1948
Carl Francis "Frank" Lowe Jr., April 28, 2019, Anderson, S.C. Lowe was retired from Greer Drug Co. He was a lifelong Baptist with service as a deacon. He enjoyed golf and singing in the church choir.
1951
Ralph Homer Campbell, Feb. 4, 2019, Asheville, N.C. Campbell worked 43 years for the Social Security Administration, finishing his career as Asheville’s assistant district manager. He was proud of his 57 years of perfect attendance in Kiwanis, 45 years of which were with the Kiwanis Club of Asheville. He played the French horn at Wofford and later joined the Asheville Community Band. He and his wife both became charter members of community bands in Hendersonville and Brevard.
William Whitfield "Bill" McNeill, Feb. 28, 2019, Waynesville, N.C. A graduate of Emory University Candler School of Theology, McNeill served numerous United Methodist churches as pastor before becoming district superintendent in Orangeburg, S.C. In retirement he was an associate pastor at Long Chapel United Methodist Church and a volunteer chaplain at Silver Bluff Nursing Home.
1952
George Hilliard "Red" Cross, March 22, 2019, Valdosta, Ga. Cross served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War as a radar and air traffic controller. He retired from Valdosta Insurance Services. Cross was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and past president of the Kiwanis Club and the Valdosta Boys & Girls Club.
James Kenneth "Jim" Haley, March 15, 2019, Winston-Salem, N.C. A former Marine, member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and president of the Wofford Alumni Association, Haley had an active professional life, including work with the Savannah River Plant, Procter & Gamble and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Renewal. After retirement, he formed James K. Haley and Associates, a commercial real estate firm. He was a member of Centenary Methodist Church and enjoyed traveling, gardening, spending time at Lake Norman and playing with his grandchildren.
Dr. Charles Mansfield "Charlie" Webb, March 21, 2019, Tryon, N.C. Webb served as a medic in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 during the Korean War. He graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1958 and was board certified in anatomic pathology in 1966. In 1972, he joined Spartanburg Pathology Associates in Spartanburg, and was an advocate for patient rights on the Spartanburg Regional Hospital Institutional Review Board, on which he served for 20 years, as chairman for the last two years. He also served as chairman of the Greenville General and St. Francis Hospitals’ Institutional Review Board. Webb played a pivotal role in the founding of the Gibbs Cancer Center.
1954
Sherry Eugene "Gene" Awtrey, March 19, 2019, Columbia, S.C. Awtrey played quarterback for the Terriers before serving with the U.S. Army Special Forces for 20 years. A decorated Vietnam War veteran, he retired from active duty in 1974 as a lieutenant colonel. After that he served as a senior military advisor and baseball coach at Benedictine Military Academy. He earned his MBA from the University of Georgia and went on to teach at Chester and Lower Richland high schools. He enjoyed travel, golf and fishing.
Dr. Hugh Robert "Bob" Brown Jr., March 8, 2019, Maryville, Tenn. Brown served in the U.S. Army for 22 years before retiring as lieutenant colonel in 1976. He was a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and received his doctorate in theology from Southern Baptist Center for Biblical Studies. He pastored two churches in North Carolina for 17 years.
1955
Dr. John Joseph "Joe" Mitchell, March 31, 2019, Columbia, S.C. After teaching mathematics at Eau Claire High School, Mitchell served as a lieutenant and code breaker in the U.S. Army. He devoted 38 years to Columbia College, holding positions of associate professor of mathematics, dean and vice president for enrollment management and vice president for business affairs. Mitchell was a member of Trenholm Road United Methodist Church. He volunteered with Prisma Health Hospice and served as a trustee of the Methodist Credit Union.
Howard Colton Weast, Feb. 15, 2019, Greensboro, N.C. Weast served in the U.S. Marines for five years before graduating from Wofford. He retired from Lincoln National Insurance Co. Weast volunteered with Mobile Meals, Crop Walk and Hinshaw United Methodist Church, where he cooked breakfast for the men’s breakfast club for 30 years and taught the Asbury Sunday School class.
