Obituary of Helga Neuhaus Leftwich

Helga Neuhaus Leftwich Helga Neuhaus Leftwich, 92, of 5-208 Carolina Meadows in Chapel Hill, NC passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Mrs. Leftwich was born on February 8, 1922 in Leverkusen, Germany to Otto and Emmi Neuhaus. She married the late William Edward Leftwich in 1948 and moved to Lynchburg, Virginia where she lived at Walnut Hill, the family home, until moving to Carolina Meadows in Chapel Hill NC in 2001. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Lynchburg College, she earned graduate degrees from Duke University in 1963 and Middlebury College in 1968. She also did further graduate work at University of Freiburg, Germany. She was a Professor of Modern Languages and Literature at Lynchburg College from 1963 until her retirement in 1990, at which time she was awarded Professor Emerita status. There, she devoted her career to stimulating her students' interests in foreign languages and the humanities. In particular she focused on the Senior Symposium, an interdisciplinary program which emphasized developing students' creative and critical thinking and integrating their learning in the various liberal arts. Mrs. Leftwich was predeceased by her parents, her husband, William E. Leftwich, and her daughter, Francis Leftwich Miller. She is survived by her daughter, Helga Lura Leftwich of Durham, NC. A memorial service will be held in the lecture hall at Carolina Meadows, Chapel Hill, NC on Monday, June 2, 2014 at 4:00 PM. Burial will be in the Leftwich Family Cemetery in Lynchburg, VA. Memorial contributions may be made to The Helga N. Leftwich Memorial Fund, c/o Lynchburg College, 1501 Lakeside Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24501.