黑料专区

For their first date,  Dr. Larry Crumbley 鈥�63 and his future wife, Donna Loflin Crumbley 鈥�63, took in the Fourth of July fireworks in Faith, N.C.  This important event was the summer of 1962, before their senior year at Pfeiffer College, and they went out just once more before returning to the Misenheimer campus for the start of the fall semester. On that occasion, they dined at a Chinese restaurant in Charlotte.

Remarkably, this scenario speaks not to tentative beginnings but to a constant determination to have a relationship 鈥� despite some daunting challenges.  

鈥淟arry and I grew up poor,鈥� said Donna, who鈥檚 originally from Salisbury, N.C. 鈥淲e both had to work in the summertime, all the time. So, he didn鈥檛 have much time for dating, and I didn鈥檛 have much time for dating.鈥�

Larry confirmed this, saying he often worked 10 hours a day during the summer before his senior year. One of his jobs was helping to build an Alcoa dam in Badin, N.C. The commute to get there from Kannapolis, N.C., his hometown, was 90 minutes. Sunday really was a day of rest because 鈥淚 slept all day,鈥� he said.

Larry, who just turned 80, studied business at Pfeiffer. He has taught accounting at several universities, principally Texas A&M University and Louisiana State University, where he earned a doctorate. He鈥檚 still teaching, having been appointed a Professor of Accounting on the  campus of . He has authored at least 325 articles and 65 books, including more than a dozen 鈥渆ducational鈥� novels, which illuminate various accounting concepts through fiction. Away from the classroom, he and his wife also owned a real estate company. One of Larry鈥檚 teaching specialties is taxation, on which he also has  written a series of bestselling textbooks. And since Donna worked for a time as a revenue agent at the IRS, he often tells his students, jokingly, that 鈥淚 teach people how to cheat, and Donna catches them.鈥�

Jokes aside, Larry didn鈥檛 achieve his professional status by chance.  

鈥淟arry鈥檚 parents told him that if he wanted a better life than they had, he鈥檇 better get an education,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e studied all the time.鈥�

The only times Larry wasn鈥檛 studying were when he and Donna were eating, he was wrestling, or they were participating in student government (Larry was Student Body President and Donna served as President of the Women鈥檚 Student Government Association). But Donna found a way to surmount this challenge.

鈥淚n order to see Larry, I would have to go to the library and study also,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 probably made my best grades at Pfeiffer because I studied more than I had in any other previous year.鈥�

As his aforementioned output indicates, Larry continued to work very hard when he became a professor. In 1972, he received Pfeiffer鈥檚 Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors excellence in one鈥檚 profession. In 2007, he received the LCPA Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education Award.

Larry composes all his books and articles in longhand. And after Donna left the IRS, she became his editorial assistant, a position she shared with Larry鈥檚 students. Or, as Donna put it, 鈥渕y job now is to type and be a grammarian for Larry. That鈥檚 why he married me.鈥�

Actually, Donna can point to another job she鈥檚 done well, namely mothering their three daughters, Stacey, Dana and Heather. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to say that they鈥檙e very independent, strong women who鈥檝e done very well for themselves in everything from high school counseling to working in the corporate world,鈥� she said.

Donna said that Larry will never stop working, and he said nothing in a recent interview to dispel that notion. But that doesn鈥檛 mean the couple has never made time in their schedules for relaxation. Indeed, Donna and Larry love to travel, and each one of them wants to add to the number of countries they鈥檝e visited. For Donna, that鈥檚 about 100, and for Larry, it鈥檚 140.

They鈥檝e also found ways to give back. A gift from Larry and Donna in 2014 provided for major renovations of Room 200 in Pfeiffer鈥檚 Jane Freeman Hall. Improvements included advanced multimedia equipment to aid in teaching a wide variety of courses. The room was renamed the Dr. D. Larry (鈥�63) and Donna Loflin (鈥�63) Crumbley Lecture Hall in recognition of their support.

In 2014-15, Larry served as Executive in Residence for Pfeiffer鈥檚 accounting program, providing professional guidance and coaching to help faculty build a nationally-ranked accounting program.

鈥淧feiffer gave us a great start in life,鈥� Donna said. 鈥淲e wanted to make sure future students enjoyed similar benefits.鈥