Harding College - Petit Jean Yearbook (Searcy, AR)

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Courage is required to launch out into unknown beginnings and carry through until the adventure is completed. As the zenith of the task is approached, new strength will revive us and allow completion of the job. lf we are righteous, as Proverbs 4:78 states, our paths will shine brighter and brighter until full day under difficult as well as simple circumstances. Because work and endurance were put forth, the end of the path can be successful and fulfilling. 396i EPILOGUE

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if 1011 Hivmnriam JAMES ACTON HEDRICK was in his twenty-fourth year of service to the students of Harding College as a teacher of accounting when he suffered a fatal heart attack in Sherman, Tex., where he had gone to attend the funeral of his only brother. He com- pleted the B.A., M.A., and Ed.D. degrees at North Texas State University and he became a Certified Public Accountant soon after joining the Harding faculty in the fall of 1952. He served as chairman of the Department of Business and Economics for nine years, resigning in the fall of 1974 because of poor health. He was active in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and several other professional organizations. Dr. Hedrick had held a number of offices in Civitan International, and he was serving as Governor of the Ozark District at the time of his death. He had served almost 20 years as an elder of the College church of Christ and had been treasurer for the last 15 years. He was an ardent supporter of the athletic program at Harding College and frequently served as an official at cross country and track meets. He had served as sponsor of Alpha Epsilon Chi social club since 1956, and he sponsored the local chapters of Pi Gamma Psi and Delta Mu Delta. Born May 13, 1917, in Howe, Tex., Dr. Hedrick died December 6, 1975, in Sherman, Tex. ROBERT E. STREET was in his thirty-fourth year of service to Harding College as manager of the college farms when he succumbed to leukemia in a Little Rock hospital after an extended illness. In the fall of 1942, he moved from Sharp County to Searcy to manage the 40-acre farm located where Harding Park and faculty row now stand. Subsequently, the farm operation expanded under his capable management until it comprised some 5,000 acres of land and nearly 2,000 head of cattle, including a large commercial dairy operation. Although his formal education stopped with high school graduation, he continued to study and he became well-informed in various facets of farm operation, enabling the college farms to earn money that went into the general operational budget of Harding College. Bro. Street was genuinely interested in students, serving as a counselor to many. For more than 20 years he served as an elder of the College church of Christ. He was primarily involved in mission work and benevolent work. He had directed several summer campaigns to North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, for work among the Cree Indians. Born April 10, 1918, at Evening Shade, Mr. Street died January 10, 1976, in Little Rock. JAMES ALBERT THOMPSON, SR., had served more than thirty-five years as a member of the Board of Trustees of Harding College when he died at his home in Searcy at the age of 90. Shortly after the Thompson family had moved to Searcy to send three children to Harding College, he was appointed an elder in the College church of Christ and had served faithfully in this capacity until his death. At the Sunday morning worship on his 90th birthday, he led in prayer. As a young man he attended Southwest Missouri State College and then served as a teacher and principal in the public schools of southern Missouri. Subsequently, he entered business, operating both stores and cotton gins. In his youth he became a diligent student of the Bible and he continued a systematic study of the scriptures until his death. He began preaching the gospel soon after he began teaching school, preaching primarily in localities where no church existed or for small congregations that were not able financially to employ a preacher. He was well known throughout Arkansas and Missouri as a minister, educator, and businessman. His daughter, Eva, and daughter-in-law, Elaine, are members of the home economics faculty at Harding. Born August 24, 1885, in Dora, Mo., Bro. Thompson died September 15, 1975, in Searcy. NANCY ELISABETH WATTS, a sophomore in Harding College, majoring in art, died from accidental drowning during a swimming practice period Sunday evening, February 8, 1976. Nancy had hypoglycemia Clow blood sugar? and apparently suffered a seizure therefrom while swimming. Artificial respiration was immediately applied by the life guard and other friends but to no avail. Nancy was the youngest daughter of C. Lee and Kay Watts who live at Route 1, Searcy. The Watts family moved to Searcy from Georgia in 1965 to place their three daughters in Harding College and Harding Academy. Her mother is a piano teacher at the college and her father is a widely- esteemed portrait painter. Nancy graduated from Harding Academy in 1973. In the Academy she was a member of Beta Club, the A Cappella Chorus, Junior Civitans, the Pep Club, FHA, FBLA, and the KAT social club. In college she was a member of the Chorale, JOY and the Regina social club. She was a member of the College church of Christ. Nancy lived an examplary Christian life and radiated the Christian graces. The Nancy E. Watts Memorial Scholarship Fund at Harding College has been established in her honor. Nancy was born November 24, 1954, in Euclid, Ohio. IN NIEIVIORIAM I 395

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