1938
Dr. Albert Clifton Smith Jr., July 19, 2015, Brunswick, Ohio. Smith served during World War II in the Army Air Corps. After the war he practiced medicine in Union, S.C., and Cambridge, Ohio, for 45 years. After retirement he volunteered with hospice and the Salvation Army.
1939
Harold Deforrest McAbee, Sept. 14, 2015, Gainesville, Ga. McAbee served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot during World War II. He retired from Milliken Textiles in 1981 following 35 years of service. He was a longtime member of First Baptist Church of Gainesville, an avid golfer, woodworker and gardener.
1940
Max Ivan Moser Jr., Sept. 13, 2015, Cliffside, N.C. Moser retired from Duke Power Co. as steam station manager. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, serving in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1945. He was active in his church and a former Boy Scout leader, golfer and Wofford Terrier fan.
1949
John David Wilson Sr., Sept. 25, 2015, Martinsville, Va. Wilson served in the European Theater during World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He returned to Wofford after the war to finish his education and worked as a transcriptionist for the local TB hospital. Wilson worked with the U.S. Foreign Service at embassies in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Ethiopia before returning to the States for a career in journalism.
1951
The Rev. Philip Hamilton Gibbs, Aug. 30, 2015, Cornelius, N.C. A United Methodist minister, Gibbs served congregations for more than 40 years.
1952
Dr. Roy Clinton Pittman, Jan. 20, 2015, Johnsonville, S.C. After practicing medi-cine as a neurosurgeon for 25 years, Pittman earned a law degree and later a master of divinity degree. For him the three were linked by the desire to help people find healing.
1953
Dr. Roderick Wilbert Powers, Sept. 19, 2015, Auburn, Ala. Powers attended Wofford on a football scholarship. He went on to earn his doctoral degree and spent his professional career as a teacher, coach and principal in South Carolina. He retired from the State Department of Education in Alabama and after retirement enjoyed volunteering at Auburn football games.
1954
Melvin Earle Derrick Jr., Aug. 28, 2015, Maggie Valley, N.C. A nationally acclaimed sportswriter, Derrick served for a time as Wofford’s sports publicity director. He started his journalism career with the Atlanta Constitution and deferred his entrance to the Army so that he could cover the 1954 college football season. He wrote for the Pacific Stars and Stripes in Japan before returning to the Constitution. He later worked for the Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer, the Palm Beach Post, the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel, the National Enquirer, the Myrtle Beach Sun News and the Virginia Pilot Ledger-Star. He repeatedly was named Sportwriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
1955
The Rev. William Joseph Vines, Oct. 12, 2015, Laurens, S.C. Vines was a member of the Tennessee Dew Drops, a student band that often played with Moyer’s Men. He went on to serve United Methodist churches throughout South Carolina. Vines served as a Wofford trustee from 1974 until 1986.
1957
William Peebles Baskin III, Oct. 12, 2015, Bishopville, S.C. Baskin was an attorney in Lee County for 37 years and served as the municipal judge for the town of Bishopville for 36 years. He was a charter member of the Bishopville Rescue Squad in 1961, was the assistant director of the Lee County E-911 Communication Center for two years and served as mayor for 39 years. Baskin was a longtime member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church.
1959
David Oneal Johnson, Sept. 22, 2015, Greenville, S.C. Johnson served with distinction in the U.S. Air Force during the early 1950s before attending Wofford. He enjoyed a long and successful career in accounting management with Fiber Industries-Hoechst Celanese Corp. A member of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church for more than 50 years, he served many terms as clerk of session and was named elder emeritus.
1961
Johnny Mack Pruett, Oct. 5, 2015, Chapin, S.C. A social worker, building contractor and retired teacher with the Department of Juvenile Justice, Pruett enjoyed building cabinets and working for the Good Works Ministry in his community.
1965
Marion Graham Drayton, Oct. 9, 2015, Bishopville, S.C. Drayton’s military service included assignments in Fort Benning, Ga.; Korea; Germany; Vietnam; Washington; the Presidio Language School of Monterey, Calif.; and Panama. After retirement he became vice president of City Nursery Farms, serving as president of the South Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association, among his other civic and faith-based volunteer work.
1966
Austin Dean “Skipper” Shoneke, Sept. 21, 2015, Cowpens, S.C. Shoneke taught mathematics and science at Cowpens High School and Broome High School.
