Professor Alexander R. Stoesen died on November 30, 2017 at Friends Homes in Greensboro following a stroke. A native of Texas, he moved to Florida in 1935 where he completed Pensacola High School in 1950. From thence he entered The Citadel at Charleston where he won many honors in history. He was a qualified army parachutist, division ammunition officer of the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell Kentucky in 1956-1957.
Academically, he earned his received his master’s from the University of Rochester and his doctorate from UNC in 1965 His dissertation at UNC was on the popular Florida Senator and later Congressman Claude D. Pepper and was written under the direction of the noted Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson. From 1966-1999 he taught American history at Guilford College and received numerous awards over the years. He served as secretary and vice-president of the HSNC and in 1998 was elected president.
He served for three five-year terms on the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Advisory Committee and also served a one-year term as its chairman. He also served as chairman of the marker committee for a one-year term. He was a member of the North Carolina Literary and many others. He was also listed in Who’s Who in America.
His published works include “Guilford County: A Brief History,” and “Guilford College: On the Strength of 150 Years” In 2001 he was the recipient of the 2001 Christopher Crittenden Award — the highest honor given to a historian by the state Division of Archives and History.
He was active in Habitat for Humanity and in the work and mission of the Unitarian-Universalist Church. He is survived by two sons: Robert and Bill and daughter Lyn. Mrs. Carol Cronk Stoesen, his wife of forty years, died in 1999. The membership of the HSNC extends its deepest sympathies to Dr. Stoesen’s family.
A memorial service is pending and will be announced on a later date. Dr. Stoesen will be remembered at our April 6th meeting in Gastonia.