LOIS BRITT
MOUNT OLIVE -- Mrs. Annie Lois Grady Britt, 69, died at home on Saturday.
She was daughter of the late Perry and Ruby Jernigan Grady, and widow of Ralph "Dick" Britt. She received her bachelor of science degree in Home Economics from East Carolina University in 1956 and her master of science degree in Adult Education in 1969 from North Carolina State University. She served 34 years with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, including 14 years as County Extension Director, the first woman in North Carolina to serve in that capacity. After leaving the Extension in 1990, she worked until 2000 with Murphy Family Farms as Vice-President for Public Relations and was currently serving as Special Assistant to the President of Murphy-Brown LLC.
Her career of service to agribusiness was extensive. She served on the National Pork Producers Board of Directors, the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, N.C. Agriculture Advancement Consortium, Rural Economic Development Center Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee of the N.C. Forum for Research and Economic Education (NCFREE). She was a past president of the N.C. Agribusiness Council.
Along with her service to North Carolina agriculture, she served on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and had been appointed to the Chancellor's Board of Visitors for N.C. State University. She was currently serving on the N.C. Agriculture Foundation Board of Directors and on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Alumni and Friends Society Board of Advisors. She was also serving on the Board of Directors for the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television (UNC-TV).
She was a founding member of Duplin County Agribusiness Council, member of the Duplin County Outdoor Drama Board of Directors, and member of the Mount Olive College Capital Campaign committee.
Her many awards include the N.C. Pork Council Hall of Fame, N.C. 4-H Lifetime Achievement Award, NCSU Watauga Medal, "Tarheel of the Week" (The N&O), SENC Lander Award (Wilmington Star-News), 2003 Volunteer Service Award-National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association, 2002 Distinguished Alumnus for Agriculture-NCSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Distinguished Service Award, Melvin Cording Service to Agriculture Award, Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award, and Outstanding Alumni East Carolina University.
The funeral will be held on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in College Hall on the campus of Mount Olive College with the Rev. Mark Stephens officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery in Mount Olive.
The family will receive friends at Tyndall Funeral Home, 1005 North Church Street, Mount Olive, today from 6 until 9 p.m. At other times, the family will be at the Britt residence, 1883 Beautancus Road, Mount Olive.
Mrs. Britt is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, James Ralph Britt Jr. and Suzanne Guy Britt of Calypso; two grandsons, James Ralph Britt III, and Luke Donnell Britt, also of Calypso; a brother, Dr. Perry Linwood Grady of Raleigh; and a sister, Gail Grady Smith of Raleigh.
Flowers are welcome, or memorial donations may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church, c/o Charles Ivey, 2284 Summerlin's Crossroads Road, Mount Olive, N.C., 28365 or Duplin 4-H Foundation, P.O. Box 949, Kenansville, N.C., 28349; or to Lois Britt Endowment, NC Cooperative Extension Foundation, NCSU Campus Box 7645, Raleigh, N.C., 27695; or to Mount Olive College, 634 Henderson St., Mount Olive, N.C., 28365.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on June 6, 2005 1:57 PM