Gardner-Webb Professor Emeritus of Music, Dr. George R. Cribb, Passes Away at Age 97

South Carolina Native Served University’s Music Department for Over Two Decades

 BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—A man who played an integral role in building Gardner-Webb University’s music program is being remembered by former colleagues and students for his extraordinary talent, leadership, and friendship. Dr. George R. Cribb, professor emeritus of music, passed away on Dec. 17 in Greenville, S.C.

Cribb began his tenured career at the University in 1969 as chair of the Department of Fine Arts and professor of music. The same year, GWU instituted a major in music with various concentrations as the two-year college transitioned to a four-year program. Cribb also worked with the music faculty in the fall of 1978 to have the college admitted as an associate member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The department has maintained its accreditation ever since. He taught piano and music theory, and served as the director of the choral ensemble, which was Gardner-Webb’s official touring choir. He retired from the University in 1992.

In addition to teaching, Cribb’s career was highlighted by over four decades of service as a choir director for various churches. During that time, he spent 21 years leading the music at Shelby (N.C.) Presbyterian Church.

His students and choir members appreciated Cribb’s confident and composed demeanor. Gardner-Webb Advancement Officer and 1983 alumna Tami Ruckman was a music major. “He appeared to students as the soul of calm,” she reflected. “No matter how badly things were going, you could depend on him for stability.”

She continued describing his talents and skills, “As I think back on being a student of Dr. Cribb’s, a couple of things stand out. First, he was brilliant, highly educated, and knew absolutely everything about music. Secondly, he was an incredible musician. The piano just took on a certain tone when he played, and he could play anything—from classical to jazz to ragtime.”

When Ruckman returned to Gardner-Webb to work as an employee, she learned more about Cribb’s character. “The faculty who served under him cared deeply for him,” she observed. “Even 30 years after he retired, they consider him a family member. That tells me what kind of person he was to those closest to him. He had an enormous impact on those who studied under him, on Gardner-Webb as a whole, and will be sorely missed.”

One of those professors is Dr. Carolyn Billings, who worked with Cribb for 13 years. “He took me under his wing from the very beginning,” Billings stated. “I admired him so much, but he was such an awesome chair, as well as conductor of the choral ensemble and piano teacher, that I was rather intimidated by him for some time. He was always so helpful to me, and soon he became a real friend as well as a colleague. After he retired, and especially after he moved from Hilton Head to Greenville, S.C., he began to feel like part of my family.”

Billings, also a Gardner-Webb professor emerita of music, noted that Cribb worked long hours as the department chair and was his own secretary, but he could type at lightning speed. She praised his efforts as a recruiter who stayed in touch with promising students through several of their high school years.

One of her favorite memories is performing Mozart’s Concerto in D Major for Two Pianos with Cribb accompanied by the Gardner-Webb Orchestra. “I came to appreciate his piano skills more than ever as we rehearsed the work together,” she related. “His dedication to the Fine Arts Department and to Gardner-Webb as a whole never lessened.”

Cribb was born in coastal South Carolina, the son of Boyd and Frances Granger Cribb. The son of a farmer, Cribb’s early values were shaped as he developed a respect for the traditional ethic of hard work. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music, education, and Spanish from Wake Forest University, where he also minored in English and religion. In 1952, he received both a master’s degree in music education and his specialist degree in music education, along with minors in education and psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. He obtained his Ed.D. degree in 1965 with a major in music education and minors in guidance and personnel administration from North Texas State University, in Denton, Texas.

Cribb also studied at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J.; Hartt College of Music of the University of Hartford, Conn.; the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.; York University, York, England.; the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Miss.; and the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.

He began his teaching career from 1948 to 1950 as a student assistant, teaching piano and fundamentals of music at Wake Forest University, where he was also an accompanist for college concerts and choirs. Before coming to Gardner-Webb, he taught in two public elementary schools, at Wingate University in North Carolina, William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss., Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., North Texas State University, and Campbellsville University in Kentucky. 

Cribb held numerous offices in professional organizations, most notably state chairman, MENC (The National Association of Music Education—formerly known as the Music Educators National Conference) Student Chapter Program, and in Mississippi’s and North Carolina’s Music Educators Association. Also, he served with distinction on the Board of Directors for the Rutherfordton, N.C., Performing Arts Guild, for the Campbellsville Community Concert Association, and for the Cleveland County Community Concert Association.

Cribb was married to Barbara Jensen Cribb, who died in 2013 and was a Gardner-Webb associate professor emerita of education. The Cribbs raised two children, Robert and David.

A memorial service will be held in the coming months at Shelby Presbyterian Church.

Read more about Cribb’s life in his emeritus profile, here.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.