Williams Baptist University lost an alumna and dear friend over the Christmas holiday. Wanda Prince, a 1946 graduate of what was then Southern Baptist College, passed away December 18 in Paragould at the age of 98.
Until her passing, Mrs. Prince was the oldest known graduate of Williams. And part of her experience at the college bore a striking resemblance to that of today’s Williams Works students.
“I told Dr. Williams I didn’t have the money to go to school, but he said not to worry about it and that he would get me a job,” she told us in a 2016 interview. “I grew up working in cotton, so I knew how to work. He got me a job with Mr. Floyd North, the college’s first dean, working in the print shop. We would print bulletins and things for the businesses in town. I worked my way through my time at Southern.”
Wanda remembered a campus much different from the Williams Baptist University of today. In fact, the locations are not even the same, as she was a student at WBU’s original campus, located in Pocahontas, Ark.
“We had one, three-story building in Pocahontas, much different than what I see when I visit campus today,” she noted.
She went on to complete her bachelor’s in education from Central Missouri State University and earned her master’s in education from Arkansas State University.
Through her career, Wanda spent time teaching in the Walnut Ridge and Paragould school systems. While teaching, she traveled to India twice, once as a Fulbright Scholar in 1974, and again with the Department of Education in 1983.
“There’s quite the contrast between the culture I was used to and the culture in India. There are so many people there, and they are so, so poor,” she said. “I spent time working on research papers and writing textbooks. My concentration was on the green revolution, focusing on biogas and agriculture.”
After she retired from teaching in the public schools in 1988, she taught history at WBU’s extension site in Paragould for eight years. She also became the caregiver for her late husband of 34 years, Rev. Maurice Prince, who suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Her life was filled with a seemingly endless list of hobbies and responsibilities, from short story writing (she’s pictured above with one of her stories) to painting to woodworking. She put her talents to use in creating decorations for Vacation Bible School at her church, First Baptist Church of Paragould.
Wanda kept an incredibly active schedule, even into her 90s. She served as chair of the Greene County Spelling Bee Committee, and at church she was Awana commander, managed children’s church, coordinated the bus ministry, and headed up the 70 years and older Sunday school class.
“Wanda Prince lived an amazing life, serving Jesus and serving others,” said Williams President Dr. Stan Norman. “She was always proud of her Williams education, and we were so very proud of her as an alum. We are thankful for the 98 years that God gifted this world with the life of Wanda Prince.”
Affectionately known as Meemaw, Wanda leaves behind her children, Lance (Mary) Monroe, George (Ulien) Monroe, Gene (Betty) Prince, Sharon (David) Murphy, Kay (Danny) Wheeler, Gary (Carla) Prince, and Nina (Frank) Curtis, 25 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren.
