This scholarship has been established in memory and honor of Mrs. Anne Jeanette McArthur Gaddis, who passed away peacefully on Friday, July 30, 2021, at the age of 94. Mrs. Anne dedicated her life to service for others, commitment to community, and the education of our youth. This scholarship will be given annually to a Lenoir County high school senior. There is no greater public servant to honor than Mrs. Anne Gaddis with this named scholarship.

Mrs. Anne was born in the Graingers Community in Lenoir County, NC on May 18, 1927, the first child of George Tebo McArthur, Sr, and Ruby Ezzell McArthur. She graduated from Contentnea School in Graingers in 1943 and earned a BA in English from UNC-Greensboro in 1946.

Mrs. Anne began her relationship with Cooperative Extension as a young woman, when she joined the 4-H Program. In 4-H, she received a state-wide writing award during World War II for her essay about the role of cotton and cotton farmers in the war effort. Later, she was a lifelong member of the Extension Homemakers and now the Extension and Community Association, serving in many local and district offices, and State President.

Mrs. Anne taught countless heritage workshops and participated in the Cultural Arts program every year. She loved working with her hands and was very active in all types of crafting, most notably in chair-caning and sewing arts. She is best known for her many service projects through church, community, and extension programs; some include collecting and filling backpacks for students, crocheting sleeping bags for the homeless, filling Samaritan’s Purse boxes, and countless others.

Most recently, through Cooperative Extension and the Kinston Council on Aging, she served as a Senior Health Insurance Information Program (S.H.I.I.P.) volunteer, sharing health insurance advice with hundreds of Lenoir County senior citizens. In 2017, she was inducted into the most prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine for her years of service to North Carolina.

Mrs. Anne Gaddis was a devout Christian, a member of Graingers Baptist Church, and a Sunday School teacher. In her spare time, she enjoyed reading, sewing, playing the dulcimer, and re-caning old chairs.

If you are interested in supporting the Anne M. Gaddis Cooperative Extension Scholarship of Lenoir County, please make donations to:

NC Cooperative Extension, Lenoir County Center
Anne Gaddis Scholarship
1791 Highway 11/55
Kinston, NC 28504

For more information contact the NC Cooperative Extension, Lenoir County Center office at 252-527-2191, or email Tammy_Kelly@ncsu.edu