Campbell University professor dies in accident

A close-knit university community today mourned the death of a professor in a Sampson County car accident that also injured his wife.

University officials remembered Lewis M. Fetterman Jr., a professor at Campbell University's School of Pharmacy, as a dedicated colleague with high expectations for his students.

"I know the students were challenged by him," said Tom Holmes, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Pharmacy. "He was considered a demanding, but fair, professor. He did a great job, and this is a terrible loss for us, losing him as a person, and his expertise."

Holmes said he believed the fatal accident took place between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday. Highway Patrol officials could not provide additional details about the accident when contacted today.

Fetterman's daughter, Charlotte, is a student in the pharmacy program, Holmes said. Fetterman and his wife also have a son. Joni Fay Watts Fetterman is a member of the Meredith College Alumni Association board of directors and is a 1978 graduate of the Raleigh school, according to the school's Web site. A 2006 president's report for Campbell University lists a scholarship in the name of Joni Fay and Lewis Fetterman, Jr.

A woman who answered the phone at the Fetterman family residence referred questions to officials at the Harnett County school, with its main campus at Buies Creek.

"There's going to be a real sense of loss tomorrow," as classes resume, Holmes said. "We're pretty close family down here, in Buies Creek."

Fetterman's relatives have been benefactors of the university, and the school's Lundy-Fetterman School of Business is named after his mother, Annabelle Lundy Fetterman.

In 1987, Annabelle Lundy Fetterman took over as chairwoman and CEO of the family meat-processing company, Clinton-based Lundy Packing Company. In 2000, the firm was bought by Premium Standard Farms, according to online information from the N.C. Business Hall of Fame.