by jowens | Mar 11, 2021
Welch College Technology Director Charles Wise announced his resignation from Welch College, according to Craig Mahler, Vice President for Financial Affairs.
Wise, a 1995 Welch graduate who has served as Technology Director since 1999, will be taking a position close to his childhood home in North Carolina. He and his wife Stephanie, a 1994 Welch graduate, will relocate soon after he completes his service at Welch on March 18. Wise’s daughter Emily will be graduating from Welch with a degree in Psychology this May. Daughter Anna attends Columbia International University.
Mahler said, “I sincerely appreciate Charles for his effective and faithful service to Welch students, faculty, and staff. We will miss Charles greatly, and we wish him well as he returns to North Carolina for his new position and to be closer to family.”
Reflecting on his time at Welch, Wise states, “After more than 25 years of involvement with the college, I am astonished at the caliber of people, both faculty and staff, that have been connected with Welch. It is an amazing place, and I will continue to support Welch College in the years to come.”
The college is working with Mr. Wise and Trident Technology Solutions, who consulted with Welch during construction and continues to provide network support, to develop plans for meeting this important need of students, faculty, and staff.
by jowens | Feb 12, 2021
Dear Members of the Welch Community,
These have been challenging times for all of us as we have coped with a global pandemic that had farther-reaching consequences than I ever imagined it would have. Our community has been resilient, however, and has navigated these troubled waters with prudence and with grace.
I was so saddened to have to announce to the Class of 2020 last year that we would have to cancel their normal 2020 Commencement activities. After meeting with the executive council of the Senior Class, we decided that the best way forward was to have Commencement exercises for the Class of 2020 at the same time as that of the Class of 2021.
While there are still many details to be finalized, and while anything could change given the current unpredictable situation with COVID-19, I wanted to announce the date of the Commencement exercises for both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 so that students and their guests could mark it on their calendars and make travel plans.
All Commencement activities for both classes will take place on Friday, May 7th. The times, locations, and details of the gatherings will be forthcoming. Guest seating will be limited owing to COVID-19 and the need for physically distanced seating. Thus a limited number of free tickets will be provided to each graduate for his or her family and friends.
Neither the graduate breakfast nor a Baccalaureate service will be held. An awards ceremony for the Class of 2021 will be held virtually, similar to what we held last year for the Class of 2020. Also forthcoming will be details regarding hooding for master’s degree recipients.
More details will follow as we finalize them. Thank you for your patience as we work through what will be a very different celebration in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. And continue to pray for us here at Welch as we continue to make key decisions and fulfill our mission in these difficult times.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
Sincerely,
Matt Pinson
President
by jowens | Jan 6, 2021
Laura Jane “Lolly” Coker Thigpen
November 24, 1926 – December 28, 2020
Laura Jane “Lolly” Coker Thigpen, 94, of Macon, Georgia, went to be with her Lord and Savior on December 28, 2020, after a meaningful and long life filled with God, family and friends which gave her joy, purpose and passion.
She was born to the late C. E. and Laura Coker on November 24, 1926, in Turbeville, South Carolina. She grew up on Puddin Swamp, until leaving at the age of 16 to go to Bob Jones College where she received a B.A. Degree in Speech and Drama. On June 20, 1947, she married Charles Allen Thigpen, with whom she ministered for the next 73 years. She lived in Nashville, Tennessee, for 60 years, where she served as professor of speech and drama for 40 years at Welch College (formerly Free Will Baptist Bible College.) In 2006, she moved to Byron, Georgia, to be near family, where she faithfully continued to serve the Lord in her community and as a member of White Oaks Free Will Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia.
Lolly was a dedicated wife, loving mother and grandmother, faithful servant of the Lord, gifted teacher, speaker and story teller, and friend to many. She will be remembered as a prayer warrior, encourager, and both student and teacher of the Word. She was a soul winner, compassionately serving others and sharing Christ with her students, neighbors and each person God placed in her path. Her passion for Jesus was evident, especially in her many dramatic productions and in the way she invested her life in her students. She raised four children who grew to know, love and serve Jesus and pass His legacy on to the next generation. Truly, her children and thousands upon thousands of others rise up and call her blessed (Proverbs 31:28).
Lolly is survived by her daughters, Laura Cannon (Steve), Ann Maines (Gary), Ruth Slaten (Brad), and daughter-in-law Yvonne Thigpen (Jonathan, deceased), as well as 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, and her brother, Dr. C. E. Coker, Jr., and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Lolly was joined in heaven three days later by her dear husband of 73 years, Dr. Charles Allen Thigpen, and was preceded in death by her beloved son, Jonathan Noel Thigpen, her parents, Clarence and Laura Coker, and her brothers Ray Coker, Col. Larry Coker, Dr. Homer Coker and Donald Coker.
In lieu of flowers, the Thigpen family requests that memorial gifts be made to the “Thigpen Fine Arts Center” project at Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee. Two years ago, Welch College launched an effort to name a wing of Celorio Hall on the new campus of Welch College the “Thigpen Fine Arts Center.” The purpose of the project is to perpetually honor the life and ministry of Dr. Charles A. and Laura Thigpen. The “Thigpen Fine Arts Center” will be the home of the drama and music departments of the college. Gifts may be sent to: “The Thigpen Fine Arts Center Project” c/o Welch College, 1045 Bison Trail, Gallatin, Tennessee, 37066.
Due to the restraints of COVID, there will be a memorial service and celebration of life at a later date. Please visit our website to leave memories, stories, and condolences. https://easlaten.wixsite.com/TheThigpens
“For her worth is far above jewels.
