Obituary of Stanley Black

Dr. Stanley Warren Black, III, passed peacefully from this life on July 11, 2023, with his loved ones by his side.

Dr. Black was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Stanley Warren Black, Jr. and Julia Settle Wilkes, on July 8, 1939. He attended Charlotte Country Day School, later graduating high school at the Asheville School in 1957. After high school, Dr. Black attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with Honors in Economics in 1961, and was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the University’s oldest honorary society. He went on to attend Yale University, where he obtained his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Economics.

Dr. Black had a distinguished career in academia and government, teaching at Princeton and Vanderbilt, arriving at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his beloved alma mater, in 1983, as the Georges Lurcy Professor of Economics. He was Chair of the Economics Department from 1985-1990. Although Dr. Black retired in 2008, he continued to teach until 2018.

In 1965, Dr. Black married Roberta Burr Callison, whom he met while at Yale University. They were married for 52 years, until Roberta’s death in 2017, and together they raised two children, Stanley Wilkes Black and Sarah Constance Black. Dr. Black was a devoted husband and father and a beloved grandfather. He belonged to the Church of the Holy Family, where he was a member of the choir, since 1983. He also sang with the Voices Community Choir.

Dr. Black especially enjoyed spending time in the Blue Ridge Mountains, establishing a second home in the community of Little Switzerland, N.C., and spending many summer days hiking and exploring the trails he knew so well, sharing his love of the mountains with friends and family.

Dr. Black is survived by his son, Stanley (Katherine) of Austin, Texas; his daughter, Sarah, of Norfolk, Virginia; and his grandchildren, Caroline Grace Black, James Owen Black, and Jefrey Stewart Booth. In addition to his wife Roberta, he was predeceased by his sister, Julia Black Ketner, and his brother, Charles Wilkes Black. A memorial service will be held at Carol Woods, 750 Weaver Dairy Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, on August 5, 2023, at 11:30 a.m., a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, www.ifcweb.org.