Obituary of and additional information on Duncan Thomas Memory

Death occurred August 6, 1949 in Birmingham, Alabama

Duncan Thomas Memory was born on May 10, 1898 in Whiteville, NC. His parents were Jasper Lutterloh and Mary Catherine Memory. His father was the Clerk of the county court in Whiteville, and his mother was the sibling of notable North Carolina poet, John Charles McNeill. Mary Catherine had been a very brilliant school student.

The order of births of Duncan and his siblings was: Leila (later McMillan), Maud (later Watkins), Fay, Mamie (later Saunders), Duncan, Jasper Livingston, and John Charles. Duncan enjoyed tennis with his brothers and played an exquisite banjo ukulele while singing with Jasper.

Duncan graduated with civil engineering degree from North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University). An excellent athlete, Duncan participated in several varsity sports at NCSC. At the end of World War I, he was the commander of an Army infantry company of black soldiers, which was being prepared to be deployed in combat in Europe.

Mary Catherine was a descendent of Daniel and Catharine Campbell White, who in 1813 bought the two square mile tract of land on the Lumber River in south-central North Carolina which has been known for about 200 years as Riverton. The northern edge of Riverton is a little more than a mile from Wagram, NC.

In the 1920s, John Madison Arnette became the minister of the Spring Hill Baptist Church (then in Wagram, NC), which had been established by Daniel White. During the late 1920s, Duncan met the lovely, brilliant, and talented daughter of John Madison and Annie McIntosh Arnette, Odessa, while Duncan’s family was vacationing in Riverton, staying in his family’s cabin.

Duncan and Odessa were married in 1930. Duncan specialized in civil engineering, focusing on construction using reinforced concrete. His career required frequent relocations, and during their marriage, the couple lived in Ohio, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, Norfolk, Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama. In Ohio, Duncan contributed to the construction of the renowned train terminal, and in Tennessee, he worked on projects for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Unfortunately, as is often the case for construction engineers, Duncan’s employment ended when each project was completed.

In 1937 and 1938, Duncan planned and supervised construction of their log cabin, which is centrally located in Riverton.

Duncan and Odessa had five sons: Thomas McNeill Memory (March 7, 1934-December 24, 2020), Donald Wayne Memory (June 10, 1936-September 4, 2020), Duncan Alexander Memory (1937-1940), and twins: John Madison Memory (December 28, 1943-) and David McIntosh Memory (December 28, 1943-March 28, 2025).

Duncan (in absentia) and Odessa had four grandchildren. Donald and Katherine Kerr Memory had Duncan Thomas Memory, Alexa Arnette Memory Bazley, and George Kerr Memory. John and Barbara Cobb Memory had Alexander Clinton Memory.

In the 1930s, Duncan taught Donald to play the banjo ukulele. During Duncan’s last year, Donald taught John to play the ukulele when John was 5 years old.

On August 6, 1949, Duncan died unexpectedly. He was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery. Several weeks after Duncan’s death, Odessa moved herself and her sons to the family’s log cabin in Riverton. After her death in 1989, Odessa was buried beside Duncan. 

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