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Businessman And WFU Benefactor Porter Byrum Dies At 96

Porter Byrum's lifetime giving to Wake Forest University totaled more than $50 million. Photo courtesy of Wake Forest University

Charlotte lawyer and Wake Forest University benefactor Porter B. Byrum has died.

Byrum grew up in Wilmington and Edenton, and graduated from Wake Forest in 1942.

The World War II veteran went on to a successful career as a lawyer and businessman, establishing what would become a 50-year relationship with Charlotte Aircraft Corporation.

Byrum also owned and managed a major Charlotte shopping center, and in 2011, he donated the property to Wake Forest University, along with Wingate University and Queens University of Charlotte.

A subsequent sale netted $82 million for the schools, with more than $40 million going to Wake Forest. According to a university press release, Byrum continued to establish scholarships for Wake Forest athletes and undergraduates.

He was a member of the university's Law Board of Visitors, and a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni award. The school's admissions and welcome center was named for him in 2011.

Byrum died Monday at the age of 96.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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