|
Dr. Eugene Cain died Wednesday, August
1, 2007,
at Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville Falls, North Carolina, following an
automobile accident. Dr. Cain and his wife Helen had been dividing their time
between Jackson, Mississippi, and Linville Falls since he retired
from the Millsaps College Chemistry Department faculty. Funeral arrangements
are incomplete at this time.
Dr. Cain was born on June 22, 1932 in Mineral Springs, North Carolina. He received his
undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and his graduate
degrees in chemistry from Duke University. It was there that he met the love of his
life - Helen Quillin - who worked in the Chemistry Department. They married
in 1958.
After working as a research chemist for the DuPont Corporation, Dr. Cain
joined the Millsaps College faculty in 1960 as an associate professor
of chemistry. For forty-two years, he unlocked the secrets of chemistry for
countless students and inspired them to become research chemists, doctors and
other health-care specialists, and teachers. For more than ten years Dr. Cain
chaired the Chemistry Department and the Premedical Advisory Committee, and
it was during this time that the department achieved accreditation by the
American Chemical Society and acquired a reputation for successfully placing
students in medical school and graduate programs. He was a lifetime member of
the Mississippi Academy of Sciences of which he was also President and was
the recipient of many awards in his field including Chemist of the Year by
the American Chemical Society, Mississippi Section in 1998. Dr. Cain was
particularly proud of the grant programs he directed at Millsaps funded by
both the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute that focused on increasing the number of minority students who
would pursue careers in medicine and scientific research.
While Dr. Cain was awarded a number of grants and had a solid record of
research and publications during his tenure, he enjoyed teaching and
mentoring his students more than anything else. He was recognized by students
and faculty alike as a remarkable teacher-scholar who had an uncanny ability
to connect his research with his teaching and bring to the classroom
real-world stories of how chemistry affects so many other fields. Dr. Cain
received the Exemplary Teaching Award from the United Methodist Church in 1992 and served
as the first President of the Faculty Council - a measure of the esteem in
which he was held by his colleagues. Upon his retirement from Millsaps, Dr.
Cain was named an Emeritus Professor in recognition of his distinguished
service to the Millsaps College community. A colleague once said of him
that "he has devoted himself to the well-being of the college and
contributed as much as anyone to its reputation for academic
excellence." A student once wrote of his former teacher that "the
degree of excellence of this man's character cannot be described."
Another passion of Dr. Cain's was history. He never tired of learning
something new or engaging others in pursuits of the mind. He once combined
his love of chemistry with his love of history by focusing some of his
research into the degradation of paper - a serious problem encountered in the
preservation of books and other historical documents. During one sabbatical
he put his historical research to good use as a visiting scientist at
Colonial Williamsburg and later was invited to present his findings at an
international conference in Japan.
Gene Cain was a member of First Baptist Church for as long as he lived in Jackson. There he was a
faithful Sunday School teacher, a deacon, a member of a weekly prayer group
and a volunteer for Mission First. He worshipped at church each Sunday, but
his faith inspired his servant's heart and how he lived and loved every other
day of the week.
While Dr. Cain surely loved chemistry, history, and the fellowship of his
church community, they were no match for the love he had for his wife of
forty-nine years, Helen Cain. They were constant companions whether traveling
overseas, going to concerts, collecting antiques, tending to gardens,
visiting bonsai nurseries or walking together in their beloved mountains of North Carolina. They loved each
other every day of every year they were together.
Gene Cain was preceded in death by his brother Lee Roy Cain, Jr. of Sarasota, Florida. Survivors include
his wife, Helen Quillin Cain of Jackson, Mississippi; sister-in-law Elizabeth
M. Cain of Sarasota, Florida; nephews Lee Cain, III also of Sarasota, Florida and James H. Cain
and wife Rachel of Atlanta, Georgia.
Memorials may be made to Mission First c/o First Baptist Church (P.O. Box 250, Jackson, MS 39205) and the Chemistry
Department c/o Millsaps College (1701 North State Street, Jackson MS
39210-0001).
Published in the Clarion Ledger from 8/4/2007
- 8/5/2007.
|