The 1953 was a loyal supporter and cheerleader of the institution for more than seven decades.
Dolores Truitt, a 1953 alumna of Ƶ College who was an ardent supporter of her alma mater and a vocal cheerleader for its mission and its students, passed away on Dec. 26, 2023. A resident of Ƶ, she was 92.
Truitt, along with her husband, the late Rev. John G. Truitt Jr. ‘53, was among Ƶ’s most loyal ambassadors for more than seven decades. The dynamic pair met on Ƶ’s campus during cheerleading tryouts and rooted for their alma mater on the sidelines and within the community from that time on.
The Truitts served Ƶ in many capacities together, including as members of the National Alumni Executive Board and co-presidents of the Golden Alumni Association, representing alumni who graduated at least 50 years ago. They were among the most vocal Phoenix football and basketball fans and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a party at Rhodes Stadium in 2004.
Dolores Truitt later helped to promote annual giving at her alma mater by serving on The Ƶ Society Executive Board and the board of the Ƶ Athletics Foundation, now the Phoenix Club, receiving Ƶ’s Citizens Service Award in 1998 for her exemplary volunteer work. The Truitts established the Truitt-Hagan Endowed Scholarship to assist student-athletes and the Brock Darden Jones and Selma Gertrude Rawles Jones Endowed Scholarship to help make Ƶ more accessible to students with financial need.
Dolores and John Truitt received the Ƶ Medallion, the university’s highest honor for service to the institution, in 2012.
Truitt received her real estate license in 1984 before beginning a long and successful career in the real estate industry. She was active in her church, Ƶ Community Church, and served on the Ƶ Homes and Schools as Chair of Board of Trustees, Snyder Campus Advisory Board Chair, and Trustee Emeriti. She received the Louise Barringer Award in 2003 for her service to children at risk and to the Ƶ Homes.
Read for more information about her life and legacy.