Raleigh remembers longtime Broughton principal Dr. Richard Jewell, dead at 96

Raleigh is mourning Dr. Richard McNeal Jewell, the longtime principal who spent 22 years shaping Broughton High School into one of the city’s most recognizable public schools. Jewell died peacefully at home on May 10 at age 96, leaving behind a legacy tied to Broughton’s academic reputation, its alumni culture and a generation of Raleigh students who came of age under his leadership.

Jewell, born Sept. 23, 1929, in Lottsburg, Virginia, graduated from Callao High School, attended the University of Richmond on a baseball scholarship for two years and later transferred to Virginia Polytechnic Institute, now Virginia Tech, where he earned a B.S. in agricultural education with academic honors. After work toward his doctorate at Duke University, he became Broughton’s principal in 1970 and led the school until 1992.

His tenure covered one of the most difficult periods in Broughton’s history. Later descriptions of that era point to desegregation, busing and racial tension, with Jewell credited for easing strain inside the school while preserving its standing in the community. Broughton’s reputation only grew during those years, culminating in its recognition as a U.S. School of Excellence in 1984.

That institutional pride did not end with the principal’s office. In 1974, Jewell and community members chartered the Broughton High School Faculty/Alumni Association, a group that later helped cement the school’s culture of honoring teachers. Alumni and parents established the Richard M. Jewell Awards for excellence in teaching, and a 1991 alumni newsletter described the awards as part of the school’s identity. Another alumni newsletter from 1986 said Jewell had been named Tar Heel of the Week and was one of 12 principals selected nationally by the National School Safety Center for a magazine profile series.

The obituary says memorial gifts may be made to the Broughton Faculty Alumni Association to sponsor student scholarships for future teachers, a fitting extension of the values Jewell promoted for decades. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Irene, two daughters, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, along with many nieces and nephews.

A graveside service is scheduled for Saturday at Melrose Church in Lottsburg, Virginia. A funeral will be held Tuesday at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, where Jewell had been a member for more than 55 years. At Broughton, on St. Mary’s Street, his name remains part of the school’s civic memory, tied to a time when strong leadership helped steady a school through change and keep its academic ambitions intact.