Category: General

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Samuel A. Cathey ’67

The Honorable Samuel Allen Cathey, 78, of Alexander, North Carolina, passed away at his home on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

Judge Cathey was born March 15, 1945, in Iredell County, to the late George Bartlett Cathey and Rosalie Wallace Cathey. A 1963 graduate of Statesville High School, and a third generation alum of Davidson College, he earned his law degree at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Judge Cathey was a proud veteran of the U.S. Army and a recipient of the Bronze Star for his actions in the Vietnam Conflict. He married his beloved wife, Sandra Gibson Cathey, in 1975.

During his full and rich life, Judge Cathey served as Assistant District Attorney, and in 1982, Governor Jim Hunt appointed him as the youngest Judge in North Carolina history. He served as Judge and Chief Judge for more than 30 years, and at his retirement, Governor Mike Easley recognized his outstanding service and commitment to the State of North Carolina by awarding him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. After his retirement he continued to serve as a state emergency judge, holding court in numerous counties.

Judge Cathey has always been known for his deep humor, his ability to bring positivity to all those around him, and most of all, his abiding love for the outdoors and ornithology. He committed himself to his community as a Rotarian and was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow, and served on the Board of Lake Norman State Park. He never ceased his love of hiking, exploring new trails, and always looking for the road less traveled. In his own humble way, Judge Cathey was proud to have completed the Appalachian Trail in its entirety.

Active with youth sports at the Statesville YMCA, he also founded the Hiking Club at the YMCA, and was an active volunteer in the Boy Scouts. Always with a song at the ready, he routinely shared his love of music, vast repertoire of tunes, and joyous singing voice with his family and friends and in the church choir.

A proud and loving father and deeply committed family man, Judge Cathey took great delight in his family, talking about them to anyone who would listen, and enjoying even the simplest moments of time together. In addition to his wife, Sandra, Judge Cathey is survived by his son, Michael Gibson (Kathryn) Cathey, daughter, Captain Emily A. Cathey, USN, deployed on USS NIMITZ (Captain F. Curtis Jones, USN, retired), his son, Alexander Allen Cathey, his grandchildren, Carson Jones, Kyra Jones, Lillian Jones, Eleanor Jones, and Dashiell Cathey. He is further survived by his brother, Commander Robert Wallace (Maggi) Cathey, USCG, retired, his sister Georgia Ann Cathey, and his nephews.

A visitation for family and friends will be held on Monday, May 22, 2023, from 5 until 7 p.m. at Troutman Funeral Home. A funeral service celebrating the life of Judge Cathey will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church of Statesville. The Reverend Stephen Scott will officiate.

A burial service with full military honors will be held at 1 p.m. at Oakwood Cemetery, with longtime friend Frank Goldsmith honoring him with the playing of taps. Pallbearers will be: Joel Harbinson, Michael Cathey, Allen Cathey, Dashiell Cathey, Curt Jones, and Billy Webb. Online condolences may be made to the Cathey family at www.troutmanfuneralhome.com

Those wishing to make memorials are asked to consider:

First Presbyterian Church Statesville, General Fund, 125 North Meeting Street, Statesville, NC 28677

First Presbyterian Church Statesville, Music Department, 125 North Meeting Street, Statesville, NC 28677

North Carolina Friends of State Parks, Inc., PO Box 37655, Raleigh, NC 27627

Audubon North Carolina, 807 East Main Street, Suite 2-220 Durham, NC 27701

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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.

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Robert DeVane Croom III ’60

Robert DeVane Croom, III, first son of Robert D. Croom, Jr. and Rosa Currie Croom, died peacefully in his home in Chapel Hill on August 24, 2022.

Bob is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of sixty years, Patricia Stroud Croom; his two children Robert DeVane Croom, IV (Susan) & Patricia Croom Halsey (Jason); two grandchildren Robert Jacobsen Croom and Jackson Currie Halsey; his younger brothers, Frederick Hailey Croom (Mishoe Brennecke) and John McLean Croom (Larissa Boudnikova); sister-in-law Henrietta Brown Croom; nieces Elizabeth Bonner Croom and Maria Johnovna Croom; nephews Frederick Hailey Croom, Jr. and Alexander McMillan Croom; and close family friend Hector Allen MacDonald.

Born on August 8, 1938, in Maxton, North Carolina, Bob was inspired by his physician father, who served in World War II treating injured soldiers arriving from battlefields for transport by train to hospitals in Great Britain, and his mother who was a music teacher. Many of his life choices reflected those inspirations.

He was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Maxton High School as Valedictorian of his class. Following his father and grandfather, he then attended Davidson College. At Davidson, he was named Brigade Commander of Davidson’s ROTC program and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors in the class of 1960.

