First Floyd J. Lupton Sr. Scholarship awarded

A Washington man has received the first scholarship awarded from an endowment established at Beaufort County Community College in memory of the long-time congressional aide to former U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones.

Larry Thomas Woolard, 42, has been chosen to receive the Floyd J. Lupton Sr. Memorial Scholarship. Woolard is a student in BCCC’s Medical Laboratory Technology Program. He is a graduate of Washington High School and plans to study nuclear medicine after graduating from BCCC. He and his wife, Kim, have two children.

“This scholarship could not be more needed,” he said. “It is going to help me meet my goals for the future and help others through my medical training.”

For 26 years, if Northeastern North Carolina needed something done, they called Mr. Lupton who served from 1966 until 1991 as chief of staff to then-U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones. He died in 2005.

A native of Pantego, Mr. Lupton graduated from Pantego High School. Later he attended North Carolina State University, leaving there to join the Army, where he served in the 99th Infantry Division, seeing action at the Battle of the Bulge, Remagen Bridgehead and battle of Central Europe. He was decorated with the Bronze Star and honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant.

Upon returning to the United States, he was reunited with his sweetheart, Doris Ambrose, and they were married on July 25, 1948. She died in 1996.

Mr. Lupton’s career encompassed many avenues. From working on the family farm in Pantego to years with Norfolk Western Railroad, the NC Wildlife Commission, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department, and the NC Board of Parole.

During his tenure in Washington, D.C., Mr. Lupton earned the reputation as a dedicated, tireless, and invaluable representative of the people of the former 1st Congressional District. Day or night, whenever someone was in need, they could call the office and hear the familiar Southern accent of Floyd Lupton.

Mr. Lupton received many honors and recognitions which always humbled him. Among those are the 1980 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award from the Belhaven Chamber of Commerce; September 8, 1983 designated as Floyd Lupton Day in Beaufort County; the "Dare Days" Award in June of 1992; the Order of the Long Leaf Pine presented by former Governor Jim Hunt; a "roast" by the Partnership for the Sounds, and a Department of Transportation ferry bearing his name, among numerous other recognitions, resolutions, and honors of appreciation.