Died at the age of 84 YRS.
______
Social Security Index
KENNETH P ASBURY 25 Oct 1922 08 Mar 2007 (V) 24293 (Wise, Wise, VA) Virginia
______
'He saved this area'
by D.S. Tyson
(Originally printed in The Bristol Herald-Courier, March 11, 2007)
WISE – The barefoot boy from Burchfield, who some say was instrumental in saving the coal fields of Virginia by founding a college, died last week.
Kenneth P. Asbury was 84.
"It's not an understatement to say he saved this area" said Wise County Sheriff R.D. Oakes. "He wanted people to stay in the area, to get a good education. He knew if they left [for college] they most likely would not come back to this area."
As one of the "Three Wise Men," Asbury, along with the late Fred Grier and Bill Thompson Sr., realized the need for a college in the area to save the region's culture and economy. After several University of Virginia officials denied request to create a higher educational institute in Southwest Virginia, the three men appealed directly to the school's president in 1953, said Joseph C. Smiddy.
The UVa. president agreed, if a token appropriation came from the Virginia General Assembly. With help from powerful friends, what would become the University of Virginia's College at Wise was create with a $10,000 appropriation by the legislature.
On Sept. 13, 1954, 109 students attended the first day of class. The first decade and a half, the school offered two-year degrees and had many students transfer to four-year institutions.
"There were 70 men [students] who were Korean [War] veterans and many of the professors were World War II veterans," said Smiddy, who was the school's first biology professor and later became its Chancellor before retiring in 1985.
Many of the first students were children of coal miners or coal miners themselves using the GI bill to pay for college, said Smiddy.
The impact of the college was evident after three years, he said. Two years after the college opened, only one teacher in Wise County has a B.A. degree from UVa., but after three years, 30 teachers had degrees from UVa.
"These students came back to teach school here with that wonderful degree from Mr. Jefferson's University," said Smiddy.
It was then he knew the Wise Men of Wise County saved the region.
Asbury was born on the cusp of The Great Depression and by age 5 his father died, leaving his mother to raise five young children.
Smiddy recalled lunch conversations with Asbury about different jobs he held including selling newspapers and shoveling coal into furnaces before graduating Wise High School.
"He use to laugh that he feed the furnace in the bank building that he now owns," said Smiddy, Asbury's best friend.
After a stint in the Army and graduating from Washington and Lee law school, Asbury returned to Wise County and ran for Commonwealth Attorney and won.
"We laughed that he ran one time and was elected for 16 years," said Smiddy.
After leaving the office, he served as town attorney for all the municipalities in Wise County and also served a the mayor of Wise.
"He loved to practice law in the towns, and he loved attending town meetings," said Smiddy.
He was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church; founding member of the Wise County Chamber of Commerce; founder of the Miner Hospital in Wise; past president of the Wise County Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar; worked to established the Gladeville Housing Authority, housing for the low-income; and active in the Wise County Democratic Party.
"He was a tremendous man, a really feeling person," said Sheriff Oakes.
Added Smiddy: "He was Mr. Southwest Virginia if there was ever one."
Funeral services for Asbury are at 5 p.m. today at the Sturgill Funeral Home in Wise, with Rev. Robert Layell officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Burial and graveside committal services will be held Monday at 11 a.m in the Wise Cemetery.
______
Social Security Index
KENNETH P ASBURY 25 Oct 1922 08 Mar 2007 (V) 24293 (Wise, Wise, VA) Virginia
______
'He saved this area'
by D.S. Tyson
(Originally printed in The Bristol Herald-Courier, March 11, 2007)
WISE – The barefoot boy from Burchfield, who some say was instrumental in saving the coal fields of Virginia by founding a college, died last week.
Kenneth P. Asbury was 84.
"It's not an understatement to say he saved this area" said Wise County Sheriff R.D. Oakes. "He wanted people to stay in the area, to get a good education. He knew if they left [for college] they most likely would not come back to this area."
As one of the "Three Wise Men," Asbury, along with the late Fred Grier and Bill Thompson Sr., realized the need for a college in the area to save the region's culture and economy. After several University of Virginia officials denied request to create a higher educational institute in Southwest Virginia, the three men appealed directly to the school's president in 1953, said Joseph C. Smiddy.
The UVa. president agreed, if a token appropriation came from the Virginia General Assembly. With help from powerful friends, what would become the University of Virginia's College at Wise was create with a $10,000 appropriation by the legislature.
