Lawrence Allen Nida

Surrounded by his immediate family, Lawrence Allen (“Al”) Nida died peacefully on Sunday, July 3, 2016, following a brief illness. Al’s life exemplified commitment to his family, his faith, and hard work, and his legendary sense of humor was apparent in everything he did. He was born on December 10, 1929, in Spencer, WV, to the late Dorsey B. Nida and the late Opal Bailey Nida. After a stellar athletic career at the West Virginia Institute of Technology, Al spent the next 45 years in the coaching profession – primarily as a basketball coach whose high school and college teams collectively won more than 700 games. His career began at St. Albans (WV) High School, where he served from 1952 until 1966. For the next 30 years, Al served at King College (now King University) in Bristol, TN, also holding the position of Director of Athletics during that period. After 17 years at the helm of King’s men’s basketball program, Al stepped down from that role, only to be pressed into service a year later as the coach of the women’s team. Within two years he had turned a struggling program into a small college powerhouse, winning three consecutive National Christian College Athletic Association national titles (1988-1990). Among his numerous honors, Al has been inducted into the West Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame, the West Virginia Sports Writers Hall of Fame, the King College Sports Hall of Fame, the Northeast Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, and the St. Albans High School Sports Hall of Fame. He was named as a "West Virginia Sports Centennial Great" and to the all-time all-conference basketball team of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. On multiple occasions, Al has also been recognized as “coach of the year” at several different levels. His post-retirement years in South Carolina revolved around golf and Summerville Baptist Church, where he has served as a deacon and as a Sunday School teacher – and where he touched the lives of many, just as he did as a coach. His compassion for others was evidenced by his willingness to embrace volunteer work of the most challenging sort; at one point he served as a hospital grief counselor, and later he counseled death row inmates at Lieber Correctional Institution. Al will live on in the strong sense of family that guides his children and grandchildren, as well as in the hundreds of young athletes whom he helped to develop into men and women of accomplishment and character. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ruth McWhorter Nida, of Summerville, and four children: Steve (Rebecca), of Charleston, SC; Suzanne, of Westminster, MD; Jeanie Cape (David), of Macon, GA; and Terri Ash (Lamar), of Bogart, GA. Al is also survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Locally, the family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 pm on Wednesday, July 6, at the JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 S. Main St., Summerville. Visitation will also be held from 6:00-8:00 pm on Friday, July 8, at WEAVER FUNERAL HOME, 630 Locust St., Bristol, TN. A service to honor Al’s life will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, July 9, at the King University Memorial Chapel in Bristol. Burial will follow immediately afterward at Glenwood Cemetery, also in Bristol. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to Summerville Baptist Church, the general fund at King University, or to your charity of choice. A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jamesadyal.com. ARRANGEMENTS BY JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE, SC 29483.

Lawrence Allen Nida

December 10, 1929 - July 3, 2016