The longtime trustee and Alamance County community leader passed away on May 5, 2023.
Jack R. Lindley Sr., who served 17 years as an Elon trustee and five years as trustee emeritus died May 5, 2023, at the age of 88. He was among Alamance County’s most influential business leaders during his long and distinguished career, serving as a driving force for the community’s economic development and providing leadership and philanthropic support for many local organizations.
“Jack Lindley was a proud Elon alumnus who dedicated his life to his family and to building a thriving and prosperous local community,” said President Connie Book. “We will miss his positive energy and his boundless advocacy and support for his alma mater and Alamance County.”
Lindley spent 28 years in the property and casualty insurance business and was one of the founders and developers of the Burlington Outlet Mall. He later served as chief executive officer of Industrial Paper Products of Burlington and was a financial consultant to private businesses.
Lindley served on Elon’s board of visitors from 1998 to 2001, when he was elected to the board of trustees. He was awarded Elon’s Frank S. Holt Business Leadership award in 2000 and on multiple occasions was listed among the region’s most influential leaders by the Triad Business Journal. In 1994 he was named Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club and in 2004 he was named Alamance County Man of the Year by the Alamance District Boy Scouts. He received the Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award in 2019.
He held many leadership positions with the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce, including service as chairman in 1993, and received the Chamber’s Director of the Year and Entrepreneur of the Year awards. He served as the 1997 campaign chairman for Alamance County United Way and was the United Way board chairman in 1998. He also served two years as president of the Alamance Community College Foundation and twice served as president of the Alamance Country Club.
An active member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Lindley served as treasurer for more than 50 years and as chair of the administrative board. He also served on the boards of The Alamance Community Foundation, Alamance Regional Medical Center Foundation, Salvation Army, Elon Homes for Children, Alamance Eldercare and the Alamance Arts Council, and was a trustee for Methodist College (now Methodist University).
Jack and his wife, Dorothy (Dot), have been lifelong supporters of Elon University students and are members of the Order of the Oak, Elon’s planned giving society. They created the Jack R. and Dorothy C. Lindley Scholarship to support Alamance County students attending Elon and also contributed to the construction of the Koury Business Center, Alumni Field House, Belk Library and the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The second-floor lobby in Sankey Hall is named the Lindley Family Gathering Space and Lindley Court on the west side of Alamance Building is also named in honor of the Lindley family.
Jack and Dot have three children, including 1983 graduate Jay Lindley who serves as CEO of Industrial Paper Products, 11 grandchildren, including 2020 Elon MBA graduate Will McGowen, and 18 great-grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors at noon on Tuesday, May 9, at Rich & Thompson Funeral Home in Burlington and the celebration of Lindley’s life will be conducted at 2 p.m. in the funeral home’s chapel. There will be a private burial on Wednesday.