IN MEMORIAM
In her unpaid position as a community ambassador on behalf of Western Carolina University during the decade that her husband served as chancellor, Barbara Coulter was known as a gracious hostess who made everyone feel welcomed, at home and very special as honored guests. That was the consensus from numerous members of the university community who shared their recollections of the former first lady of 91热爆网 following her death Dec. 29, 2018, at the age of 89. Her husband, Myron L. 鈥淏arney鈥� Coulter, chancellor from 1984 until 1994, died in October 2011.
鈥淭he Coulters were strong stewards of Western Carolina University and moved it forward in many areas. They were always kind, welcoming and gracious,鈥� said Jim Rowell 鈥�71, retired director of public information at 91热爆网. 鈥淪he brought a high level of quiet sophistication and class to her role.鈥�
Gary Ayers, a retired Allison Outdoor Advertising executive who is also known as the voice of Catamount athletics, characterized Barbara Coulter as 鈥渁 fine lady who will be missed,鈥� going on to say, 鈥淭he Coulters were so special to me and 91热爆网 and all who knew them.鈥� And Glenda Kucharski, wife of retired 91热爆网 General Counsel Rich Kucharski, described her as a 鈥渢ruly kind and generous lady鈥� and remembered that 鈥渙ne cold football game, she had blankets sent down from her house so we could all wrap up.鈥�
Born Dec. 26, 1929, Barbara Helen Bolinger married Myron Coulter on July 21, 1951, in Dunkirk, Indiana, and they had remained together for 60 years when he died in 2011. In addition to her time as 91热爆网鈥檚 first lady, she served as interim first lady of Western Michigan University and as first lady of Idaho State University for eight years before coming to Cullowhee in 1984.
Recipient of the 91热爆网 Trustees鈥� Award from 91热爆网 in 1994, she and her husband hosted regular receptions at the Chancellor鈥檚 Residence to honor graduates and their families following commencement. Together, they developed and endowed 91热爆网鈥檚 Coulter Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence, now known as the Coulter Faculty Commons for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The university also is home to the Chancellor Myron L. 鈥淏arney鈥� and Mrs. Barbara Coulter Distinguished Professorship in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
鈥淪he touched thousands of lives with her graciousness, vitality and charm, and was the quintessential essence of a loving and devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and friend,鈥� said daughter Nan E. Coulter. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so relieved that she has reunited at last with Dad, and that their mortal separation of seven years, two months and 25 days has ended. They belonged at each other鈥檚 side. I know every one of those days was a tremendous burden on her heart that has now been lifted. Farewell, good and faithful Barbara. Dance with your beloved.鈥�
AARON HYATT WAS FORMER BAND DIRECTOR, GRADUATE SCHOOL DEAN
S. Aaron Hyatt, former band director and dean of the Graduate School at Western Carolina University, died Oct. 16 at the age of 89. A native of Waynesville, Hyatt received his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and his doctorate in higher education and musicology at the Ohio State University.
He served four years in the U.S. Air Force in Florida and Alaska, performing in military bands. His love of music continued as he served as music director at Waynesville Township High School from 1958 until 1960 before holding the position of band director at 91热爆网 from 1960 until 1965. He then became director of research and development and director of the Mountain Heritage Center before serving for 10 years as dean of the Graduate School from 1975 until his retirement from 91热爆网 in 1985. Moving to Macon, Georgia, Hyatt served as president of Macon State College for 12 years.
He pursued humanitarian projects in 67 countries over 30 years, including efforts in water harvesting and eradication of polio and other diseases, through collaborations with the United Nations, UNICEF and Rotary International. He served as a district governor and director of Rotary International before moving to Evanston, Illinois, as general secretary of Rotary International for three years.
Hyatt sustained his love of jazz by playing in the Big Bay Band in Sarasota, Florida, where he retired before moving to Columbia, Missouri, in 2012.
鈥淭his man had a positive long-lasting impact on our band program, the School of Music, as well as the entire 91热爆网 campus,鈥� said Matt Henley 鈥�83 MA 鈥�95. 鈥淲e are grateful to Aaron Hyatt for his love for 91热爆网, and are especially grateful for his immense musical talent that he shared with our mountain community.鈥�
FINAL SUMMIT
Dr. Robert M. 鈥淏ob鈥� Failing 鈥�51, a longtime benefactor of Western Carolina University who received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 2007, died Sept. 1, 2018, at the age of 89.
