Andrew N. Aheart

Andrew N. Aheart

Dr. Andrew N. Aheart of Institute passed away on Tuesday, December 15, 2009, at age 88, after a short illness.

Dr. Aheart was born in Wildwood, Virginia, on April 13, 1921. He graduated from South Carolina Abrams High School in 1938 and attended Virginia Union University in Richmond, where he graduated summa cum laude in June 1942. He moved on to the Harvard University School of Mathematics in the fall of 1942, where he entered on a Rosenthal Scholarship. He served in the European Theatre in Northern France in the 3123rd Quartermaster Service Company during World War II and received several awards. He was discharged on February 18, 1946. He returned to Harvard in the fall of 1947 and graduated in May 1948 with a master's degree in mathematics. Dr. Aheart accepted a teaching position at West Virginia State College in September 1948 and remained there until his retirement in 2008 after 60 years.

Professor Aheart served as the chairman of the Mathematics Department for over 30 years and as dean of the College of Natural Science and Mathematics for several years. He also served as the university's faculty/athletic representative to the NAIA and the NCAA. Dr. Aheart also received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in December 2006.

Dr. Aheart is survived by two sisters, Mable Washington and Mary A. Anderson; a devoted brother-in-law, Alphonzo Anderson, all of Palmyra, Virginia; a son, Lamont Aheart and his wife, Margaret Wilde, of Vernon, Connecticut; a daughter, Gail Aheart of Columbus, Ohio; daughter-in-law, Sandra Aheart of Richmond, Virginia; three grandsons, Lamont Foster and his wife, Geena, of Long Beach, California, Charles Aheart of St. Albans and Robert Aheart of Vernon, Connecticut; four granddaughters, Angela Aheart and great-granddaughter, LaSaundra Aheart, of Richmond, Virginia, Allison Aheart and great-grandson, Samuel Hayward Jr. of Newport News, Virginia, April Aheart of Richmond, Virginia, and Elizabeth Aheart of Vernon, Connecticut; a great-grandson, Jabari Foster of Long Beach, California; a great-granddaughter, Simone Foster of Long Beach, California; a nephew, Alphonzo Anderson Jr. of Charlottesville, Virginia; two nieces, Cynthia Troublefield and her husband, James, of Richmond, Virginia, and Ella Mae Holland of Palmyra, Virginia; a host of great-nephews, great-nieces and other relatives; and special family friends, Patricia King of Charleston, Joe Dawson of Institute, Regina Isabella of Dunbar, Barbara Howard of Cross Lanes, Lee Ross of Institute, Thornton Price of Beckley, and Coach Oree Banks of Dunbar.

Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, December 19, 2009, at St. James Baptist Church in Palmyra, Virginia. Burial will be at the family cemetery in Palmyra.

J. F. Bell Funeral Home, 108 6th Street NW, Charlottesville, Virginia, is in charge of arrangements jfbellfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Dr. Aheart's name to the National "W" Club, WVSU, P.O. Box 621, Institute, WV 25112.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.