Penelope Campbell

Penelope Campbell was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on December 18, 1935, a daughter of the late Welford Shepard and Marie Ewers Campbell, farmers who grew tomatoes and raised chickens. She died on January 15, 2023 of heart failure at her home in Decatur, Georgia.

She was educated in the public schools of Maryland. She received her bachelor's degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and her master's and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. While her broad study was in European history, she specialized in European imperialism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. During a thirty-nine year career on the faculty of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, Professor Campbell encouraged many students to venture into the world, published articles, book reviews, and two books on African subjects with American components. She served on college committees and received grants for research and study world wide from the College and from national sources.

Among her many interests were pipe organs, French cooking, college football, and cats. She enjoyed sailing, canoeing, and fishing. Professor Campbell was, above all, a world traveler, particularly to Africa and Asia, regions of professional focus. An outstanding adventure of many in her life was a solo visit to the orangutans at Camp Leakey in Indonesian Borneo. She proclaimed that India is the most fascinating nation on earth, but she was never happier than when on safari in Africa with her husband. She is preceded in death by her husband of 36 years Seaborn P. Jones, and her sister Cleopatra Campbell Anderson. She will be missed by the hundreds of friends and former students whose lives she touched over the years. A memorial service will be held March 25, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Julia Thompson Smith Chapel at Agnes Scott College.