Always a Smile

By Johnny Moore, GoDuke the Magazine

It was the smile, the sparkling eyes, the warmth in knowing that someone was genuinely glad to see you. It was a feeling of belonging that filled the hearts of so many Duke football players, families and fans whenever they saw Mary Dinkins.

There was never a person that encountered Mary that did not smile as soon as they met her.

That smile and those eyes, a part of Duke University and Duke Athletics, are all now a wonderful memory, as Mary passed away on Sept. 4 at age 68. Her love and caring, so much a part of the program, are now permanently woven into the very fabric of Duke football — a major part and contributor to the tapestry of a proud and historic program.

Dinkins, a native of Plymouth, N.C., and 1972 graduate of Duke, began her affiliation with the athletic department five decades ago as an undergraduate work-study student.

She first worked with Dr. James Bonk in the first athletic/academic counseling office. She was then hired by head coach Mike McGee to work in the football office. She enjoyed a 22-year stint there before transitioning into the role of Director of the Varsity Club in 1994, where she served as the liaison for all former Duke student-athletes and parents before retiring in April of 2016.

In her early years with football she was much more than a secretary. She worked very closely with the recruiting coordinator and spent a great deal of time on the phone with parents of incoming players and current players to help ease their transition from high school to college. She was someone all the players could talk to for advice.

Leo Hart knew Mary as well as any Blue Devil. He was in school with her and also worked with her when he served as football recruiting coordinator following his playing days. He looked at Mary not as a secretary but a partner in the recruiting process. She told Hart as they started working together that she made a good cup of coffee, enjoyed working with recruits, players and their families but couldn't type that well.

“She so endeared herself to the families,” explained Hart, an All-ACC quarterback at Duke. “Her enthusiasm and passion for Duke just made you feel good. But the most important part of Mary was that she shared her love with everyone she touched.”

You could always pop your head into Mary's office for a quick visit or give her a call and feel better about all sorts of things.

“To be sure, Mary Dinkins was an absolute treasure who devoted her entire career to Duke,” said Duke vice president and director of athletics Kevin White. “She always, and I emphasize always, put the best interests of Duke student-athletes at the very front of everything she did. No one cared more about their respective experiences. While Mary will be greatly missed by the entire Duke community, Mary's enormous contributions to this department and campus will last forever.”

Dinkins was honored for her outstanding contributions to the athletic department in 2016 with induction into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame.

With a true and deep love for the game of football, in addition to her service to Duke, Dinkins served as the school's representative on the executive board and a past president of the Bill Dooley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

“In December of 2007, it was my great fortune for Mary Dinkins to be one of the first people I met after accepting the head coaching job at Duke University,” David Cutcliffe recalled. “I immediately knew there was something special about this little blonde-haired lady who had a twinkle in her eye whenever the subject of Duke football was brought up. Little did I know at that time, I was talking to 'the First Lady of Duke Football.'

“Quickly, Mary became one of my heroes,” he continued. “She was the most positive, optimistic person I'd ever been around. Her knowledge of former teams and players, and her immeasurable loyalty to the program, was a spirit-lifting source of strength for me.”

The team and Cutcliffe made sure that Mary received the game ball from the Blue Devils' season-opening win over Army on Sept. 1. The ball, delivered to Mary at the Duke University Medical Center, was placed in her arms, which she squeezed tightly. The team has honored her as well with an MD sticker on their helmets for the remainder of the season.

“We all thought we were the only ones Mary remembered — wrong,” said former Duke football player Dick Havens. “She loved Duke but she also loved each of us. Few people have ever measured up to Mary's ability to be a loving and caring person to all she met. She remains in the hearts of all who knew her.”

Her hometown friends all knew her as Mary Elizabeth, a person who truly loved Plymouth, N.C., and was very proud to be from there. As you would suspect, she grew up as a very rambunctious and fun-loving girl who could only be described by someone who grew up with her.

“Mary Elizabeth and I lived a street apart in Plymouth so we played kick the can in the street at night while racing bikes behind the fogging machine as it passed. We played school, Barbie dolls and rode our bikes everywhere,” wrote one of her lifelong friends, Judy Liverman Stubbs, on her tribute wall.

“Kindergarten through 12th grade involved a friendship full of amazing activities. We were both guards on the basketball team 6th-12th and thought we were good,” Stubbs continued. “Our dads took turns taking us to an N.C. State or Duke football game on Saturdays. Her love for Duke as her family was ingrained in her soul.”

As everyone has mention, what will be missed the most about Mary will be the love and happiness she always brought to your heart. A call to Mary, which would always be for more than just a few minutes, would make your day brighter and leave you feeling better about whatever had been bothering you. She took time for everyone and made each person feel very special.

Which makes a lot of sense because one of Mary's favorite beach music songs was “You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book” by the Drifters. Incredibly appropriate since she always made you feel like you were much more than a number in her little red book.

In lieu of flowers, it is requested that memorial donations be made to a charity of one's choice or to the “Mary Dinkins Football Fund” which was established in the Fall of 2017 to honor Mary and her years of service to Duke Athletics and Duke's student-athletes. This fund is a permanent endowment which provides unrestricted support to the Duke University Football program and will continue to support the student-athletes, coaches and the program well into the future. Donations to the Mary Dinkins Football Fund may be sent to the Iron Dukes Office c/o The Mary Dinkins Football Fund, Box 90542, Durham, NC 27708.

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