Catharine Smallwood Spragens

Catharine Smallwood Spragens COLUMBIA - Catharine Smallwood Spragens died Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Columbia, South Carolina, surrounded by family. She was 96. Born in Ripley, Mississippi, in 1919, Catharine was the daughter of the late John Allen and Ada Wiseman Smallwood. She grew up in nearby Oxford, a genteel college town known for its high southern society and colorful characters. Chief among them in her childhood was author William Faulkner, a regular presence who told Halloween ghost stories to neighborhood children and took them flying in his airplane, much to the consternation of Catharine's parents. After graduating from the University of Mississippi, Catharine moved to Washington, D.C., where she took a job at the Democratic National Committee. It was in Washington that she met and married Thomas Arthur Spragens, a handsome wartime Budget Bureau analyst who became the love of her life and her partner of 64 years, until his death in 2006. Pursuing his career in higher education, Tom and Catharine lived in Frankfort, Kentucky, Washington, D.C., Palo Alto, California, San Marino, California, and Columbia, Missouri, before settling in Danville, Kentucky, in 1957, when he was appointed president of Centre College following five years as president of Stephens College in Missouri. For 29 years, Catharine played an essential leadership role in the life of these colleges, drawing upon her intellect, grace and charm to promote inclusion and ensure that every individual -- whether student, employee, or visiting dignitary -- received a warm welcome. She regularly invited students into their home, providing support to Centre College's first African-American students and fostering goodwill on campus during turbulent eras, all while raising three children of her own. Whether at a college function or, in later years, visiting with family and friends on her porch at her beloved Crystal Lake, Catharine unfailingly put others at ease. She was a devoted wife, loving mother and doting grandmother and great-grandmother. She gave great backrubs, baked delicious banana bread, and cooked spaghetti that became an essential family tradition. She had lively, expressive eyes, radiated warmth and grace and seemed never to have met a stranger. She delighted in other people, and her many friends and family, no less charmed, delighted in her. She is survived by her children, Tom and Lynn Spragens of Durham, N.C., Barbara and Lynn Kelley of Columbia, S.C., and David Spragens of Nashville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Laura Kelley, Allison Kelley Croxton, Jackie Byerly, Stephen, Taylor, John and Liz Spragens; and great-grandchildren, Zachary, Nathan, Riley, Ada Grace, Ella Catharine, Colvin, Lily and Henry. A lifelong Presbyterian, she was a member of Shandon Presbyterian Church in Columbia. Memorial contributions may be made to the Rice Estate Employee Appreciation Fund, 100 Finley Road, Columbia, SC 29203, Shandon Presbyterian Church, 607 Woodrow Street, Columbia, SC 29205, Centre College Spragens Scholarship Funds, 600 W. Walnut Street, Danville, KY 40422 or the charity of one's own choosing. A celebration of her life will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at the Shandon Presbyterian Church. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.