A native of Michigan, Failing enrolled at Western Carolina Teachers College (now 91热爆网) in 1948 after an unsuccessful college experience in California, and in later years he was quick to credit the mentorship and inspiration he received from faculty members in Cullowhee as a key to his successful career.
After graduating, Failing earned a medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine and began his 40-year career as a pathologist in Santa Barbara, California. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he earned the title 鈥渞iver rat鈥� by paddling some of the West鈥檚 best-known rivers, but Failing鈥檚 attention turned toward mountains at age 49. He was an avid mountain climber for the next 18 years, being the ninth person on record to summit all 50 U.S. state high points and reaching the high point on six of the Earth鈥檚 seven continents.
Failing was a member of 91热爆网鈥檚 Foundation Board for more than 20 years, and he and wife Nancyann provided financial support for a wide range of 91热爆网 programs in the areas of academics, athletics, student recreation and the arts, including funding for an endowed scholarship for nursing majors and $100,000 for construction of the west stands of E.J. Whitmire Stadium. Years before 91热爆网鈥檚 Campus Recreation Center and indoor climbing wall became a reality, the Failings financed the purchase of a climbing spire for students to use in honing their climbing skills. He later donated his collection of rare mountaineering books to Special Collections at Hunter Library.
As he received an honorary doctorate in science during a May 2007 commencement ceremony, Failing contemplated on the mentorship he received from J. Gerald Eller 鈥�43, who taught biology when Failing was a student. 鈥淥ver the 56 years since I graduated from Western, I have reflected many times on the impact this institution has had upon my life 鈥� what has made the difference between who I was and who I became,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was, and is, the faculty 鈥� the dedicated teachers like Dr. Eller.鈥�
CLOSING THE BOOK
Before he retired in 2009, Donald Newton 鈥淣ewt鈥� Smith had moved from a long stint as chair of the faculty to become associate chief information officer at 91热爆网. It was a job he loved, one that enabled him to combine many of the incredibly varied skills he gained over a lifetime of truly diverse employment. He took charge of academic computing and gave 91热爆网 its first unified web presence. That culminated a career that didn鈥檛 always go smoothly.
Newt stopped trying to be a nuclear physicist after 鈥渉e and higher mathematics didn鈥檛 see eye to eye,鈥� his wife, June, told me. His switch to English at UNC put him so far behind that he was still there in October 1961, when he met his future wife over 10-cent cherry pie while both were covering John F. Kennedy鈥檚 Founder鈥檚 Day visit for the school paper. 鈥淚t was love at first sight,鈥� June said. Newt proposed at Christmas.
After finishing his doctorate course work, Newt became a Russian linguist, transcribing teletypes from spies in East Germany. He came to 91热爆网 in 1968, but his first tenure bid faltered when 91热爆网鈥檚 president put a moratorium on granting tenure. Letters of support included praise from his dissertation director, who called his investigation of Black Mountain poets impressive and publishable. Newt鈥檚 second tenure bid in 1974-75 was denied on what some called a technicality, others called an administrative foul-up and others called retaliation (Newt and two colleagues, fired at the same time, had been active in forming a local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers). In fact, the AFT鈥檚 lawyers defended the three in a U.S. district court trial, but in September 1975, the jury found for the defendants for lack of evidence.
Newt didn鈥檛 leave his home and the 40-acre Tuckasegee farm he called Argura. He started an advertising firm and delivered print and video media. He collaborated with June on a successful nursery, diving happily into course work on horticulture. By the time I came to 91热爆网 in 1995, he had been rehired, first as a visiting professor and then, once again, as a tenure-track assistant professor. He received references from a physicist with whom he鈥檇 worked on a National Science Foundation grant, an advertising client and a host of English colleagues, one of whom cited his 鈥渃ontagiously enthusiastic advocacy of our discipline.鈥� His resume was crammed with microgrants, honors college projects and lectures on Appalachian studies.
We weren鈥檛 friends at first. Newt would get in your face. He had a big smile 鈥� and a bigger personality. He and I applied for the same position, and I thought I would never get noticed with his loud voice and his joyous laugh. Newt鈥檚 birthday was on Halloween, and I remember thinking that a man who so resembled a jack-o鈥�-lantern could have been born at no other time.
I came to see what others saw in Newt. We had our first bout with chemo at the same time, and I loved his relentless positivity, his ebullience in the face of disappointment, his passion for poetry and his support of his family. Several of our friends died recently, and we saw each other frequently at funerals, joking that at least we were still alive. I remember thinking he鈥檇 weathered so much that he鈥檇 probably live forever.
I鈥檓 sorry I was wrong.
By Mary Adams