Joseph Lincoln Tolbert Jr., Oct. 3, 2015, Ninety Six, S.C. While at Wofford Tolbert was a member of ROTC and the Wofford Marching Band. A Vietnam veteran, Tolbert retired from CenturyLink after 45 years of service. He also taught electronics at Spartanburg Technical College and Piedmont Technical College. He was a master forester.
1967
The Rev. Charles Rayford Humphries Jr., Aug. 30, 2015, Taylors, S.C. A retired United Methodist minister, Humphries also worked as a tax accountant who did ministerial tax returns for more than two decades. He had an extensive collection of Western movies.
1969
Ronnie Wayne Mason, Aug. 23, 2015, Rock Hill, S.C. Mason retired from Springs Industries with 30 years of service. He was heavily involved in his church and community.
1970
Ewart John “Jack” Edgerton Jr., Aug. 29, 2015, Chapin, S.C. Edgerton retired as co-owner and past president of Adluh Flour, the family business, which was founded in 1926. Adluh was his life’s work and joy. Deeply interested in historic preservation, Edgerton was a founding member of the Vista Guild. He enjoyed giving tours of the flour mill and gave several to groups from Wofford. He served 18 years on the Chapin Town Council, including a term as mayor pro tem.
1972
Randall Louis Bringman, Oct. 11, 2015, Spartanburg, S.C. Bringman, a member of the 1970 national championship football team, broke the college field goal record with a 46-yard kick. He served on the Wofford College Alumni Association Board and after retirement helped the equipment staff for the Terrier football team. He was a national accounts manager for ASC Industries before his retirement.
1973
The Rev. David Oliver Davis Jr., Sept. 12, 2015, Avera, Ga. Davis’s service as a pastor spanned more than 35 years. He also worked with the U.S. Postal Service for 22 years. His passions were fishing with friends, cruising local thrift shops and acting in the Bartow Community Theater.
1976
Eugene Leroy “Toy” Nettles Jr., Oct. 2, 2015, Lake City, S.C. Nettles most recently served as president and CEO of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative. Before that he practiced law with his father, brother and sister at Nettles, Turbeville and Reddeck. He served five terms as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and was an adjunct professor at Francis Marion University. Nettles was involved with numerous boards, committees and civic organizations.
1979
Christopher Eric Wood, Sept. 11, 2015, Charleston, S.C. Wood worked for many years in the computer division of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board. He was the former owner of two Wild Birds Unlimited nature stores and a huge college football fan.
1982
Robert Seymour Friedman Jr., Sept. 26, 2015, Linville, N.C. Friedman was engaged in real estate with Linville Mountain Properties. He was a reader, public affairs conversationalist and golfer.
Friends
Retired Master Sgt. Carl D. Beck, Sept. 13, 2015, Atlanta, Ga. A World War II veteran, Beck parachuted into Normandy on June 6, 1944, and again in 1994 and 2004 for the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the D-Day invasion. He spent some of his early years in a boxcar during the Great Depression. Beck left the Army after the war but re-enlisted and served in the Korean War. For his service, he received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, among other citations. His last military assignment was as an Army ROTC instructor at Wofford. After retirement, Beck worked as a traffic engineer for the city of Atlanta and as a security guard at Agnes Scott College.
The Hon. David Walker Harwell, Sept. 30, 2015, Florence, S.C. Harwell toured Wofford with his grandson and namesake, Walker Harwell ’19, and was very proud that Walker chose to attend Wofford College. Harwell knew without a doubt that graduating from Wofford would ensure Walker’s eventual acceptance into medical school.
Dr. Henry John Janiec, Oct. 17, 2015, Spartanburg, S.C. Janiec received an honorary doctorate from Wofford College in 1969 for his many contributions to the arts in the Spartanburg community and beyond. A dean of the school of music at Converse College for more than 30 years, Janiec directed the Spartanburg Symphony Orchestra for 40 years and helped launch the Spartanburg High School Symphony. He played Carnegie Hall when he was 12 years old and worked with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Leonard Bernstein, Beverly Sills, Benny Goodman and Frederica von Stade. The Janiec Opera Co. at the Brevard Music Center is named in his honor. Janiec’s daughter, Dr. Katherine Janiec Jones, is an associate provost and associate professor of religion at Wofford.