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Her children rise up and bless her;
A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:10, 25-26, 28, 30
by jowens | Jan 6, 2021
Dr. Charles Allen Thigpen
September 26, 1926 – December 31, 2020
Charles Allen Thigpen, 94, of Macon, Georgia, received his heavenly reward on December 31, 2020, after a long and rewarding life of dedication and service to the Lord, family, ministry, and people.
Charles was born to the late Jesse Allen and Mabel Thigpen on September 26, 1926, in Olanta, South Carolina, where he spent his childhood and was greatly impacted by his maternal grandparents, John and Stacia Thomas. Even as a teen, Charles displayed his strong work ethic as an assistant to the local pharmacist. At the age of 16, he left home to attend Bob Jones College where he received a B.A. degree in Bible and Pastoral Training. After graduation, on June 20, 1947, he married Laura Jane “Lolly” Coker, with whom he ministered for the next 73 years. After a short pastorate, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he began his ministry at Welch College (formerly Free Will Baptist Bible College), which spanned the years 1948-1991, except for a 4-year period when he had a fruitful ministry as pastor of Highland Park Free Will Baptist Church in Royal Oak, Michigan (now Central FWB Church). In his years at Welch College, he served as Professor, Administrator, President (1979-1990) and Chancellor. Throughout Charles’s many years of ministry, he served as a denominational leader, evangelist, interim pastor, and writer, while he also pursued several educational degrees in order to more fully serve in the academic arena. He received numerous degrees, culminating in a PhD from Middle Tennessee State University. After his retirement from Welch College, he began a 15-year ministry as Tennessee State Promotional Director from 1991-2006. He then moved to Macon, Georgia, to be near family where he continued to serve through preaching engagements, interim pastoral ministry, personal evangelism, and as an active member of White Oaks Free Will Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia.
Charles was a committed husband to his dear Lolly, devoted father to Jonathan, Laura, Ann, and Ruth, and faithful friend to many. He was the consummate soul winner, encourager, communicator, and shepherd. He had a true servant’s heart, which compelled him to pray continually, give generously, and reach out unselfishly to others. He was the ultimate pastor to pastors, personally calling and consistently praying for each of them by name. He was a gifted teacher, speaker and storyteller, as well as an excellent expositor and preacher of the Word. He was a disciplined and humble follower of Jesus, steadfast and true to the calling he had been given. Those who knew him, family and friends alike, will agree that he was “steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work” (I Corinthians 15:58).
Charles is survived by his daughters, Laura Cannon (Steve), Ann Maines (Gary), Ruth Slaten (Brad), and daughter-in-law Yvonne Thigpen (Jonathan, deceased), as well as 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, and his brother, Edd Thigpen, and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Charles’s wife of 73 years, Laura “Lolly” Coker Thigpen, preceded him to heaven by only three days, and he was also preceded in death by his beloved son, Jonathan Noel Thigpen, his parents, Jesse Allen and Mabel Thigpen, his step-mother, Kathleen Green Thigpen, his brothers Ingram Thigpen and Ernest Thigpen, and his sisters, Annelyn VanRoten and Vida Mabel Melton.
In lieu of flowers, the Thigpen family requests that memorial gifts be made to the “Thigpen Fine Arts Center” project at Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee. Two years ago, Welch College launched an effort to name a wing of Celorio Hall on the new campus of Welch College the “Thigpen Fine Arts Center.” The purpose of the project is to perpetually honor the life and ministry of Dr. Charles A. and Laura Thigpen. The “Thigpen Fine Arts Center” will be the home of the drama and music departments of the college. Gifts may be sent to: “The Thigpen Fine Arts Center Project” c/o Welch College, 1045 Bison Trail, Gallatin, Tennessee, 37066.
Due to the restraints of COVID, there will be a memorial service and celebration of life at a later date. Please visit our website to leave memories, stories, and condolences. https://easlaten.wixsite.com/TheThigpens
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” II Timothy 4:7-8
by jowens | Dec 31, 2020
Welch College President Emeritus Charles A. Thipgen died today in Macon, Georgia. He was 94 years old. His wife, Mrs. Laura Coker Thigpen, died earlier this week, Monday, December 28. They both had been hospitalized for COVID-19 at the time of their deaths.
The Thigpens leave behind a long legacy with Welch College. They joined the faculty in 1948. Except for a four-year stint as pastor of a Free Will Baptist church in Michigan, Dr. Thigpen served on the faculty of the college until 1991. He held the position of academic dean for over twenty years (1957-79). From 1979 to 1990, he served as Welch’s president, followed by a year as the college’s first chancellor.
Dr. and Mrs. Thigpen were preceded in death by their son Jonathan, a Welch alumnus who had served as a faculty member at Welch and also president of the Evangelical Training Association. Please pray for their daughters, Laura Cannon, Ann Maines, Ruth Slaten, and daughter-in-law Yvonne Thigpen, all of whom are Welch alumni, and their extended families. There will be a private service with a public memorial at a later date.
by jowens | Dec 29, 2020
Hi Mrs. Laura Thigpen, wife of Welch College President Emeritus Charles A. Thigpen, died last evening in Macon, Georgia. Mrs. Thigpen had been hospitalized earlier with COVID-19. She was 94 years of age. Please continue to pray for Dr. Thigpen who is still in the hospital and their daughters Laura Cannon, Ann Maines, Ruth Slaten, and daughter-in-law Yvonne Thigpen and their extended family.
