UNC Charlotte acknowledges the 100th birthday of Martha Colvard, wife of the University’s first chancellor, Dean Colvard. She celebrated this milestone on Tuesday, April 23.
Martha Lampkin grew up in the Midwest and met Dean Colvard around 1931 at Berea College in Kentucky. At the time, she was a biology major from Jefferson City, Mo. They met again while Dean Colvard was working as a graduate assistant at the University of Missouri. At that time, Lampkin was working as a medical technologist in Kansas City. They married on July 7, 1939, in the chapel at Berea College.
While their secret to longevity is not officially known, the Colvards were always connected to agriculture and hard work. Dean Colvard passed away in 2007 at the age of 93. During their early years as a married couple, Colvard was superintendent of a 300-acre state agricultural research farm in Swannanoa, N.C. His young bride was responsible for feeding all of the farm hands with both food ration tickets and what they grew on the farm.
Dean Colvard was away a lot of the time and Martha had no car, so she would put their children in a small red wagon and haul them off to the store or other errands. The Colvards’ three children are Carol Colvard Cason, Lynda Colvard Opdyke and Dean Wallace Colvard Jr. Martha now has four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
As the very first “First Lady” of the University, she hosted all of the parties, which included planning the event, cooking the food and decorating.
She taught cake decorating and loved to play tennis and golf. She still plays bridge with her neighbors at The Cypress in Charlotte.
A 100th birthday celebration was held at The Cypress, Saturday.