1956
Dr. Charles Henry "Charlie" Coker, Feb. 5, 2019, Greenville, S.C. Coker received his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of South Carolina. He was professor of European history at Presbyterian College from 1967 to 1999 and was recognized with the Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, the Outstanding Faculty Service Award and Professor of the Year honors during his tenure. He was a member of All Saints Episcopal Church, where he enjoyed singing in the choir.
1957
Harold Walker "Buddy" Alley Jr., Feb. 16, 2019, Seneca, S.C. Alley served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Tanner in the Arctic and Caribbean during the Korean War. He received his master’s degree from Clemson University and began his career as a teacher, coach and principal at the former Keowee High School in Oconee County. He then worked as a counselor for South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation until his retirement. Alley was a member of Saint Mark United Methodist Church, the Seneca Lions Club and the South Carolina Behavioral Services Board.
Rev. Dr. William Paul Carlson, Feb. 13, 2019, West Columbia, S.C. Carlson held degrees from both Duke University Divinity School and Emory University. He began the first Christian marriage and family counseling service at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church in 1969. He retired from the Counseling Center and his private practice, the Columbia Institute of Therapeutic Awareness.
Rev. Robert Beaty "Bob" Clyburn, March 29, 2019, Aiken, S.C. After earning a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University, Clyburn served churches in South Carolina until his retirement in 2001. He also served on the district board of missions and board of ordained ministry for many years. He was a Sunday school teacher, Stephen minister and member of the choir of St. John’s United Methodist Church.
James Daniel Lewis Jr., May 2, 2019, Jacksonville, Fla. Lewis held many positions with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, retiring as senior vice president of operations. He also worked for Coastal Emergency Services prior to his retirement. An entrepreneur, he had interests in real estate and an auto brokerage firm.
1959
Cotesworth Pinckney "Coty" Fishburne, April 10, 2019, Rock Hill, S.C. A graduate of the Medical College of Virginia Dental School, Fishburne served as a captain in the U.S. Army for two years before establishing his dental practice in 1965 in Rock Hill, S.C. Even after his retirement, he contributed to the dental profession through many dental inventions. He served on the board of the Medical University of South Carolina for 25 years.
1962
James Milledge "Jim" Gibert, Jan. 25, 2018, Woodruff, S.C. Gibert was the owner and broker of Gibert Co. He was a member of the Woodruff Rotary Club, The Huguenot Society of S.C., Emma Gray United Methodist Church, the Chamber of Commerce, Spartanburg County Board of Education, Woodruff Investment Club and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
1963
Thomas Moore Callison, April 19, 2019, Forest City, N.C. Callison taught at Chase High School and East Rutherford High School, where he also served as the assistant principal and basketball coach. He went on to teach English at Isothermal Community College. He enjoyed listening to the blues, playing basketball and coaching.
1964
William Clyde "Bill" Keels Sr., April 27, 2019, Chester, S.C. A member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Keels was a former president of Rotary. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam as a first lieutenant. He also served as the county attorney for Chester County and attorney for Chester County Natural Gas. He volunteered for the Chester Ministerial Food Pantry at Purity Presbyterian Church.
James Renny Lands Jr., May 9, 2019, Piedmont, S.C. Lands enjoyed watching sports and was an avid fisherman. He retired from the state of South Carolina.
Robert Edward "Bob" Poland, Nov. 7, 2018, Jacksonville, Fla. Poland began his professional career in the insurance industry at Gulf Life Insurance, retiring as senior vice president with Allstate. He loved fishing and sports.
1965
Charles Daniel "Danny" Broome, April 10, 2019, Boiling Springs, S.C. Broome retired after 30 years of dedicated service to Spartanburg School District Two Schools, where he was adored and loved by children, faculty and staff.
1966
Charles Lindsay Weathers, April 22, 2019, Spartanburg, S.C. He was a plant manager for Pepsi in Sumter, S.C., and Augusta, Ga., before retiring from Coca-Cola Consolidated.
