Janice Hardison Faulkner

Janice Hardison Faulkner

GREENVILLE - Janice Hardison Faulkner, 87, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Cypress Glen where she had spent the last six years.

After leaving her home in rural Martin County, she attended what was then East Carolina College where she earned both a B.S. and an M.A. in English and joined the faculty in 1957. In addition to teaching English and serving as chairwoman of the department, she served as director of alumni affairs, chair of the board of the ECU Credit Union, director of the Regional Development Institute and Associate Vice Chancellor for Regional Development. She published two English textbooks and numerous articles on folklore, local history, historic preservation and economic development.

Janice's career included many firsts. She was the first female executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party, and, in 1993, she became the first woman to serve on the eleven-member Council of State when she was sworn in as North Carolina's Secretary of Revenue. Governor Hunt appointed her Secretary of State in April 1996 and as Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles in April 1997. She retired from government service in 2001.

Since her retirement, Janice served East Carolina University as a member of the University Foundation, the inaugural chair of the university's Board of Visitors, the founding chair of the ECU Women's Roundtable and on the ECU Centennial Task Force and its steering committee.

She volunteered with the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce authoring the Chronicles of PIE (Partners in Education). Janice was appointed by the UNC Board of Governors as a member of the Vidant Health/Vidant Medical Center Board of Directors where she served as secretary. She also served as chair of the board of trustees of the Vidant Health Foundation. During her tenure, she was chair of the capital campaign for the East Carolina Heart Institute at Vidant Medical Center and helped raise funds for the James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital.

In 1993, Janice was recognized by ECU with its Outstanding Alumni Award and in 2007 as one of ECU's 100 Incredible Women by the ECU Women's Roundtable. She received the Jarvis Medal in 2009, East Carolina's highest award and the first woman to receive this prestigious recognition.

She was recognized as the 2002 Citizen of the Year by the Greenville-Pitt Chamber of Commerce and, in January 2011, Janice was the recipient of the Legends Award, established by the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce to recognize a person of distinction without whom the history of Greenville and Pitt County could not be written. In 2012, Janice received the Governor's Award for Public Service. In March 2014, ECU honored Janice with the opening of the Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery in Joyner Library.

Janice loved the state of North Carolina and was a passionate advocate for eastern North Carolina. She loved nothing more than spending time walking on the beach and swimming in the ocean. She had a love for seeing new life brought to old, historic houses. On Sunday mornings past, you could find her seated at the piano playing for church services. Janice had an unsurpassed passion for life and family that was evident in the masterful way she told stories of her life experiences and lessons learned.

Janice is preceded in death by her parents, Ben Ira and Hilda Hardison, and her brother, Ben Ira Hardison, Jr. She is survived by her beloved sister-in-law Joyce Baker Hardison of Williamston; her nephew Greg Hardison and his wife Leigh Anda of Greenville, and their children, Gregory and Cameron; niece Meredith Hardison Williams and her husband Clint of Chocowinity, and their children, Carley, Cutter and Peyton; and her cousins Willie and Crissie Hardison of Farmlife, Randy and Edie Hardison of Farmlife; Tommy Jones of Winterville; and Debbie Jones Tew of Raleigh.

The visitation will be Friday, Oct. 11, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Biggs Funeral Home in Williamston. The funeral will be Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. at Maple Grove Christian Church in Jamesville. To honor her love of East Carolina University, the family is asking those who attend to wear purple and gold. The graveside service will be immediately following at Tice Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the English Department of East Carolina University. Checks may be payable to: ECU Foundation, Inc. Please add "English Department in memory of Janice Hardison Faulkner" on the memo line and mail to the Office of Gift Records, East Carolina University, 2200 S. Charles Blvd, Suite 2213, Greenville, NC 27858

To give a gift online, visit https://english.ecu.edu/ and click on the yellow "Make a Gift" tab (on the right side of the webpage).

As published in The Daily Reflector