Bob entered medical school at UNC the same year and graduated as an Alpha Omega Alpha honors student in 1964. Bob did his internship and began his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital before returning to Chapel Hill to complete his residency in surgery where, in 1970, he was the first recipient of the Nathan Womack scholarship. He then began his military service at Walter Reed Hospital, achieving the rank of Major.

Bob returned to the School of Medicine in Chapel Hill in 1972, where he spent many years training and mentoring future surgeons before retiring as a Professor of Surgery in 1995. Bob is remembered as a skillful and caring surgeon with high expectations for himself and others, for his humorous stories, broad smile, and always perfectly groomed white hair.

Bob enjoyed a long retirement with annual trips to snow ski or to the North Carolina coast where he would relax in the sun with a good book and afternoon swim. He adored his grandsons, and he created numerous elaborate model train layouts for the boys. He spent much of his time working in his yard and loved sharing his backyard of azaleas with friends in the spring. When his gardening ambitions outgrew his yard, he found opportunity in the yards of his children and neighbors, usually with their permission.

A service will be held at a later time. Bob always loved animals, nature and wildlife; in lieu of flowers, donations to the Orange County Humane Society Donations | Orange County, NC (orangecountync.gov) , Carolina Tiger Rescue Memory – Carolina Tiger Rescue or to the charity of one’s choice are welcomed.

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Randall Rich Kincaid Jr.

Randall Rich Kincaid, Jr, of Davidson, NC, died on his 83rd birthday, Saturday, March 11, 2023, of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Mac Kincaid, who was steadfast by his side through the difficult progression of the disease; his sons, John and Ted, who loved him dearly; his sisters Sarah Kincaid Smith and Rosemary Kincaid Padrick; and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Kay Fletcher Kincaid, who died in 2007, and his parents, Dr. Randall Rich Kincaid and Sallie Ange Kincaid, of Quincy, Florida.

Randall was deeply loved by his grandchildren—Ellie, Ava, Henry, Halle, and Julia – and he was very proud of them. While they were young, he devoted endless amounts of time to all of them, once commenting that he had to spend as much time as possible with his “grands” before they got too old to want to be with their grandaddy. That time never came: he was present and important in their lives to the end, and they sought out and enjoyed his company and friendship even in his final days. He will be missed fiercely and never forgotten by all of the children lucky enough to have felt his love.

Randall was born and reared in Quincy, Florida. After graduating first in his class from Quincy High School, he attended Wofford College, coming home to marry Kay in Quincy in 1962. Kay brought joy to Randy’s life as he pursued his PhD in economics at Duke University, then as they moved to Davidson in 1967 where they stayed for the rest of their lives. They raised two sons—John, now an attorney in Durham, married to Mary Mulhern Kincaid, and Ted, a surgeon in Winston-Salem, married to Shiva Jarrahi Kincaid. After Kay’s death from ovarian cancer, Randall married Mary Mac Owens Hall, formerly of Quincy, and they enjoyed retirement together, living in Davidson with friends new and old. Upon his marriage to Mary Mac, Randall was thrilled to find himself with five new grandchildren —Tyler, Anna, Ellie (Ellie number 2), Owen, and Evan—children of Mary Mac’s children, Laura and Cody. He was blessed to have them in his life, and he loved them all.

Randall’s ranging interests led some to label him a renaissance man, but despite his many talents, his heart was always in government. He taught economics at Davidson College and Queens University and was instrumental in the launch of the Queens Executive MBA program. He also worked for Kay at Farm House Gardeners, the plant nursery they founded in Statesville with their friends, Bob and Jane Avinger. He worked for two years for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. For eighteen years, he was an elected commissioner of the Town of Davidson. From 1997 until his retirement in 2007, he was mayor of the Town, spearheading initiatives on affordable housing and smart growth. Randall maintained that being mayor was his most important work; his reward was spending his life in a beautiful town and strong community.

The same love of people that led him to local government made him a familiar face all across town. One of the founders of the local Habitat for Humanity, he oversaw the construction of sixteen homes, working closely with his best friend, Ken Wood. He enjoyed the theatre and participated both on-stage and back-stage in several Davidson Community Players productions. He sang in the choir and chaired the property committee at Davidson College Presbyterian Church. He loved playing the piano and singing, an ode to his parents, and he cherished his years playing the tuba in the North Mecklenburg Moravian band.

On his retirement as Mayor, the Town and College showered him with recognition, but his most treasured honor came when his governmental colleagues named the town greenway, “The Randall R. Kincaid Trail.”

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Davidson College Presbyterian Church or the Davidson Lands Conservancy.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00AM on Friday, March 31, at Davidson College Presbyterian Church.