Capps, Gene
April 11, 1943 - January 3, 2023
Mr. Gene Thomas Capps, our Dad, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 3, 2023, at the age of 79. He was born on April 11, 1943 in Wilmington, North Carolina, but grew up in the small rural town of Laurinburg. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning an undergraduate degree in political science and a graduate degree in history and teaching.
After leaving Chapel Hill, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to teach language arts and social studies in Mecklenburg County Public Schools. It was there that he met our mom, Patricia Ann Ward, to whom he was married for over fifty years. They relocated to Winston-Salem, where he accepted a job at Old Salem Museums and Gardens as their director of education and interpretation, and later vice president of interpretation. From 1972 until 2001, he worked tirelessly to tell the stories of all Moravians through the accurate recreation of their customs and traditions and was pivotal in the development of a Black Moravian narrative at the museum. At the end of his career until 2005, he served as the executive director of the Calvin Jones House in Wake Forest, North Carolina, which tells the story of the establishment of Wake Forest University.
He spent the first years of his retirement as an adjunct teacher of world history at Summit School. These, he said, were the best years of his professional career.
Our Dad was a meticulous and devoted historian, collector, and storyteller. Even in his later years, his ability to share his vast knowledge of horticulture, history and historical artifacts was remarkable. His creativity was limitless and at near constant work - in his garden, painting and restoring, making what he imagined but could not find. He was a gifted writer - from lunchbox poems when we were little to short stories and historical textbooks in his retirement. Contrary to his rural, southern upbringing in the 1950's, he was a champion of diversity and acceptance. Those who knew him can attest to his unassuming hilarity.
More important than all these things, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved us all deeply. He was generous with praise and admiration and could somehow make even the smallest accomplishment feel big. He was endlessly proud of us and his grandchildren, who loved their Pop Pop and his stories.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence L. and Anna T. Capps. He leaves behind his sister, Martha Ann Ford (Gil); and two brothers, Lawrence Jr. and Kirby Capps (Linda); and his beloved wife and our mother, Patricia W. Capps, whom he loved, admired and adored. In addition to his wife and siblings, he is survived by us, his two daughters, Jordan McNeill Capps (Brian Hoffman) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Anna Clayton Brant (Keith) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; his five grandchildren, Winston McNeill Hoffman, Harper Anne Hoffman, Fischer Gene Brant, Ford Walker Brant and Charles Thomas Hoffman; and his dog and constant companion, Annie. We love you, Daddy. We are so lucky you were ours.
A celebration of life will be held at Home Moravian Church on Saturday, January 7 at 3 p.m.
We are requesting those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to The Summit School Scholarship Fund in his name.
Ewing Brothers Funeral Home
Published by Winston-Salem Journal on Jan. 6, 2023.
April 11, 1943 - January 3, 2023
Mr. Gene Thomas Capps, our Dad, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 3, 2023, at the age of 79. He was born on April 11, 1943 in Wilmington, North Carolina, but grew up in the small rural town of Laurinburg. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning an undergraduate degree in political science and a graduate degree in history and teaching.
After leaving Chapel Hill, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to teach language arts and social studies in Mecklenburg County Public Schools. It was there that he met our mom, Patricia Ann Ward, to whom he was married for over fifty years. They relocated to Winston-Salem, where he accepted a job at Old Salem Museums and Gardens as their director of education and interpretation, and later vice president of interpretation. From 1972 until 2001, he worked tirelessly to tell the stories of all Moravians through the accurate recreation of their customs and traditions and was pivotal in the development of a Black Moravian narrative at the museum. At the end of his career until 2005, he served as the executive director of the Calvin Jones House in Wake Forest, North Carolina, which tells the story of the establishment of Wake Forest University.
He spent the first years of his retirement as an adjunct teacher of world history at Summit School. These, he said, were the best years of his professional career.
Our Dad was a meticulous and devoted historian, collector, and storyteller. Even in his later years, his ability to share his vast knowledge of horticulture, history and historical artifacts was remarkable. His creativity was limitless and at near constant work - in his garden, painting and restoring, making what he imagined but could not find. He was a gifted writer - from lunchbox poems when we were little to short stories and historical textbooks in his retirement. Contrary to his rural, southern upbringing in the 1950's, he was a champion of diversity and acceptance. Those who knew him can attest to his unassuming hilarity.
More important than all these things, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved us all deeply. He was generous with praise and admiration and could somehow make even the smallest accomplishment feel big. He was endlessly proud of us and his grandchildren, who loved their Pop Pop and his stories.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence L. and Anna T. Capps. He leaves behind his sister, Martha Ann Ford (Gil); and two brothers, Lawrence Jr. and Kirby Capps (Linda); and his beloved wife and our mother, Patricia W. Capps, whom he loved, admired and adored. In addition to his wife and siblings, he is survived by us, his two daughters, Jordan McNeill Capps (Brian Hoffman) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Anna Clayton Brant (Keith) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; his five grandchildren, Winston McNeill Hoffman, Harper Anne Hoffman, Fischer Gene Brant, Ford Walker Brant and Charles Thomas Hoffman; and his dog and constant companion, Annie. We love you, Daddy. We are so lucky you were ours.
A celebration of life will be held at Home Moravian Church on Saturday, January 7 at 3 p.m.
We are requesting those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to The Summit School Scholarship Fund in his name.
Ewing Brothers Funeral Home
Published by Winston-Salem Journal on Jan. 6, 2023.
