John Donald Hobart, age 96, of Smithfield, North Carolina, passed away in peace at his home,
with his family, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. He was a former dean and trustee at Johnston
Community College, a counselor to countless students, a community leader, and a loving
husband, father, and friend.

A native of Davidson, North Carolina, he was born in December 1928 to Frank Donald and Helen
Tomlinson Hobart.

Following graduation from Davidson High School, he attended Davidson College, graduating in
1951 with a B.S. degree in business administration. After college he took his first job as a traffic
manager for Southern Bell Telephone. He served stateside as a sergeant in the U.S. Army from
1953 to 1955, and in 1956, received a Master of Science degree in industrial psychology from
North Carolina State University. While studying for his masters in Raleigh, he met the love of his
life, Alice Frances "Frankie" Finch of Smithfield, who was living in Raleigh at the time. The two
were married in Smithfield in 1957.

Following his studies at NC State, he was recruited by the American Enka Corporation to
Morristown, Tennessee, where he oversaw supervisor training programs and communications
for the company's synthetic textiles manufacturing operations.

In 1960, he returned to North Carolina to become one of the first administrators in what is
today the nation's preeminent state community college system. He played key roles in the
establishment and growth of several of the state's earliest and most successful community
colleges, beginning with Durham Industrial Education Center in 1961, where he served as its
assistant director and counselor coordinator.

After additional graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 1963 he
was recruited to help found Rowan Industrial Education Center in Salisbury, serving as Dean of
Student Affairs as the school grew into Rowan Technical Institute – the precursor of what is
today Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. In 1967, he joined Rockingham Community College
in Reidsville, and in 1969, moved his family to Smithfield to help establish Johnston Technical
Institute, where he worked as Dean of Student of Affairs for the next 21 years.

He was a skilled administrator who derived the greatest satisfaction from counseling and
guiding students, young and old, who were seeking to improve their circumstances through
education and skills training. His patience, empathy, and genuine concern for the lives and
success of others made a lasting impact on the many students who passed through the doors of
the institutions he served.

Having helped found Johnston Technical Institute in an old high school in Four Oaks, he had the
satisfaction of seeing it grow into today's Johnston Community College and play a pivotal role in
the county's economic development and success. Following his retirement in 1990, he served
two terms on the college's Board of Trustees and funded several scholarships for students
there, including one honoring his mother, a former teacher.

Throughout his life he was deeply involved in service to community and state. He was the
founder and founding chair of the Johnston County Arts Council. He served as founding chair of
the Johnston County Hospital Foundation, chair of the Johnston County Board of Social
Services, president of the Friends of the Public Library of Johnston County, and president and
longtime member of the Smithfield Rotary Club. He was president of the NC Vocational
Guidance Association, chair of the State Community Colleges Student Services Personnel
Association, and chair of the NC Museum of Natural History Advisory Commission. He and his
wife Frankie established an annual award through the NC Community Foundation to recognize
and honor outstanding community volunteers in the county.

He served actively as class secretary for the Davidson College Class of 1951 until well into his
90's and sponsored an annual award for employees of the college's physical plant to honor
both their service and his father, who served as Davidson's first Supervisor of Buildings and
Grounds and designed the landscaping that distinguishes the college today.

For his service to North Carolina, in 2002 he was named by the Governor to the Order of the
Long Leaf Pine. In 2004, he was honored as a Distinguished Citizen by the Greater Smithfield-
Selma Chamber of Commerce. He was an Eagle Scout.

An active member of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, he served as senior warden in 1974 and was
a member of the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew. For 24 years, and into his 90's, he delivered
Meals on Wheels to citizens of Johnston County.

He was a loving husband and father, an active, enthusiastic, and tireless worker and advocate,
and the truest of friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Edith Hobart Cashion of Davidson, NC.
He is survived by his wife Frankie, their sons John Donald "Don" Hobart, Jr, (wife Kay Linn Miller
Hobart) of Raleigh and Dr. Frank Adams Hobart (wife Dr. Sarah Elizabeth "Betsy" von Biberstein)
of Wilmington, and their grandchildren Frank Adams Hobart III and William Finch Hobart.

His funeral will be held at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Smithfield at 11:00 am on Monday,
May 12, 2025, followed by a brief graveside service and reception at the church's Lawrence
Hall. Parrish Funeral Home is assisting with the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John Hobart may be made to Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, 218 South Second Street, Smithfield, NC 27577, the Johnston County Arts Council, P.O. Box 2019, Smithfield, NC 27577, or the Johnston Community College Foundation, P.O. Box 2350, Smithfield, NC 27577.