L. Oval Jaynes Jr.

L. Oval Jaynes Jr., 84, of Morganton, NC, passed away peacefully on Sunday May 24, 2026. Oval was born on July 25, 1940, to the late Lee Oval Jaynes Sr and Naomi Brandon Jaynes of Morganton N.C. Oval was a member of both the First United Methodist Church of Morganton and Blowing Rock Methodist Church.

After graduating from Morganton High School, Oval attended Appalachian State Teachers College where he received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He later earned a Master of Education Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Oval was a distinguished high school athlete where he earned 11 Varsity letters total in football, basketball, and baseball. Oval attended Appalachian State on a football scholarship where he was a four year letterman in Football and Two year Letterman in baseball. He was named All-Conference and All-State in Football in 1961. In 2008, Oval was inducted into the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame.

L. Oval Jaynes, Jr., was a nationally respected leader in collegiate athletics whose career spanned more than five decades. He spent a lifetime dedicated to higher education, student-athletes, coaching, and athletic administration.

Oval spent more than 20 years in coaching starting at Myers Park High School where he was part of two State Championships as an assistant football coach. His college coaching career included stops at 6 different schools. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Graduate Assistant), The Citadel, Wake Forest University (offensive coordinator), University of South Carolina (associate coach), Gardner-Webb University (head coach, three years), and the University of Wyoming. He was offensive coordinator for the 1970 ACC Champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He began his administrative career at Auburn University, serving as Assistant Athletic Director beginning in 1981 before being promoted to Associate Athletic Director in 1984.

Jaynes served as Director of Athletics at Colorado State University (1986-1991), the University of Pittsburgh (1991-1996), the University of Idaho (1996-1998), and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (1998-2003). He later returned to collegiate athletics leadership in 2008 as Director of Athletics at Jacksonville State University, where he served until his retirement in 2011.

In recognition of his extraordinary contributions to collegiate athletics, Jaynes received the General Robert R. Neyland Award for Lifetime Achievement from the All-American Football Foundation in 1999. He later received the Bill Wade Unsung Hero Award and was inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2012. Jaynes also received the Appalachian State University distinguished alumni award in 2014 and special service award from the Appalachian State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 62 years, Priscilla “Pris” Jaynes, who passed away in June 2024. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Minnie Laura Page.

Jaynes is survived by his sons, Brandon Jaynes (Jennifer), and Lee O. Jaynes III (Susan); grandchildren Evan Jaynes, Emma Jaynes Yao (Nathanial), and Andrew M. Jaynes; along with a wide network of friends, former colleagues, coaches, and student-athletes whose lives were impacted by his mentorship, leadership, and friendship.

The family will receive friends from 1 to 3 p.m., Sunday, May 31, 2026 at First United Methodist Church in Morganton and the service will be held at 3 p.m. in the church. For those who cannot attend the service it will be streamed live at youtube.com/@fumcmorganton/streams. A register book will be available to sign in the office at Sossoman Funeral Home until the afternoon of the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to First United Methodist Church of Morganton NC, the Blowing Rock Methodist Church of Blowing Rock NC or the Appalachian State University Foundation Attn: Advancement Services, P.O Box 32014 Boone NC, 28608-2014. Make checks payable to ASU Foundation. Please put in memory of Oval Jaynes-Football in the memo line. You can also give online at give.appstate.edu.

If you wish to send a card, you can mail it to Jaynes Family, 500 Lenior Rd., Apt. 527, Morganton NC 28655

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.