Category: 1979

John Russell Folger III ’79 of Winston-Salem, N.C., died September 2, 2005, surrounded by his son, his family, and his friends after a two-and-a-half year struggle with cancer. He graduated from Davidson College, where he majored in religion, participated in ROTC and was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Upon graduation, he received his commission in the U.S. Army and completed Ranger school as part of the 82nd Airborne; he then became a Blackhawk pilot for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky. After an honorable discharge from the military, Russell was a pilot for AirCare at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. In his forties, Russ decided that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. After completing prerequisites, Russ was accepted at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where his father finished in 1953. In his second year of medical school, Russ was diagnosed with lung cancer. As a member of Highland Presbyterian Church, Russ was a deacon and was for many years a well-beloved leader of the youth fellowship. He also served as assistant scoutmaster of Troop 722. Russell helped son Jack to complete his Eagle Scout project and had just returned from a fifty-mile endurance hike with the Boy Scouts at Philmont Camp in New Mexico, the same hike he completed as a young Scout. He is survived by by his sixteen-year-old son, John “Jack” Russell Folger IV and his mother, Stephanie Pidgeon Folger of Winston-Salem; his parents, Dr. and Mrs. John R. Folger Jr. ’49, 115 River Ridge, Brevard, N.C. 28712; his sisters, Lydia Folger Schleifer ’77 of Clemson, S.C., and Sydney Folger of Charleston, S.C., as well as many nieces, nephews and friends.