19 April 2005

Jimmy Yarbrough, longtime member of Longwood admissions staff, dies

James M. "Jimmy" Yarbrough, one of Longwood University's most beloved employees, died April 14.

Yarbrough, 48, a Longwood alumnus who had battled non-Hodgkins lymphoma for eight years, was senior associate director of admissions. He had worked in the admissions office since August 1989. He was known for his impassioned and sometimes humorous oratory, his deep faith and his ability to connect with young people. The pastor of St. Luke's Baptist Church in Brookneal, he delivered countless invocations at campus events, and other speakers often said they dreaded following the gifted speaker to the podium.

"Jimmy was one of our shining stars," said Longwood President Patricia Cormier. "He was a father, a husband, a pastor, and a valuable member of the university and the community. Jimmy was unique. He will be missed by everyone who knew him."

A Richmond native, Yarbrough transferred to Longwood in the spring of 1977, in the middle of his sophomore year, from Virginia Union University, where he was a science major on an academic scholarship. "I had a basketball fever I wanted to cool down," he said in a 1993 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Basketball brought me here. I didn't even know the place existed." A guard on the Longwood basketball team for two years, he set a school record that still stands when he scored 46 points against Bluefield College in the final game of the 1977-78 season. He averaged 22.2 points per game in the 1976-77 season, the first season for men's basketball, and 16.9 the next year. As he often joked, he decided to give up basketball because Longwood hired a new coach, Ron Bash, who wanted his guards to shoot less.

At the time, he was one of only two African-American males on the campus. During the 1979-80 and 1980-81 academic years, he was a part-time student and worked part-time as an admissions counselor before earning a B.S. in therapeutic recreation in 1982. He worked at Southside Virginia Community College as a student services assistant/activities coordinator from 1981 to 1988, then directed the Charlotte County office on youth for one year before returning to his alma mater to work in the admissions office. He earned an M.S. from Longwood in community and college counseling in 1996.

Dr. Larry Hlad, a sociology professor who had Yarbrough as a student, was among the retired Longwood faculty and staff members "roasted" by Yarbrough when he emceed the employee banquet in February 2004. "I admired him from day one when I knew him as a student and as an athlete," Dr. Hlad said Monday. "Later, I continued to admire him as a colleague. I remember him fondly and will always cherish my association with him. As I told his wife at the visitation service, I didn't know he was sick, but I never saw him have a down day; he was always upbeat and smiling. That's the thing I remember most about him: that beautiful smile."

It was at Longwood, as an undergraduate, that he met his wife of 26 years, Allie Chaffin Yarbrough, who is co-principal of Prince Edward County High School. She earned a bachelor's degree at Longwood in 1978 and a master's degree in 1982. They have three children: Neal, Jason and Anne.

Yarbrough was an effective and popular admissions recruiter. "Jimmy's long career at Longwood was very instrumental in our strong admissions growth over the years," Dr. Cormier said. "He could always tell when a prospective student was a good fit for Longwood and, over the years, he recruited thousands of future Longwood graduates."

He became a licensed minister in 1986 and at one time pastored two churches, Yielding Zion Baptist Church in Burkeville and St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Kenbridge. "I've got three jobs: one with Longwood, one with those churches and a third one with the wife and kids," he told the Times-Dispatch in '93. A funeral service was held Monday at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Victoria, followed by interment in the church cemetery. Details of a forthcoming memorial service on the Longwood campus will be announced soon.