Mr. Bliss was an associate professor of music at N. C. State University from 1963 until his retirement in 1989. He directed several choral programs, including the Varsity Men’s Glee Club and the University choir, inspiring hundreds of students with a lifelong love of music. He was a member of the Mu Beta Psi national honorary music fraternity.
A member of Holy Trinity, he conducted the choir there and at Ridge Road Baptist Church. He also served as the musical director for several productions at Raleigh Little Theatre, N. C. State, and St. Mary’s School, and composed several dozen choral and orchestral works.
Mr. Bliss was born in Charlotte, NC to Frances Craven. At age ten he moved to the Baptist Orphanage in Thomasville, where teachers discovered his musical talent. He volunteered for the U. S. Navy in World War Two, serving on the West Coast in signals intelligence. After his honorable discharge he enrolled at Mars Hill Junior College in Mars Hill, NC and later transferred to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelors degree in music education.
Upon graduation he taught in the public schools in Chapel Hill and Danville, Virginia. In Danville he married his first wife, the former Gurdine Marie Link. Later the Blisses moved to Greensboro, where he inaugurated the music program at the new Page High School.
In 1963 they moved to Raleigh, where he joined the N. C. State music faculty, later obtaining a master’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His accomplishments at N. C. State included leading a combined chorus and the North Carolina Symphony, for which he was commended by guest conductor and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Copland. He also co-directed the school’s marching band.
Physically active his entire life, Mr. Bliss enjoyed tennis and became a well-known runner, participating in half-marathons and shorter races, where he met his wife, Margaret E. (Peggy) Craver of Greensboro.
Mr. Bliss continued to compete until well into his Seventies. In his final years, he was an avid reader and maintained an active interest in sports, classical music, current events, history, and politics. His legacy of kindness and creativity will long be remembered by his family and friends.
Mr. Bliss is survived by two sons, Lawrence (Larry) and Bryan of Raleigh. Also surviving is his brother Robert Bliss of Valdese, NC, a nephew Rob Bliss of Hickory, NC and a niece, Leigh Ann Bliss of Alameda, CA. Jack Phillips of St. Louis, two step-grandchildren, Dustin Phillips and Cheyenne Phillips. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.0