1968
Lucas Carroll Padgett Jr., Feb. 24, 2019, Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Padgett was stationed with the U.S. Army in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1968 to 1971. He was a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and practiced corporate law for 46 years in Charleston.
1969
Roger Jennings Byers, Nov. 17, 2018, Rutherfordton, N.C. Byers served in Germany during the Vietnam War. He worked as a general construction contractor for the Department of Corrections for many years before retiring as a masonry instructor at Chase High School. Byers was a member of Caroleen United Methodist Church and the Overmountain Victory Trail Association. He was an avid outdoorsman and served as scoutmaster for Troop #137 for 46 years.
Fowler William Cary Jr., Feb. 24, 2019, Leesville, S.C. Cary was president of CCM Investment Advisers, an investment firm he founded in 1986. He was involved philanthropically in the community, in particular with Epworth Children’s Home and Pawmetto Lifeline. He was a pilot and participated in numerous air shows across the country; he was known as "Big Dog" in his vintage Thunderbird T-33. He supported U.S. armed forces, transporting combat veterans to medical treatment facilities with the Veterans Airlift Command. Cary was honored to have served as the honorary fighter squadron commander at Shaw AFB and McEntire ANG.
1970
Billy Mac Allen, Feb. 26, 2019, Simpsonville, S.C. Allen served in the U.S. Air Force and was a member of Christ Church Episcopal.
1972
William M. "Bill" Damon, Oct. 9, 2019, Lawrenceville, Ga. Following a 27-year career in management, most of which was spent with the Coca-Cola Co., Damon took early retirement in 2000 to start his own consulting firm, Value-Based Marketing Solutions Inc. He loved travel and in later years pursued a lifelong passion by joining archaeological excavations in Greece, Turkey, Israel and Jordan.
Wilson Roy Parker Jr., Feb. 12, 2019, Spartanburg, S.C. Parker was the director of human resources at Bommer Industries. He was an active member of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
1974
Rev. Theodore Abraham "Ted" Kirk, April 2, 2019, Black Mountain, N.C. Kirk served in the U.S. Air Force from 1950 to 1954. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University and went on to serve as a Methodist minister for many years in the Western North Carolina conference.
1976
Risher Rainey Fairey, March 10, 2019, Columbia, S.C. Fairey was executive director of the Camden Archives and Museum, adjunct professor of history at Midlands Technical College and had a consulting business. He was a devoted member of Spring Valley Baptist Church.
1980
John Belton O’Neal Compton Jr., Feb. 18, 2019, Sumter, S.C. Compton served in the U.S. Navy for four years before enrolling at Wofford. He started a production company, Bear Films, with his friends, which produced and directed numerous award-winning commercials for Ford, Bojangles and others. He was an award-winning actor, writer, producer, photographer and director. His photography has been featured in exhibitions and collections around the world.
1984
William James "Bill" Thrower, Feb. 2, 2019, Charleston, S.C. Thrower worked as a civilian agent for the Naval Investigative Service in Norfolk, Va. He later attended law school at Western Michigan Cooley Law School. He moved back to his hometown of Charleston to become an attorney with the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office before going into private practice.
2013
Stephanie Brooke Forehand, Feb. 24, 2019, Enterprise, Ala. Forehand was Little Miss Coffee County and Young Miss Clayhatchee, as well as a cheerleader at Wofford College.
FRIENDS
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Arthur Ted Ballard Jr., May 23, 2019, Spartanburg, S.C. Ballard flew 67 successful combat missions during the Vietnam War before being shot down over North Vietnam. He was a prisoner of war from 1966 until 1973. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, he spent 22 years as senior instructor for the Air Force Junior ROTC program at Gaffney High School. In 2015 when his wife, Ruth, died, Ballard established the Dr. Kevin Dale Ballard ’80 Endowed Scholarship at Wofford in honor of his wife and his son, who had a distinguished career in toxicology before his death in 2009. Ballard was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Wofford Alumni Association in 2017.
