Russell Trent Argo

Blacksburg, VA- Russell Trent Argo, 55, of Blacksburg, Virginia, passed away Monday, April 24, 2017. Born October 1, 1961 in Durant, Oklahoma, and grew up in Gallup, New Mexico. Trent was a veteran of the United States Air Force, having served as a Sergeant and security specialist from 1979 to 1985 at the Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, and the Strategic Air Command Elite Guard, Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska. After the service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Campbellsville University in Kentucky where he also served as president of the Student Government Association, a member of various music organizations, and was named Mr. Campbellsville University. After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1988, Trent became the director of admissions at Campbellsville, growing the school’s enrollment from 500 to 2,000 students during his 14-year tenure and beginning what would be a nearly 30-year career in higher education. While serving on staff at Campbellsville, he also earned a master’s degree in Music Conducting in 1999. After Campbellsville, he served six years from 2003 to 2009 as the Dean of Enrollment Management at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma, where he turned a 10-year enrollment decline into enrollment growth before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the International Education Group, developing and implementing marketing and enrollment management strategies for a variety of liberal arts colleges across the country and Brazil. In 2011, Trent became the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Bluefield College in Virginia. At Bluefield, he led the school to its second largest overall student population in school history and its highest ever number of new traditional students. He was promoted to Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Development in 2015, a position he still held at the time of his death. His higher education distinctions also included membership in the National Association of Baptist Enrollment Professionals, National Association of International Educators, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, and National Association for College Admission Counseling. Within the community, he was a den leader for Boy Scouts of America and a member of Rotary International, Kiwanis International, and First Baptist Church of Princeton, West Virginia. He and his family also attended Blacksburg (VA) Christian Fellowship. Fluent in both English and Portuguese, he was also president of the Northern Adult Basic Education Program. Trent is preceded in death by his brother, Todd Argo. He leaves behind his wife, Sandra Patricia Sousa de Lima Argo, and seven children – Emilio Cesar Weba Filho, 27, Chelsea Nicole Argo, 26, Lucas Trent Argo, 25, and wife Rebecca Argo, Lais de Lima Weba, 22, William Alexander Argo, 21, Rachel Lynn Argo, 18 and Bruno Cesar de Lima Weba, 17. He also is survived by his parents, Bob and Voncille Argo of Grand Junction, CO; brother, Brett and Mary Argo of Grand Junction, CO; sister, Devin Argo Stotler of Gallup, NM; and sister-in-law, Natalia Argo Bettenbough of Lubbock, TX; nephews, Shawn Argo, Micah and Hayley Stotler, Ryan and Starr Stotler, and Adam Argo; and nieces, Heather Stotler, Mallory and Nathan Weigl, Nathalia Lima, and Melissa and Justin Lee. The family will receive friends at Mercer Funeral Home on Thursday April 27, 2017 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. A funeral service will be conducted on Friday April 28, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. from Harman Chapel at Bluefield College with Rev. Dr. Henry Clary officiating. Burial will follow at Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin, VA In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to the Trent Argo Scholarship for International Students at Bluefield College via www.bluefield.edu/giving/ or mail to: 3000 College Avenue, Bluefield, VA 24605. Those wishing to share memories or condolence messages with the family may do so by visiting www.MercerFuneralHome.com Mercer Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the family of Russell Trent Argo.

Russell Trent Argo

October 1, 1961 - April 24, 2017