davidson College and continued his education at Vanderbilt University where he received his Bachelor of Engineering degree. He then went on to earn a Master of Science degree in engineering from the University of Illinois.

Ron was an employee at Bristol Steel and Iron Works, Inc. from 1973 until 1988. He was then employed with American Bridge Company where he worked as a civil engineer and Vice President for many years. Ron proudly served as project manager for many notable works including the Tagus Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal, Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver, Canada, and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California. He retired from American Bridge Company in 2016.

Ron was an Eagle Scout, as well as a Scout Leader which allowed him to embrace his love for the outdoors. He was an active member of his community and was involved in many organizations: United Way of Bristol (Board of Directors), The Salvation Army, Family Promise, The Community Development Advisory Committee, and Help for Haiti Children’s Shelter. He was also an active member of State Street United Methodist Church.

Ron is survived by his wife of 42 years, Lois Tudor Crockett; mother, Joan Z. Crockett; daughter, Jennifer L. Lawson; son, Philip J. Lawson; sister, Jennifer Deal (Preston); niece, Andrea Powell (Jason) and children; nephews, Brian Deal (Jessica) and children, Brad Deal (Bethany) and their daughter.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, October 2,2022, at State Street United Methodist Church, 650 Valley Drive Bristol, VA 24201 at 2:00 P.M with Rev. Laura Rasor officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to United Way of Bristol, P.O. Box 696, Bristol, TN 37620 or Help for Haiti Children’s Shelter payable to State Street United Methodist Church, stating “Haiti” in the memo, 650 Valley Drive Bristol, VA 24201. Condolences and memories may be left for the family at akardfuneralhome.com. Akard Funeral Home, (423-989-4800) is honored to be serving the Crockett family.

Dr. Allen Rasheed, age 72, died at home surrounded by his family on June 17, 2022, after battling glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer, for over seven months. Allen worked for more than 30 years in private practice as a periodontist and taught as a clinical professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. He devoted himself to training and mentoring aspiring periodontists, while unfailingly bringing warmth, compassion, and humor to his practice.
Allen’s true joy in life, however, was his family. Friends and colleagues have said that Allen’s favorite pastime was lovingly bragging on the achievements of his children, Elizabeth and Richard. But he loved being there to support and encourage his kids through every step of life even more than he loved talking about them afterwards. An Eagle Scout himself, Allen relished volunteering with Richard’s Boy Scout troops and cooking on campouts. He was a dedicated “prop pop” through Elizabeth and Richard’s years in high school marching band and became a regular attendee and amateur videographer of every home football game, basketball game, and jazz concert at Furman University at which Richard performed on the bass guitar. Allen was also an avid fan of Elizabeth’s Duke Blue Devils.
Allen was born to Rateeba and Rasheed M. Rasheed on January 25, 1950, and grew up in Georgetown, South Carolina. While he was less keen to brag on his own achievements, Allen had a decorated academic and military career, graduating with a B.S. from Davidson College, an M.S. from Clemson University, a D.M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina, and a Certificate and M.S. in Periodontics from the Medical College of Georgia. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve at the rank of Colonel after 38 years of service.
Allen is survived by his wife Kathie Rasheed, his children Elizabeth and Richard Rasheed, his sister Nadia Rasheed Black and brother Kamile Rasheed, and his loving in-laws and nieces and nephews, as well as his numerous Lebanese cousins.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church on Monday, June 20, at 11:00 a.m. Officiating will be the Rev. Dr. Corey Ingold. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, DUMC 3624, Durham, NC, 27710.
Please sign a guestbook at: www.mayerfuneralhome.com.
The Georgetown Chapel of Mayer-Ethridge Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Dr. John Lacy Mclean III late of Marshall MO, (Johnny to family and Doc to students) passed away at the age of 71 on Dec 30, 2021.  John was a beloved English professor at 9 Universities / Colleges and taught over 10,000 students during his career.  John thoroughly enjoyed teaching and never viewed it as work. His main goal, as a teacher, was to make college fun for his students. Socratic discourse drove spirited discussion in the classroom. Those discussions carried over into a decades long poker game where Doc forged lifelong friendships. Free time was spent as an amateur historian with a keen focus on presidential succession and particular focus on the Kennedy assassination. 

John was preceded in death by his Mother Edna Adams McLean and his Father, John Lacy McLean Jr both of Greenville SC.  He is survived by his Sister Mary Tyner of Suwanee GA, Brother Tom McLean of Hoschton GA, two nephews Will Tyner of Nashville TN, Thomas Tyner of Birmingham Alabama, two nieces Perrin Mayne of Nashville TN, and Morgan Shelly of Commerce Georgia.

John’s cremains will be buried in Greenville SC at Woodlawn Cemetery next to his mother.  No formal service is planned. 

Donations can be made to Missouri Valley College Institutional Development either by Mail at 500 East College, Marshall MO 65340 or online at MoVal.edu.  Please put John L Mclean Donation in the appropriate places.

Frank Soos, of Fairbanks, Alaska, creative writing professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and former Alaska State Writer Laureate, died in a solo bicycle accident on August 20. The accident occurred in Maine, where he and his wife Margo Klass spend a portion of each summer. He was 70 years old.

Frank was raised in Pocahontas, Virginia. His southern voice comes through in essays and stories that often refer to his hometown. There his parents, Frank and Genevieve Soos, ran a grocery store where Frank and his brother Tom learned the value of community and hard work.

After graduating from Davidson College in 1972, Frank taught at Mooresville Senior High. In 1981 he graduated from University of Arkansas with an MFA before teaching for five years at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. In 1986 he moved to Alaska to teach creative writing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He retired as professor emeritus in 2004.

Frank was a consummate educator and mentored a generation of students. Among his greatest joys was seeing their work published. As Alaska State Writer, 2014-2016, Frank promoted these richly talented Alaskan writers.

Frank published two volumes of short stories, Early Yet (1998) and Unified Field Theory (recipient of the Flannery O’Connor Award, 1998), as well as two collections of essays, Bamboo Fly Rod Suite (1999), and Unpleasantries (2016). With Kes Woodward he co-edited Under Northern Lights: Writers and Artists View the Alaskan Landscape (2000). A collaborative work, Double Moon, combines mini-essays with the work of his wife, artist Margo Klass. The Team We Got, an unpublished work, features the 1962-63 Pocahontas High School basketball team. A new collection of stories, The Getting Place, will soon be published.

Frank was close to his brother Tom Soos and his wife Anna Rice of Cornelius, North Carolina, and to Margo’s children and their families, Wil Klass and his son Quinlan of Amherst, Massachusetts, and Dan and Ingrid Torinus and their daughter Molly of Middleton, Wisconsin.

Memorials will take place in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Corea, Maine.

Contributions in Frank’s honor may be made to Davidson College: Box 7170, Davidson, NC 28035 or davidson.edu/makeagift

The Frank Soos Creative Writing Scholarship has also been established at the University of Alaska Fairbanks: Box 755080, Fairbanks, AK 99775 or http://engage.alaska.edu

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