On Sept. 13, 1954, 109 students attended the first day of class. The first decade and a half, the school offered two-year degrees and had many students transfer to four-year institutions.
"There were 70 men [students] who were Korean [War] veterans and many of the professors were World War II veterans," said Smiddy, who was the school's first biology professor and later became its Chancellor before retiring in 1985.
Many of the first students were children of coal miners or coal miners themselves using the GI bill to pay for college, said Smiddy.
The impact of the college was evident after three years, he said. Two years after the college opened, only one teacher in Wise County has a B.A. degree from UVa., but after three years, 30 teachers had degrees from UVa.
"These students came back to teach school here with that wonderful degree from Mr. Jefferson's University," said Smiddy.
It was then he knew the Wise Men of Wise County saved the region.
Asbury was born on the cusp of The Great Depression and by age 5 his father died, leaving his mother to raise five young children.
Smiddy recalled lunch conversations with Asbury about different jobs he held including selling newspapers and shoveling coal into furnaces before graduating Wise High School.
"He use to laugh that he feed the furnace in the bank building that he now owns," said Smiddy, Asbury's best friend.
After a stint in the Army and graduating from Washington and Lee law school, Asbury returned to Wise County and ran for Commonwealth Attorney and won.
"We laughed that he ran one time and was elected for 16 years," said Smiddy.
After leaving the office, he served as town attorney for all the municipalities in Wise County and also served a the mayor of Wise.
"He loved to practice law in the towns, and he loved attending town meetings," said Smiddy.
He was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church; founding member of the Wise County Chamber of Commerce; founder of the Miner Hospital in Wise; past president of the Wise County Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar; worked to established the Gladeville Housing Authority, housing for the low-income; and active in the Wise County Democratic Party.
"He was a tremendous man, a really feeling person," said Sheriff Oakes.
Added Smiddy: "He was Mr. Southwest Virginia if there was ever one."
Funeral services for Asbury are at 5 p.m. today at the Sturgill Funeral Home in Wise, with Rev. Robert Layell officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Burial and graveside committal services will be held Monday at 11 a.m in the Wise Cemetery.
Died at the age of 84 YRS.
______
Social Security Index
KENNETH P ASBURY 25 Oct 1922 08 Mar 2007 (V) 24293 (Wise, Wise, VA) Virginia
______
'He saved this area'
by D.S. Tyson
(Originally printed in The Bristol Herald-Courier, March 11, 2007)
WISE – The barefoot boy from Burchfield, who some say was instrumental in saving the coal fields of Virginia by founding a college, died last week.
Kenneth P. Asbury was 84.
"It's not an understatement to say he saved this area" said Wise County Sheriff R.D. Oakes. "He wanted people to stay in the area, to get a good education. He knew if they left [for college] they most likely would not come back to this area."
As one of the "Three Wise Men," Asbury, along with the late Fred Grier and Bill Thompson Sr., realized the need for a college in the area to save the region's culture and economy. After several University of Virginia officials denied request to create a higher educational institute in Southwest Virginia, the three men appealed directly to the school's president in 1953, said Joseph C. Smiddy.
The UVa. president agreed, if a token appropriation came from the Virginia General Assembly. With help from powerful friends, what would become the University of Virginia's College at Wise was create with a $10,000 appropriation by the legislature.
On Sept. 13, 1954, 109 students attended the first day of class. The first decade and a half, the school offered two-year degrees and had many students transfer to four-year institutions.
"There were 70 men [students] who were Korean [War] veterans and many of the professors were World War II veterans," said Smiddy, who was the school's first biology professor and later became its Chancellor before retiring in 1985.
Many of the first students were children of coal miners or coal miners themselves using the GI bill to pay for college, said Smiddy.
The impact of the college was evident after three years, he said. Two years after the college opened, only one teacher in Wise County has a B.A. degree from UVa., but after three years, 30 teachers had degrees from UVa.
"These students came back to teach school here with that wonderful degree from Mr. Jefferson's University," said Smiddy.
It was then he knew the Wise Men of Wise County saved the region.
Asbury was born on the cusp of The Great Depression and by age 5 his father died, leaving his mother to raise five young children.
Smiddy recalled lunch conversations with Asbury about different jobs he held including selling newspapers and shoveling coal into furnaces before graduating Wise High School.
