Dr. Henry Stroupe

By John Hinton Journal Reporter
Published: August 21, 2009
Henry S. Stroupe, a founding dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Wake Forest University and a professor who served as the chairman of the history department, died Thursday. He was 95.Elizabeth Stroupe, his wife, said that husband died because of complications from a fall at his home on Faculty Drive in Winston-Salem."He was a loving husband for 67 years," she said. "He enjoyed our life being close to the campus."In 1984, Stroupe retired as dean of the graduate program. He received the university's highest award for service, the Medallion of Merit, in 1998.Carlton Mitchell, a WFU professor emeritus of religion, had known him since Stroupe had started his teaching career at the college's original campus in Wake Forest. "He was valuable in preserving and building the bridge between the old Wake Forest and the new Wake Forest," Mitchell said in the university's online profile of Stroupe.Stroupe was a native of Alexis in Gaston County. He attended Mars Hill Junior College two years before going to Wake Forest, where he received his bachelor's degree in history in 1935. He received his master's degree in history two years later and joined the faculty.Stroupe received his doctorate in history at Duke University in 1942. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he returned to Wake Forest and then moved to Winston-Salem in 1956 when university moved to its present-day campus. The Stroupes were among the original homeowners on Faculty Drive near campus.In 1982, Stroupe received the Crittenden Memorial Award from the N.C. Literary and Historical Association for his scholarly work on North Carolina history.During their retirement, Henry and Elizabeth Stroupe attended WFU football and basketball games and concerts and plays on campus, Elizabeth Stroupe said. Stephen Stroupe, the couple's oldest son, said that his parents visited all seven continents, including a trip to Antarctica in 1999 when they were 85. His father also played golf in his 90s and was a photographer.Stephen Stroupe said that his father "enjoyed the vitality of life."David Stroupe, the couple's younger son, said that his father was an intelligent and patient man."He was loyal to everything that Wake Forest represented," he said.Henry Stroupe's funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Wait Chapel on the WFU campus. His burial will follow at Forsyth Memorial Park.