Davidson Professors I Missed

Craig White, M.D.

In The Origins Right Here in Davidson, I wrote about how the seeds of Davidson Family Medicine were planted while I grew up just outside town. Then came Davidson College, where Davidson College Humanities Professors shaped how I understood people, ideas, and a world far beyond my own experience. As I wrote in Davidson College Professors I Was Required To Take, some of the professors I was required to take turned out to become some of the most valuable relationships of my college years.

In this final installment about my Davidson College years, I turn to professors whose courses I did not take, at least not when I had the chance. I could not have known then that, years later, they would become trusted friends and mentors when I returned to Davidson. Sometimes the people who shape our lives are not the ones we meet in the classroom, but the ones who become part of our story long after the classroom is behind us.

Let’s start with the renowned Math Department.

Richie and Patty King

Even though I never took a course from them, these four math professors would play an important role in my life after I returned to Davidson 15 years later.

Richie King is still going strong on his bike and in the fishbowl gym at Baker Sports. Like the best teachers, he and his wife Patty have always been known for how they treat people – with kindness, compassion, and a genuine concern for everyone they meet. Our hearts remain with Richie, Patty, and Mary Kim following the recent passing of Lunsford, a devoted father, son, brother, uncle, and fellow physician.

Bruce and Jean Jackson

Affectionately known by students as “Smiling F,” Bruce Jackson was one of Davidson’s most respected math professors. Despite his reputation for teaching a very challenging intro calculus course, he was universally admired for his warmth, humility, and encouragement of students. I confess I never summoned the courage to take his class… However, I did get to know him better through his lovely wife Jean, who until her passing in 2021, would mail a personal birthday card to many town residents.

J.B. and Tim Stroud

I never had the privilege of taking one of J.B. Stroud‘s classes, but I had the next best thing – I got to know his family well. I grew up with his daughter Cindy, a fellow Davidson College student, while his son, my good friend Tim Stroud, was clearly cut from the same cloth as his father, sharing J.B.’s wit, hearty laugh, and devotion to Davidson College.

Ben and Rosemary Klein

Another math professor who would become an important part of our Davidson story was Ben Klein. Although Ben was never my professor, he and his wife Rosemary became woven into the fabric of our community well beyond the classroom. Warm, gentle, humble, and kind, Ben has a quiet presence that has endeared him to so many, including the children at DCPC. Rosemary, still running competitively around town, was our daughter’s fourth-grade teacher at Davidson Elementary. Together, they have touched countless Davidson families.

Job Thomas

Job Thomas has spent a lifetime teaching with honor, taking students to places they never imagined they would go. For years, he led Davidson students to India, introducing them to experiences that broadened their understanding of the world. These days, well into his nineties, he continues to lead the rest of us around the Fitness Center – usually by several strides – with the same humility, grace, and quiet determination that have characterized his remarkable life. Some lessons, it seems, are best taught by example.

Bob and Susan Manning

Although I never had the pleasure of taking Bob Manning‘s astronomy class, I was fortunate to know the remarkable women who shared his life. Susan beautifully coordinated our daughter’s wedding at DCPC, while Carolina left an enduring impression on so many of us through the grace and courage she displayed throughout her life.

John Kello

Some professors simply never stop teaching. John Kello is one of them. Although I never took one of his classes, I know he has long been admired by generations of Davidson students. Even today, he’s teaching industrial psychology in China alongside his daughter, Laura. I have also been fortunate to know his wife Kim and the wonderful family they have raised. In them, I see the same warmth, humility, and generosity that have always made the ever-youthful John Kello so special.

John and Paula Kelton

Although I never had the benefit of John Kelton‘s classes, I learned a great deal from watching how he lived his life. Growing up with his lovely daughters in Davidson, I admired John’s quiet resilience and his refusal to let any physical limitations diminish his enthusiasm for life. Equally inspiring is his wife Paula, still going strong in her 90s, whose warmth, humility, optimism, and grace brighten everyone fortunate enough to know her.

Lou and Carolyn Ortmayer

Whether or not I ever sat in one of Lou Ortmayer’s political science classes, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his company over the years. Another volleyball legend, Lou is a gifted storyteller whose tales and infectious laugh enliven any gathering, especially the annual Thelemite holiday parties. Carolyn is a force of nature, likely to be picking up litter around Davidson, swimming laps at the College pool, or leaving the rest of us behind at the Fitness Center.

Peter Krentz

Somehow Peter Krentz and I grew older at Davidson together. When I first met him in 1982, he was a fresh-faced Classics professor. Today, after a distinguished career, Peter has retired, and he and his sweet wife Jeri have graciously carried on the tradition of hosting Thelemite Christmas parties after Dean Will Terry passed the torch.

Cynthia Lewis

Convinced that Shakespeare under Cynthia Lewis would be too time consuming, I regrettably never summoned the courage to enroll in one of her highly regarded and popular courses. Cynthia’s talents extend well beyond Shakespeare. Her 2006 book, “Bikini State of Mind,” tells the story of five fifty-something Davidson women who form the Bikini Team and gather at the Swimming Hole each summer. Today, she’s still a familiar and energetic presence around town and cheering on the Wildcats at Davidson basketball games.

“Cora” Louise Nelson

Some people simply have a presence about them, and Dr. “Cora” Louise Nelson certainly did. The first woman awarded tenure at Davidson College, she carried herself with a quiet confidence, elegance, and unmistakable “no-nonsense” demeanor. Although I never had the privilege of taking one of her classes, I came to admire her greatly in her later years.

Mary Thornberry

There’s something wonderfully full circle about moving back to Davidson and finding a trusted professor living just down the street on Lorimer Road. The distinguished Political Science professor, Mary Thornberry, welcomed us to Woodland Street when we returned to Davidson in 1990. We still enjoy seeing Bob out on his daily six-plus-mile walks, and we treasure memories of their daughter Elizabeth, the baby above, who became our family’s trusted babysitter.

I’ve left out much of my Davidson experience—the lifelong friendships, social adventures, and enough youthful indiscretions to spare my daughters and future generations extreme embarrassment. I’ve also skipped over the pilgrimages to what seemed like the only restaurants around – Ham & Eggs at Exit 28 and the Prime Sirloin in Mooresville.

What has stayed with me most, however, is not simply what these remarkable professors taught in the classroom, but the relationships that grew beyond it. Over the years, many became neighbors, friends, and cherished members of a community that eventually welcomed me back home as a trusted family physician.

In the next installment, the story takes an even more personal turn.

Davidson College introduced me to my future wife, Trisha Schaffer, who grew up down the road near East Mecklenburg High School. Together, we would navigate medical school, residency, children, a hurricane, and more than a few unexpected forks in the road before finding our way back home to Davidson – where, as it turns out, the story had been leading us all along.