Pervy Augustus ‘P.A.’ Cline

Professor Emeritus of Ancient Languages

Pervy Augustus “P.A.” Cline Jr. (1922-2006) was born in Gastonia, N.C. He attended Flint Grove Elementary School and later graduated from Gastonia High School. Upon completion of high school, he worked in a cotton mill for three years. Cline served a total of three years in the U.S. Army, including 14 months in Europe during the World War II era.

Cline was discharged from the
 Army in April of 1946. The
 following September, he enrolled
 at Wake Forest in Winston Salem, N.C. .
 He graduated in 1949 with
 a Bachelor of Arts degree in
 English with minors in psychology, philosophy, and Latin. Cline then enrolled in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree. (This degree was later upgraded to a Master of Divinity degree.) While a student in Louisville, Cline met his future wife, Georgia Smith, who was from Birmingham, Ala. They were married in December 1951. After returning to North Carolina, Cline enrolled in the Duke University Divinity School. While attending Duke University, he served as the pastor of two churches in Oxford, N.C.

In 1955, the Clines were appointed by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board to serve as missionaries in Thailand. Upon returning to North Carolina in 1961, Cline enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1962 he received the degree of Master of Arts in Classical Languages (Latin and Greek). While in Chapel Hill, Cline taught Latin at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C. He began teaching Latin and Greek at Gardner-Webb in 1966.

He retired in the spring of 1987 from Gardner-Webb and was selected as faculty emeritus the following fall. During his teaching career at Gardner-Webb University, Cline served as an interim pastor at several area churches.

The Clines had four children, and they attended Boiling Springs Baptist Church. He served as the director of the Adult Sunday School Department and as a teacher within the department. Other duties included deacon, chairman of the deacons, and membership on various committees.

Cline was a member of the Board of Directors and past vice president of the Cleveland County Council on Aging. He was a member of the Senior Games Committee, which coordinated the Cleveland County Senior Olympic Games. Cline was also an active participant in the Senior Games. He was a member of the Lions Club, served on its Board of Directors, and held numerous leadership positions within the organization. Cline was an active member and officer of the Cleveland County Senior Men’s Golf Group. Mr. and Mrs. Cline both participated in elder hostel programs.

Cline continued to be active by teaching part time after his retirement. He returned to Gardner-Webb in the fall of his second year of retirement to teach a course in history. Mr. and Mrs. Cline jointly taught a master life course at Gardner-Webb. This course was a devotional study consisting of two 13-week sessions. Cline also taught Latin at Shelby High School and New Testament Greek at Carolina Christian Academy.

Cline enjoyed photography, and he and his wife both enjoyed participating in their church and visiting with friends. They always found time to enjoy their children and grandchildren. They lived in their home in Boiling Springs until his death in 2006. Mrs. Cline passed away in 2021.

Source: Mrs. Georgia Cline

– David Walker

-Updated by Noel T. Manning, May 2022