Former OBU Professor Gregory Pritchard Dies

December 3, 2007

Dr. Gregory Pritchard, OBU philosophy professor from 1952-1968, died Sunday, December 2, in North Carolina. He was 84.

Pritchard retired from the faculty of Wake Forest University in 1994, after teaching at the university for 25 years following his OBU career.

Born in Pawhuska, Okla., on August 5, 1923, Pritchard graduated from OBU in 1944 with a bachelor's degree in history. He earned the bachelor of divinity degree (a master's level degree) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and completed a Ph.D. degree from Columbia University.

He married the former Hope Owen, also a 1944 OBU graduate, in 1945. They were married for 43 years before she died in 1988 after a battle with cancer. Mrs. Pritchard was a member of the OBU nursing faculty from 1952-68.

Pritchard was chairman of OBU's philosophy department. In 1969, he moved to Wake Forest to work with Dr. James Ralph Scales, former OBU president who became president of WFU in 1967.

Pritchard served as chairman of the WFU philosophy department. During his tenure at the Baptist university, he was recognized several times as "Professor of the Year." Following retirement, he continued to teach part time until he was 75. Then, in the retirement community where he lived in Tobaccoville, N.C., he started teaching Philosophy 101 to the residents and others from the community.

In 2004, OBU alumni and friends established the Dr. Gregory D. Pritchard Endowed Scholarship at OBU to honor their beloved professor. The scholarship provides support for outstanding philosophy students. Memorial gifts may be made to the scholarship fund by mail to OBU Development Office, 500 West University, Shawnee, OK 74804, or by contacting the Development Office at 405.878.2703.

Pritchard is survived by two children, Lorna, who resides in Colorado, and Kevin, who lives in North Carolina.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, December 8, at 2 p.m. in Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University.