"He use to laugh that he feed the furnace in the bank building that he now owns," said Smiddy, Asbury's best friend.
After a stint in the Army and graduating from Washington and Lee law school, Asbury returned to Wise County and ran for Commonwealth Attorney and won.
"We laughed that he ran one time and was elected for 16 years," said Smiddy.
After leaving the office, he served as town attorney for all the municipalities in Wise County and also served a the mayor of Wise.
"He loved to practice law in the towns, and he loved attending town meetings," said Smiddy.
He was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church; founding member of the Wise County Chamber of Commerce; founder of the Miner Hospital in Wise; past president of the Wise County Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar; worked to established the Gladeville Housing Authority, housing for the low-income; and active in the Wise County Democratic Party.
"He was a tremendous man, a really feeling person," said Sheriff Oakes.
Added Smiddy: "He was Mr. Southwest Virginia if there was ever one."
Funeral services for Asbury are at 5 p.m. today at the Sturgill Funeral Home in Wise, with Rev. Robert Layell officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Burial and graveside committal services will be held Monday at 11 a.m in the Wise Cemetery.
______
Social Security Index
KENNETH P ASBURY 25 Oct 1922 08 Mar 2007 (V) 24293 (Wise, Wise, VA) Virginia
______
'He saved this area'
by D.S. Tyson
(Originally printed in The Bristol Herald-Courier, March 11, 2007)
WISE – The barefoot boy from Burchfield, who some say was instrumental in saving the coal fields of Virginia by founding a college, died last week.
Kenneth P. Asbury was 84.
"It's not an understatement to say he saved this area" said Wise County Sheriff R.D. Oakes. "He wanted people to stay in the area, to get a good education. He knew if they left [for college] they most likely would not come back to this area."
As one of the "Three Wise Men," Asbury, along with the late Fred Grier and Bill Thompson Sr., realized the need for a college in the area to save the region's culture and economy. After several University of Virginia officials denied request to create a higher educational institute in Southwest Virginia, the three men appealed directly to the school's president in 1953, said Joseph C. Smiddy.
The UVa. president agreed, if a token appropriation came from the Virginia General Assembly. With help from powerful friends, what would become the University of Virginia's College at Wise was create with a $10,000 appropriation by the legislature.
On Sept. 13, 1954, 109 students attended the first day of class. The first decade and a half, the school offered two-year degrees and had many students transfer to four-year institutions.
"There were 70 men [students] who were Korean [War] veterans and many of the professors were World War II veterans," said Smiddy, who was the school's first biology professor and later became its Chancellor before retiring in 1985.
Many of the first students were children of coal miners or coal miners themselves using the GI bill to pay for college, said Smiddy.
The impact of the college was evident after three years, he said. Two years after the college opened, only one teacher in Wise County has a B.A. degree from UVa., but after three years, 30 teachers had degrees from UVa.
"These students came back to teach school here with that wonderful degree from Mr. Jefferson's University," said Smiddy.
It was then he knew the Wise Men of Wise County saved the region.
Asbury was born on the cusp of The Great Depression and by age 5 his father died, leaving his mother to raise five young children.
Smiddy recalled lunch conversations with Asbury about different jobs he held including selling newspapers and shoveling coal into furnaces before graduating Wise High School.
"He use to laugh that he feed the furnace in the bank building that he now owns," said Smiddy, Asbury's best friend.
After a stint in the Army and graduating from Washington and Lee law school, Asbury returned to Wise County and ran for Commonwealth Attorney and won.
"We laughed that he ran one time and was elected for 16 years," said Smiddy.
After leaving the office, he served as town attorney for all the municipalities in Wise County and also served a the mayor of Wise.
"He loved to practice law in the towns, and he loved attending town meetings," said Smiddy.
He was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church; founding member of the Wise County Chamber of Commerce; founder of the Miner Hospital in Wise; past president of the Wise County Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar; worked to established the Gladeville Housing Authority, housing for the low-income; and active in the Wise County Democratic Party.
"He was a tremendous man, a really feeling person," said Sheriff Oakes.
Added Smiddy: "He was Mr. Southwest Virginia if there was ever one."
Funeral services for Asbury are at 5 p.m. today at the Sturgill Funeral Home in Wise, with Rev. Robert Layell officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 p.m. until time of service at the funeral home. Burial and graveside committal services will be held Monday at 11 a.m in the Wise Cemetery.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
