Truett-McConnell College Honors Gainesville Couple
Gainesville residents Jack and Louise Holcomb were honored by Truett-McConnell College on October 20, 2007, when the college dedicated the Jack and Louise Holcomb Education Center.
The legacy of Jack Burroughs Holcomb and Dr. Louise Crane Holcomb at Truett-McConnell College is beyond calculation. The two are natives of Cleveland and a husband-and-wife team, both of whom were affiliated with Truett-McConnell from its beginning in 1946 until 1967.
Both were deeply involved in the creation of the new college when Truett-McConnell was chartered in 1946: ordering textbooks, choosing and purchasing equipment, setting up the records system, and dozens of other tasks necessary to start a college from scratch.
Dr. Louise Holcomb served the college as bookkeeper and teacher of physical education, Spanish and business courses. Jack Holcomb taught mathematics and coached baseball and basketball, and eventually became Dean of the College.
In 1967 both the Holcombs resigned their positions at Truett-McConnell College to enter new phases of their careers. Jack Holcomb became assistant director of the brand-new Ninth District Cooperative Educational Services Agency in Cleveland and later the director of the North Georgia CESA in Ellijay, the position from which he retired in 1988.
Dr. Louise Holcomb taught business courses at Gainesville College for many years and served the last several years before her retirement in 1997 as chair of the business division of the college.
The Holcombs live in a home on Lake Lanier near Gainesville. They have one daughter, Jackie King, and three adult grandchildren.
In making the presentation, Dr. Mike Simoneaux, interim president of Truett-McConnell College, read the dedication plaque during the program: “The Jack and Louise Holcomb Education Center, dedicated October 20, 2007, to honor the legacy of Jack Burroughs Holcomb and Louise Crane Holcomb in gratitude for twenty years of selfless service and dedication to Truett-McConnell College.”
The Jack and Louise Holcomb Education Center is located on the lower floor of the Chandler Center and is the space where the college’s Bachelor of Science in Education degree program is headquartered. The space contains classrooms for teaching the degree program courses and offices for the education faculty.
