Steve Dial

Dr. Steve Clifford Dial, age 74, of Misenheimer, died at Stanly Regional Medical Center on Thursday, February 9, 2012. A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 2 p.m. at the Henry Pfeiffer Chapel on the campus of Pfeiffer University, Misenheimer, NC. Rev. Dana McKim will officiate. A reception and greeting of friends will be held immediately following in the Harris Science Building. He was born August 7, 1937 in Salisbury and raised in the Methodist tradition in Landis. Growing up he attended school in Landis, working his way through high school and college in the cotton mills of Corriher-Linn (later Cannon Mills). He graduated from Pfeiffer College in 1959 and received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, where he met his wife Carolyn. He lived in Misenheimer and taught at Pfeiffer for 41 years, retiring in 2003. Steve was a life-long learner, an avid golfer, a long-time member of the Association of Southeastern Biologists, and a passionate educator. He touched the lives of hundreds of students, colleagues, and friends, treating everyone as if they were family. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, of 52 years,; children: Michelle (Steven) Pawel of Oak Ridge, TN, Chris (Andrea) Dial of Cary, NC, Sonya (Karl) Sienerth of Burlington, NC, Tara (Nathan) Mullinix of Rochester, MI, and Torin Dial of Nassau, the Bahamas; grandchildren, AJ and Greg Pawel of Oak Ridge, TN; Lindsay Dial of Cary, NC; Nicholas, Ryan and Sabrina Sienerth of Burlington, NC; and Will and Tom Mullinix of Rochester, MI; and a sister, Judy Dial Greene of Winter Garden, FL. Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Estelle Dial, a son, Stephen Harrison Dial, and a sister, MariLee Weaver. Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers are welcome to the Steve C. Dial Greenhouse or the Steve H. Dial Memorial Scholarship at Pfeiffer University, Misenheimer, NC 28109. Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Dial family.