Betty & Bob Strickland

Year Inducted: 2022

Elizabeth Miller Strickland (Betty) was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in October 1932. With a father in the US Navy/Coast Guard, Betty, her mother, and her five siblings enjoyed an exciting and adventurous childhood as the family moved with her father’s various assignments across the United States. On one of those assignments, the family moved to Asheboro, NC where Betty met her future husband: a dashing, young Eagle Scout named Bob Strickland.

Robert Louis Strickland (Bob) was born in March 1931 in Florence, SC. He spent his growing-up years in Asheboro where he graduated from Asheboro High School. He pursued his studies at UNC- Chapel Hill, while Betty attended (then) High Point College. She was selected to be Miss High Point College in 1952. After marriage to Betty that same year, and after the completion of his four years at UNC- Chapel Hill, Bob an ROTC graduate, served in the US Navy in the Korean Conflict. After his safe return stateside, the young couple moved to Cambridge Massachusetts. There Bob attended Harvard University School of Business while Betty worked as Executive Assistant to the President of Serta, Inc. The couple settled permanently in NC in 1957 as Bob began his lifelong career at Lowe’s Companies, Inc. in North Wilkesboro.

Betty and Bob enjoyed 66 magnificent years of marriage together. The couple’s two children, Cynthia and Rob, were both born at Wilkes General Hospital, and remember a very happy childhood growing up on the Brushy Mountains and attending Wilkesboro Elementary School. Bob was elected to serve in the NC House of Representatives in 1962 representing Wilkes County. He was very proud to serve, as his grandfather’s years of membership in the S.C. House of Representatives had always been an inspiration to him. Bob was especially gratified to cast his affirmative vote in the Legislature establishing the NC Community College System, as expanding young people’s accessibility to higher education was a passionate and enduring interest. He served on Wilkes Community College’s Board of Trustees from 1964-1973.

Betty and Bob together embodied a lifelong love of learning, and a firm belief in the transformative powers of education. They were a remarkable team who believed in daring greatly: doing one’s “homework” carefully, then advancing with hard work, optimism, hope, and faith. Both were enthusiastically active in their church, their children’s school, and in the community. Bob was an early President of Wilkes Art Guild, which he and Betty helped to establish. Betty also helped start the inaugural chapter of The Girl Scouts in Wilkes County. They established The Strickland Family Foundation in 1994. Their charitable work in the arts and education has been a great source of personal satisfaction through the years, since “helping others” remains a guiding life-principle for them both. They have established mentoring and career counseling networks serving Wilkes High School students and Wilkes Community College students. Other wonderful organizations in Wilkes County especially dear to Betty and Bob include Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, The Health Foundation, Wilkes Art Gallery, Ebenezer Gardens Christian Children’s Home, and Wilkes Recovery Revolution.