Colonel Henry Kendall

Katherine Kerr Kendall established, through her estate, an endowed scholarship in loving memory of her husband, Colonel Henry E. Kendall a member of the Class of 1926. The scholarship will be available to students in any curriculum and NC State and will be based on financial need with academic merit as the second selection criteria.

Henry Eli Kendall was a native of Shelby, North Carolina and graduated with a degree in civil engineering from NC State in 1926. He was president of the Student Body his senior year and was very active in extra-curricular activities while at State. His interests included football and baseball and he served three years as the assistant manager of the Wolfpack baseball team.

After graduation, Henry took a job with a contractor in Danville, Virginia for four years. He spent the next six years with Dibrell Brothers, Inc. a tobacco exporter, and was the assistant office manager in their Shanghai, China office. Prior to entering the Army at the start of World War II he served as director of the Division of Plant Operations of North Carolina State School Commission.

During World War II he was assigned to the Corp of Engineers and served in the European Theater of Operations for twenty months and in the Asiatic Pacific Theater for eight months. He advanced to the rank of Lieutenant colonel before leaving active duty in 1946.

On July 1, 1946 he was named chairman of the State Employment Security Commission, a position that he held with distinction until his retirement in 1973. The State of North Carolina honored Col. Kendall’s distinguished service by naming the former Rex Hospital complex at the corner of St. Mary’s Street and Wade Avenue in his memory in 1984. The Kendall Complex houses the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. He was actively involved in the Raleigh community and with the NC State Alumni Association. In 1949 he was elected president of the Alumni Association and also served as the Chairman of the Executive Committee. His other civic involvements were with the Lions Club, American Legion, NC Society of Engineers, and the Raleigh Engineers Club. He and his wife, the former Katherine Kerr, were members of the White Memorial Presbyterian Church. Col. Kendall was also an avid stamp collector and amassed an outstanding collection of British and Oriental stamps over his lifetime. His collection was sold at auction in Philadelphia after his death.

Colonel Kendall passed away in 1981 and Mrs. Kendall passed away in 1997. Their legacy of commitment to their community and higher education will life on through the Colonel Henry E. Kendall Scholarship at NC State and the Katherine Kerr Kendall Scholarship at Meredith College.