Mary O. McCartney McCully, April 19, 2019, Orangeburg, S.C. McCully was the widow of Robert W. McCully Sr. ’55. McCully received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska. She was an economic administrator for the city of Bamberg and a member of Trinity United Methodist Church. She and her late husband established the Robert W. McCully Endowed Scholarship in 1994 for a student-leader and member of the college’s football team. Gifts in her memory may be made to this fund.
ANNE JOHNSON
BOYD DUNLAP
JAN. 15, 2019
COLUMBUS, N.C.
Anne Dunlap served the Wofford College community as the wife of President Emeritus Bernie Dunlap. She had been fighting cancer for several years at her death. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, she worked in banking and taught high school. During 55 years of marriage, she and Bernie raised three children, traveled widely and adored their dogs and mountain home. The Wofford community also adored her. Dr. Anthony Hoefer, now associate professor of English, assistant dean of the Honors College and director of the University Scholars Program at George Mason University, wrote this in tribute, mirroring the thoughts of many who knew her.
"In January, 2000 — exactly 19 years before her passing — Anne Dunlap was in Rajhasthan, India, helping Bernie lead what would end up being their final Interim trip. India. I was one of the students on this trip. As transformative as each new experience was for me, the most meaningful thing about that trip turned out to be the chance get to know Mrs. Dunlap.
"Though I was a senior, this trip was my first time outside the United States. I’d been saving and planning since I was a freshman for the biggest adventure possible. My confusion and uncertainty at that moment, however, extended beyond my inexperience as a traveler. I was closing in on graduation; I had applied to law schools, but I was coming to understand that this wasn’t the right route.
"I think I probably knew what I wanted to do, but it was only after several extended conversations with Mrs. Dunlap on a bus, cruising long and often desolate roads in Rajasthan, that I said it aloud and began to embrace it. I don't recall these as pep talks — this wasn’t ‘you can do it!’ Instead, in my recollection, these were clarifying conversations, full of both teacherly questions and wisdom, as well as regular reminders of the great privilege and joys of academic life: of discovery, learning, reading, asking questions and mentoring others. A keen observer and an intellectual in her own right, Mrs. Dunlap had developed a perspective on an academic life that perhaps no one else could offer me. She spoke with honesty, insight and excitement about the world in which she and Bernie had lived and raised their family. And she modeled it, too: this was the work that she and Bernie were doing on each of their Interim trips.
"Wofford provided me with an embarrassment of riches when it came to support and mentorship. Classrooms and conversations with folks like Talmage Skinner, John Cobb, Larry McGehee and yes, Bernie Dunlap, led me to want to be a professor. But it was Anne Dunlap who convinced me that I could pull this off — and maybe even more, that I needed to give it a shot.
"In India, I certainly didn’t know much about where I was, and I was even less certain as to where I has headed. Nineteen years later, I’m knee-deep in my own family and my own academic career, and I have no idea where I’d have ended up if not for Mrs. Dunlap. I am so grateful for that trip and for the chance to get to know her."
ELIZABETH JOHNSTON
"LIZ" PATTERSON
NOV. 10, 2018
SPARTANBURG, S.C.
A former Wofford trustee and Wofford parent to Pat Patterson ’92 and Catherine Patterson Gramling ’99, Liz Patterson loved Wofford College. According to her daughter, Catherine, "Although she wasn’t a graduate of the college, her wardrobe and loyalty to the college certainly made people think she was." In her mother’s eulogy, Catherine said: "She was the biggest football fan I knew ... always had to be in her seat before the game began and often didn’t leave until the game was over regardless of score. This year was the first year that she wasn’t able to attend a football or basketball game. We grew up sharing a pew at church (Central United Methodist in Spartanburg) with the Lesesnes, and Lewis Jones ’38 sat behind us, so Wofford was just part of our life!"
Patterson was the daughter of U.S. Sen. Olin D. Johnston ’21. With degrees from the University of South Carolina and Converse College, she began her career as a public affairs officer with the U.S. Peace Corps and went on to a life of public service, including election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986. She was the first woman elected in her own right to Congress from South Carolina.
Among her numerous awards and honors is an honorary degree from Wofford College.