Ralph Hardee Rives

Lit a candle in memory of Ralph Hardee Rives

Jos en Olga de Visser from The Netherlans would like to lit a candle for Ralph. We got to know Ralph by our vriend Gerda Nischan from Greenville NC , while we lived there for a couple of Years. We cherish the sweetest memories on many occasions. Also we wrote each other many letters. We will never forget him.

Hi my name is Kayla and I am a local bible teacher. I am so sorry for the loss of your loved one. There is a very comforting scripture at Isaiah 258. It says that soon Jehovah will swallow up death forever and that he will wipe away all of the tears. So we can all look forward to a time when death will be no more. I hope that this scripture can bring some true comfort during these difficult times.

Dr. Rives was my English professor at East Carolina. I was also involved with him in the East Carolina Playhouse production of Auntie Mame among others. After graduation we were friends together in several patriotic and historical societies until his recent death. My wife and I paid him a visit at his home in Enfield 5 or 6 years ago and had a nice nostalgic visit and relived a few war stories. Dr. Rives was one of a kind and had a sense of humor that was one of a kind. I will miss Ralph. Rest in peace. Jerry Higgins Clayton, NC

My great friend Sheri Lynn M. and I took his English Lit class at East Carolina in the fall of 88, and it remained a favorite course of ours throughout our college careers and one that we remember vividly to this day. Hes a foremost reason I can read classic English Literature today and enjoy it. Ironically, Lynn and I had a hard time getting through his tests, never seeming to hit on just the right thing hed look for in our essays (although we consistently learned a lot). Two seats over was a classmate whose test answers were much, much shorter than ours – but he always scored a 98 or higher while Lynn and I struggled to pass. We called him 98 and a half, and indeed, his essays (or rather short answers, in his case) did hit on things Lynn and I would miss. Years later, I established a semi-regular written correspondence with Mr. Rives (something I especially enjoyed since no one these days writes real cards and letters) and told him about 98 12. Practically overnight, that man sent me a friendship gift, a check for $98.50! Spend it on something fun, he wrote. By this time, wed of course talked about our shared passion for books, as well as our love of classic movies. So, I used the check for a few volumes to add to the home library, as well as several spectacular classic films on blu ray. I regret I never got to visit him in Enfield but am glad we kept in touch. In an age where the seemingly worst-behaved people can inexplicably bathe in adulation, Im glad to say that Ralph Hardee Rives is my kind of role model. Classy, tasteful, intelligent, generous, and overloaded with charm and wit, he will always be lovingly remembered by all who know him.

I had the privilege of serving serving as the Methodist District Superintendent and was a friend of Ralphs. Among his lasting contributions he was the author of the sections of the Encyclopedia dealing with Methodist Protestants. He told me of the Sunday (probably 1940) he and his mother met at the Methodist Protestant Church in Enfield, gathered with fellow church members, sang a hymn, then took their hymnals and walked across the parking lot to the former MECS to be included in membership. RAlph and I ad a mutual friend in Bob McKenzie, who like me, served as senior pastor of Front Street Burlington and then was appointed as superintendent of the Rocky Mount District. Ralph, a committed Anglophile, recommended a pub in London for Bob and Frances to visit. When they go there and mentioned his name, a chorus of Oh, Ralphie! Of course! went up throughout the establishment. Bob soon found that Ralph had regaled them with stories of how as he grew up in the Deep South. He said he never walked anywhere as a little boy but had a Darkie carry him. And the Londoners believed him! It was all spurious, of course, but Ralph loved pulling their legs. Like I said, he was a character, but a genuinely fine Christian who loved his Lord and his church. He never answered his phone, didnt believe in cell phones at all, and loved hand-written correspondence. To find him I would show up at the Enfield post office about 1000 a.m. where he would come to retrieve his mail.