Larry D. Striplin, Jr.
Published 10:11 pm Thursday, January 26, 2012
Larry D. Striplin, Jr. of Birmingham, age 82, passed away on Monday, January 23, 2012, at UAB Hospital. He was a devoted husband and father, and a noted businessman, public servant, philanthropist, and sports enthusiast.
He was born on November 11, 1929, in Selma, Alabama, as the only child of Larry D. Striplin, Sr. and Ethel Henderson Striplin. Mr. Striplin graduated from Albert G. Parrish High School in Selma in 1948. He attended Spring Hill College in Mobile for two years and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in education. At Birmingham-Southern, he was regarded as one of the college’s greatest student-athletes. He was a member of the swimming and diving, basketball, and baseball teams during his undergraduate years. He continued his education at George Peabody College for Teachers (now a part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville where he earned his master’s degree in education in 1952.
After graduation from Peabody, Mr. Striplin established the men’s basketball program at Belmont College (now Belmont University) in Nashville in 1952, serving as head coach for four years. He also coached baseball and served as Belmont’s first athletics director.
In 1956, he turned his attention and tremendous energy to the business world, where he left his mark as one of Alabama’s success stories. Beginning with Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Jackson, Tenn., he began a remarkable journey in the business world that led him to ownership of his own company, Nelson-Brantley Glass, in 1963. He came home to Selma in 1971 bringing an industry, DISCO Aluminum Products, that provided hundreds of jobs for the area. He later formed a holding company, Circle ‘S’ Industries, and added another manufacturing business, American Fine Wire, to the Selma economy. Additional companies were added to the holding company that further contributed to his success.
Mr. Striplin was a passionate supporter of his alma maters, his communities, and youth through the years, tirelessly giving his wisdom, his leadership, his time, and his resources to better the lives of those around him. He considered himself blessed and therefore generously shared his blessings with others.
He founded the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Scholarship Program in 1986 in memory of legendary football coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant of Alabama and Ralph “Shug” Jordan of Auburn. Almost $10 million in college scholarship support has been distributed to more than 2,200 high school senior student-athletes since the program’s inception.
Mr. Striplin joined the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, serving as chairman for 13 years and on the board for 23 years. He was instrumental in the establishment of the museum in downtown Birmingham that now houses the hall’s collection of memorabilia. He was the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame’s 1998 Distinguished American Sportsman and was inducted into the 2007 Class of the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in Montgomery.
For his many contributions to the State of Alabama, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Academy of Honor in 1997.
Among his philanthropic contributions, he established the Striplin Physical Fitness and Recreation Center, Striplin Baseball Complex, and Larry D. Striplin III Scholarship Fund at Birmingham-Southern. Mr. Striplin was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Birmingham-Southern in 1983. He was inducted into the BSC Sports Hall of Fame in 1986, and, in 2003, he was awarded the Bob Strain Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding contributions to the college’s intercollegiate athletics programs. Belmont University’s former Striplin Gymnasium was named in his honor, along with its Striplin-Wiseman Athletic Office Complex in the university’s Curb Event Center. In 1980, he was one of the first three charter members of the Belmont Athletic Hall of Fame. His contributions funded the Larry D. Striplin, Jr. Performing Arts Center in Selma, and renovation of the basketball practice gymnasium at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, which now is named in memory of his son, Larry D. Striplin III, a one-time student manager at the school.
He was a longtime supporter of the United Way of Central Alabama and a member of its Tocqueville Society.
Over the years, he was a member of numerous boards of businesses, charitable organizations, and educational institutions, including the U.S. Olympic Committee; boards of the Lakeshore Foundation, National Football Foundation, and College Football Hall Fame; and as a Trustee at Birmingham-Southern and at the University of South Alabama.
Mr. Striplin is survived by his wife, Rhonda Bass Striplin; daughter, Janet S. Nottrodt (Clay) of Indian Springs, AL; son, David R. Striplin (Isabelle) of Roswell, GA; and daughter, Cynthia S. Victor (Jerry) of Selma, AL. He is predeceased by his son, Larry D. Striplin, III of Birmingham, AL. He also leaves eight grandchildren: Lauren Striplin, Scott Fussell, Taylor Striplin, Christy Striplin, Barrett Striplin, Beverly Smith, Katie Rives, and Holly Carter. He is predeceased by his granddaughter, Megan Weavil. He also has two great-grandchildren, Lilly Smith and Landon Rives. Other survivors include stepchildren, Heather Gentry and Jessica Ceurvels, and step-grandchild, Ella Gentry. He leaves behind many colleagues and friends who admired and loved him and will miss him dearly.
The family would like to thank all of the medical personnel and other caregivers who gave him care and support through his final days.
Visitation will be held on Friday, January 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, 2150 Richard Arrington, Jr. Boulevard, Birmingham, AL. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 28, at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 518 19th Street North, Birmingham, AL. Burial will be at 4 p.m. that day at Live Oak Cemetery, 300 Dallas Avenue, in Selma, AL, following a brief graveside service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Mr. Striplin’s name to Birmingham-Southern College through the Office of Institutional Advancement, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Birmingham, AL 35254; to the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Program, P.O. Box 10163, Birmingham, AL 35202; or to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, 2150 Richard Arrington, Jr. Boulevard, Birmingham, AL.