Remembering Canton 'cornerstone' Dr. Ernest Stines

Sep. 28—A 'cornerstone" of the Canton community for over 60 years, Dr. Ernest Stines, 91, passed away Thursday, Sept. 22.

Originally from Asheville, Dr. Stines played football at Lee Edwards High School (later consolidated into Asheville High) and then Mars Hill University. He transferred to Wake Forest, where he entered the pre-med program.

Dr. Stines was a Wake Forest fan through and through, said his son Chuck Stines.

"You talk about a Demon Deacon fan, it didn't matter if they were playing the tiddlywinks," he said. "If they were playing somewhere he could get to, he went."

After earning his medical license, Dr. Stines co-founded Midway Medical Center in Canton, where he began a family practice in 1959. It was in Canton that he found his new home.

Dr. Stines connected with then Canton High School football coach Boyd Allen, who also attended Wake Forest, and became the team physician. He held that position for nearly 40 years.

"Dad kept his medical license after he retired from actual medicine just so he could continue being the football team physician," said Chuck Stines.

When Boyd Allen suffered a heart attack on the field, Dr. Stines was the one there by his side, holding his hands. And he even shot the black bear that sits in the trophy case in the Pisgah High School gym.

Dr. Stines became a common sight at Pisgah athletic games throughout the years, and his passion and dedication had no equal.

"I was born on Friday, Sept. 7," said Dr. Stines' younger son, Bill Stines, "He came in and made sure everything was good with my mother and me in the nursery, and then took off to go see Canton football team play in Murphy."

His legacy at Pisgah extended beyond just being the team doctor, too. In fact, there may be no team without him. His job as an obstetrician allowed him to bring up the next generation of Pisgah Bears.

"I came up for the weekend and went to the [Pisgah football] game with Dad," Chuck Stines recalls. "Dad said, 'This is kind of interesting tonight.' I asked him why. He said, 'The starting 11 football players and the 12 cheerleaders on the sideline: I delivered all of them.'"

Devoted father

Both Chuck and Bill Stines owe their own successful sports careers to their dad, too.

A 1980 Pisgah graduate, Chuck Stines played football at Furman University and later came back to WNC to coach at Brevard High School under former Pisgah coach Carroll Wright. He got his head coaching shot at Pebblebrook High Scool in Mableton, Georgia, where spent the next 25 years.

Dr. Stines offered his son a word of advice when he got his first head coaching job.

"Dad told me, 'You're gonna find out parents want to coach their kids. I tried not to never coach you. It's hard to have two masters," Chuck Stines said.

After graduating from Pisgah in 1980, Bill Stines attended Wake Forest to play golf. Bill Stines worked as a golf sales rep for one year, and then decided to turn pro.

"I've been a head golf professional at various clubs around the country for 37 years, including at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, where Jack Nicklaus learned to play," he said.

Bill Stines just recently moved to become the head golf professional at Linville Golf Club (Linville).

"Dad was the best," Bill Stines said. "He supported us in everything we did, in all our sports. He couldn't have been a better dad."

Their sister, Mary Lib Ladner, attended Pisgah in a time when girls sports were few and far between at the prep level, but both brothers said she is a die-hard sports fan like their father.

Canton cornerstone

Along with being a devoted father, Dr. Stines touched the lives of many students, coaches and community members through his unwavering support and care for his community and its athletic teams.

Pisgah boys basketball coach Jonathan Whitson said he and his team could always count on Dr. Stines sitting behind the player's bench during basketball games.

"[Dr. Stines] was a huge supporter for our athletic department," he said.

Whitson said the love and support Dr. Stines showed his fellow communities went above-and-beyond.

"His impact on the community and his love for Pisgah was what made him special," he said.

"Dr. Stines was an integral part of Pisgah athletics," said Pisgah athletic director Heidi Morgan. "From his time on the sidelines as team physician to sitting in the stands, he was a true Pisgah fan."

Morgan said it was Dr. Stines character that made him an exceptional person.

"He was an excellent representation of loyalty, respect and dignity," she said. "His leadership and support will be missed greatly."

Pisgah head football coach Brett Chappell said he spent a day with Dr. Stines and Dr. Al Cline Jr. when he was hired nearly a decade ago.

"They took me everywhere you could imagine on the east side of Haywood County, and kind of showed me the ropes about the traditions and the places they had practice when teams practiced at Camp Hope," he said. "It was a really neat experience to hear a lot of the old stories and traditions. Both of those gentlemen were cornerstone pieces of this high school, all the way back to the inception of Pisgah High School."

Chappell was in awe at the sheer number of kids whose lives Dr. Stines touched throughout the years, even post-retirement when he could be seen at Pisgah football practice, sitting in his car, watching the drills.

"He's one of the old guard... It's just the way of life for those guys," Chappell said.

It wasn't too long before Dr. Stines passing that Chappell last spoke to him.

"He usually parked in his car at practice, and I would make my way out to see him. He was away from athletics, but he was still visible," Chappell said. "He was always very supportive, and always had a word of encouragement."

A funeral service For Dr. Stines will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at Canton First Baptist Church with the Revs. Court Greene and Walter Draughon, III officiating. Burial will follow at Crawford/Ray Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 9:30 until 10:45 a.m. prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Canton First Baptist Church, 208 Academy Street, Canton, NC 28716.