Obituary of Ronald Stump

Ronald L. Stump, 88, of Collins Ferry Road, Morgantown, former Dean and Director of the WVU Extension Service, passed away Thursday, July 30, 2009 at Mapleshire Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center.He was born July 3, 1921 in Stumptown, Gilmer County, a son of the late Dennis L. and Bonnie Fitzpatrick Stump.He served as Dean of the West Virginia Center for Extension and Continuing Education, and Director of the Cooperative Extension Service from 1973 to 1982. He also served as Associate Dean and Director from 1970-1973 and was Interim Dean for a year in 1969. From 1965 to 1969, he was Assistant Director of the Cooperative Extension Service.He was State Extension Program Leader for rural development in the earlier sixties. He served as a County Extension Agent for 14 years in Ohio, Doddridge and Pendleton counties. He was Extension Agent in Wheeling from 1952 to 1962.A native of Gilmer County, he attended Glenville State College from 1938 to 1940, taught in a one-room school at Shock from 1940 to 1943, and served in the US Army Air Force during World War II.Upon graduation from West Virginia University in 1948, he began a 34 year career with the WVU Extension Service, retiring as Dean and Professor Emeritus in 1982. He received a Master of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from West Virginia University in 1964.He was honored as a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the WVU College of Agriculture and Forestry. In 1985, he was inducted into the West Virginia Agricultural Hall of Fame. Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture honored him with their Award of Merit for Distinguished Service to Agriculture and their Senior Faculty Merit Award.As State Director of the Cooperative Extension Service, he served four years on the National Extension Committee for Organization and Policy of the Association of Land Grant Universities and for three years was a board member of the Northeast Center for Rural Development at Cornell University.He was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church and a former member of the Morgantown Kiwanis Club. He served as a member and Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Carrie Fogle Stump a brother, Kenneth D. Stump of Barberton, OH a nephew, Kenneth Stump, Jr. of Michigan and three nieces, Candace Lanham of Morgantown, Constance Fuchs of Pensacola, FL and Debbie Tipper of Vienna, WV.In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Richard R. Stump, and a daughter, Beverly Ann Stump.Friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown from 4-6pm on Sunday, August 2, 2009, and again on Monday, August 3, 2009 from 10-11 AM. The funeral service will be held at 11 am Monday morning in the funeral home with Rev. Michael Atkinson and Rev. Dr. Richard L. Wright officiating. Interment will follow in Lawnwood Cemetery. Military honors will be provided by the V.F.W. Post 548 and WVANG Military Funeral Honors, Camp Dawson, Kingwood, WV at the cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ronaldâs memory to the WVU Extension Service 4-H, WVU Room 619, Knapp Hall, PO Box 6031, Morgantown, WV 26506-6031, or to Wesley United Methodist Church, 503 High Street, Morgantown, WV 26505.