James W. Stines
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Dr. James W. Stines, age 85, of Laurel Park Road, Blowing Rock, passed away Monday evening, January 20, 2020, at Watauga Medical Center in Boone. Dr. Stines was born January 21, 1934 in Asheville, North Carolina, a son of the late Ernest and Doris Searcy Stines. He was a retired university professor. He attended Wake Forest University, where he earned a A.A. in English in 1954. Dr. Stines received a B.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1958, and earned his Ph.D. in religion from Duke University in 1970, minoring in philosophy. His dissertation was titled "Phenomenology of Language in the Thought of Soren Kiekegaard." Dr. Stines began his career in 1956 as a social case worker at children's reception centers in Louisville and Jefferson County in Kentucky, serving in this position until 1958. From 1955 - 1958, he was pastor of New Liberty Baptist Church in Henryville, Indiana, and was Baptist chaplain at the University of Florida from 1958 - 1961. From 1961 - 1964, he was Baptist chaplain at Duke University and guest lecturer at the Duke Divinity School. He became a part-time instructor in Duke's Department of Religion before joining the faculty at Campbell University as an assistant professor in 1967. He came to ASU in 1968 as an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy-Religion, serving that department as associate and later full professor until his retirement in 1996. Among his other accomplishments, he was a co-founder of Watauga College, HEW Triple-T fellow, and humanities coordinator for the Triple-T Project. Other professional affiliations include the American Philosophical Association, the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science, the Kierkegaard Society, and the Polanyi Society. Dr. Stines loved sports, primarily golf, and had a love of nature, woods and water, hiking, camping and traveling. Dr. Stines is survived by his wife, Joyce Peterson Stines of the home; one daughter, Stephanie Phillippi of Carrboro; one son, Tracy Stines and wife Erica of Charlotte; two granddaughters, Amanda Rae Stines of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Meghan Tracy Stines of Charlotte; two grandsons, Jason Edward Phillippi and wife Lori and great-granddaughter, Leah Phillippi of Carrboro, and Andy Phillippi of Carrboro; and one brother, Dr. Ernest N. Stines of Canton, North Carolina. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Ernest and Doris Searcy Stines, and one grandson, James Aaron Phillippi. Memorial services for Dr. James W. Stines will be conducted Saturday afternoon, January 25, 2020, at 3:00 o'clock, at Boone United Methodist Church. Officiating will be Pastor Jeff McClean. A private burial will be held later at Woodlawn Cemetery in Blowing Rock. The family will receive friends, Saturday afternoon, at a reception following the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Baptist Children's Home of North Carolina, PO Box 338, Thomasville, North Carolina, 27361 or to the Salvation Army, 501 Archdale Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28217. Online condolences may be sent to the Stines family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.