Capps, Gene
April 11, 1943 - January 3, 2023
Mr. Gene Thomas Capps, our Dad, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 3, 2023, at the age of 79. He was born on April 11, 1943 in Wilmington, North Carolina, but grew up in the small rural town of Laurinburg. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning an undergraduate degree in political science and a graduate degree in history and teaching.
After leaving Chapel Hill, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to teach language arts and social studies in Mecklenburg County Public Schools. It was there that he met our mom, Patricia Ann Ward, to whom he was married for over fifty years. They relocated to Winston-Salem, where he accepted a job at Old Salem Museums and Gardens as their director of education and interpretation, and later vice president of interpretation. From 1972 until 2001, he worked tirelessly to tell the stories of all Moravians through the accurate recreation of their customs and traditions and was pivotal in the development of a Black Moravian narrative at the museum. At the end of his career until 2005, he served as the executive director of the Calvin Jones House in Wake Forest, North Carolina, which tells the story of the establishment of Wake Forest University.
He spent the first years of his retirement as an adjunct teacher of world history at Summit School. These, he said, were the best years of his professional career.
Our Dad was a meticulous and devoted historian, collector, and storyteller. Even in his later years, his ability to share his vast knowledge of horticulture, history and historical artifacts was remarkable. His creativity was limitless and at near constant work - in his garden, painting and restoring, making what he imagined but could not find. He was a gifted writer - from lunchbox poems when we were little to short stories and historical textbooks in his retirement. Contrary to his rural, southern upbringing in the 1950's, he was a champion of diversity and acceptance. Those who knew him can attest to his unassuming hilarity.
More important than all these things, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved us all deeply. He was generous with praise and admiration and could somehow make even the smallest accomplishment feel big. He was endlessly proud of us and his grandchildren, who loved their Pop Pop and his stories.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence L. and Anna T. Capps. He leaves behind his sister, Martha Ann Ford (Gil); and two brothers, Lawrence Jr. and Kirby Capps (Linda); and his beloved wife and our mother, Patricia W. Capps, whom he loved, admired and adored. In addition to his wife and siblings, he is survived by us, his two daughters, Jordan McNeill Capps (Brian Hoffman) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Anna Clayton Brant (Keith) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; his five grandchildren, Winston McNeill Hoffman, Harper Anne Hoffman, Fischer Gene Brant, Ford Walker Brant and Charles Thomas Hoffman; and his dog and constant companion, Annie. We love you, Daddy. We are so lucky you were ours.
A celebration of life will be held at Home Moravian Church on Saturday, January 7 at 3 p.m.
We are requesting those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to The Summit School Scholarship Fund in his name.
Ewing Brothers Funeral Home
Published by Winston-Salem Journal on Jan. 6, 2023.
April 11, 1943 - January 3, 2023
Mr. Gene Thomas Capps, our Dad, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Monday, January 3, 2023, at the age of 79. He was born on April 11, 1943 in Wilmington, North Carolina, but grew up in the small rural town of Laurinburg. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning an undergraduate degree in political science and a graduate degree in history and teaching.
After leaving Chapel Hill, he moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to teach language arts and social studies in Mecklenburg County Public Schools. It was there that he met our mom, Patricia Ann Ward, to whom he was married for over fifty years. They relocated to Winston-Salem, where he accepted a job at Old Salem Museums and Gardens as their director of education and interpretation, and later vice president of interpretation. From 1972 until 2001, he worked tirelessly to tell the stories of all Moravians through the accurate recreation of their customs and traditions and was pivotal in the development of a Black Moravian narrative at the museum. At the end of his career until 2005, he served as the executive director of the Calvin Jones House in Wake Forest, North Carolina, which tells the story of the establishment of Wake Forest University.
He spent the first years of his retirement as an adjunct teacher of world history at Summit School. These, he said, were the best years of his professional career.
Our Dad was a meticulous and devoted historian, collector, and storyteller. Even in his later years, his ability to share his vast knowledge of horticulture, history and historical artifacts was remarkable. His creativity was limitless and at near constant work - in his garden, painting and restoring, making what he imagined but could not find. He was a gifted writer - from lunchbox poems when we were little to short stories and historical textbooks in his retirement. Contrary to his rural, southern upbringing in the 1950's, he was a champion of diversity and acceptance. Those who knew him can attest to his unassuming hilarity.
More important than all these things, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He loved us all deeply. He was generous with praise and admiration and could somehow make even the smallest accomplishment feel big. He was endlessly proud of us and his grandchildren, who loved their Pop Pop and his stories.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence L. and Anna T. Capps. He leaves behind his sister, Martha Ann Ford (Gil); and two brothers, Lawrence Jr. and Kirby Capps (Linda); and his beloved wife and our mother, Patricia W. Capps, whom he loved, admired and adored. In addition to his wife and siblings, he is survived by us, his two daughters, Jordan McNeill Capps (Brian Hoffman) of Salt Lake City, Utah and Anna Clayton Brant (Keith) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; his five grandchildren, Winston McNeill Hoffman, Harper Anne Hoffman, Fischer Gene Brant, Ford Walker Brant and Charles Thomas Hoffman; and his dog and constant companion, Annie. We love you, Daddy. We are so lucky you were ours.
A celebration of life will be held at Home Moravian Church on Saturday, January 7 at 3 p.m.
We are requesting those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to The Summit School Scholarship Fund in his name.
Ewing Brothers Funeral Home
Published by Winston-Salem Journal on Jan. 6, 2023.
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