By Susan Shinn Turner
For the Salisbury Post

Some things you need to know about Fred Corriher:

He was fascinated with trains, and helped bring the N.C. Transportation Museum to life. A voracious reader, he loved to cook, and he loved wine, so much so that he was part of a prestigious society in the Burgundy region of France.

But there are two more important things you definitely need to know, the two things Fred was most passionate about: his family and Catawba College.

Fred, 84, who served as Catawba’s 19th president, died Monday morning at home, just a couple blocks away from his beloved campus, surrounded by his beloved family. He and wife Bonnie, whom he married in 1976, moved to a cozy cottage on Brenner Avenue in 2015. There, Fred could hear the bells of Omwake-Dearborn Campus, and smell that delicious pork aroma emanating from College Barbecue just around the corner.

For him, it was heaven.

And he didn’t want to leave, according to his son, Frederick Corriher, said Monday.

Fred and his wife have five children and three grandchildren, and Fred said he kept “setting the goalposts a little farther out” with his oncologist, Dr. Brink Brinkley. Fred had battled bladder cancer for more than 10 years.

“You’ve got to get me to May 2022, so I can give my granddaughter her diploma,” Fred told him.

Ambria Barbee represents the fifth generation of her family to attend Catawba.

Then, Fred and Bonnie found out that Frederick and his wife, Lindsey, are expecting a son in January, and will name him Joseph Frederick Corriher IV. Fred asked for a little more time.

Then, Frederick’s brother, John Lotan and his wife, Allyson, found out they are expecting in May.

“You’re giving me a big challenge,” his doctor said.

Still, Frederick said, “He fulfilled his dream of giving Ambria her diploma.”

Frederick called his dad a wonderful father. “He could be stern but was very loving, and always supportive of his kids. He was especially protective of his daughters. He was of that generation. His expectation was for all of us to get an education and to have a servant’s heart.”

Frederick and John Lotan, who both live in Charleston, have been staying with their parents for nearly two weeks. Their sister Mary Dickson, along with Ambria and Bonnie, all healthcare professionals, gave Fred “better than you can imagine care at home,” which aligned with Fred’s wishes to remain at home.

Fred had great respect for both sides of his family, the Corrihers and the Alexanders, Frederick said.

“The greatest compliment he could ever receive was with something he did that would make his father and grandfather proud,” Frederick said. “Our children will grow up learning about their granddaddy.”

His older grandchildren, Ambria and Brandon Price, who lives in Landis, got to know their grandfather well. Leah Claire Corriher, John Lotan’s 18-month-old daughter, was just getting to know him.

“He was a good man, and family was everything to him,” Frederick said.

Daughter Charlotte Corriher lives in Wilmington, while daughter Susan Corriher remains in Landis, as does Fred’s brother Eugene.

Fred was on the Catawba board of trustees when President Stephen Wurster died suddenly. The board asked Fred to take the interim president role, said Dr. Ken Clapp, Catawba’s chaplain and senior vice president.

“He’d never had any experience in higher education administration, so there was a learning curve there,” Ken said Monday. “He was very excited about the work and very committed on getting up to speed to learn what he needed to know.”

He and Fred may have had differing opinions when discussing various issues, but they always ended their meetings with consensus, he said.

Tom Childress worked with Fred from 1995 to 2002.

“He would have worked for nothing,” Tom said Monday. “He absolutely loved his job. In 1997, he came to me and said, ‘Let’s do a campaign.’”

That capital campaign raised $59.5 million, constructed seven new buildings and renovated a dozen.

“It was a transition time for the college facility-wise,” Tom recalled. “Fred would bend over backward to help a student. He was all about students. The board realized quickly that they couldn’t do any better in a president than Fred. It probably took him 15 seconds to say yes.”

Tom Smith served as chairman of Catawba’s board during Fred’s tenure.

“He was a very calm person,” Tom said Monday. “He thought through things, which was smart. His concern and love of Catawba played a big role in the board asking him to become president.”

And there was nobody who loved Catawba more.

Fred also had an impact in the southern part of the county, where he grew up. The J. Fred Corriher YMCA in China Grove bears his name.

“Fred was the first person for ensuring a Y in the South Rowan area,” said Jamie Morgan, CEO of the Rowan-Cabarrus Y. “His efforts to get that land donated was what sparked the interest to get the South Rowan Y built.”

After moving pretty much next door to the college, Fred and Bonnie attended athletic, theater and music events.

Fred told Bonnie that being Catawba president was the best job he ever had, she said Monday. Before that, he’d served as CEO of his family’s mill in Landis.

The Corrihers were thrilled to have Ambria move in with them during COVID, and she’s still there, saving money as she works as an oncology nurse at NorthEast.

“The dining room table was her classroom for a semester,” Bonnie noted.

This is not the only loss the family has suffered. Mary’s husband died of COVID on Dec. 12, 2021.

“It’s been a rough year for my Mary,” her mom said.

Still, Fred knew how lucky he was, she said.

“When we got the final diagnosis in March and had few options, Fred told me, ‘You know, I’ve lived a good life. I’ve visited amazing places and made amazing friends. I have no regrets. I am at peace.’”

“I always told him, ‘You led a Norman Rockwell life growing up in Landis.’ He worshiped his father and adored his mother. He was a good son. He was blessed and he knew it.”

Fred’s memorial service is set for noon Nov. 19 at Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on the Catawba campus. Dr. Ken Clapp and the Rev. Larry Bolick will officiate. Memorials: J. Fred Sr. and Mary A. Corriher Endowed Scholarship at Catawba College.