1943
Ephraim Glaze Jackson, Aug. 16, 2017, Great Falls, S.C. Jackson received three battle stars while serving in Germany during World War II. He was employed by J.P. Stevens & Co. for 37 years. He also was the first manager of Republic Federal Credit Union, where he served 23 years. He was church treasurer for 50 years.
Dr. Larry Hearn McCalla ’43, Oct. 10, 2017, Greenville, S.C. A retired surgeon, McCalla was generous with his community and Wofford College, sharing his time, talents and resources to make his corner of the world a brighter place. Among his many contributions to the college, McCalla was instrumental in the $14 million bequest from the late Homozel Mickel Daniel; the bequest established three faculty chairs at the college in honor of McCalla. He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church for 62 years, served on the Wofford Board of Trustees (1964-76) and was elected to five terms on Greenville County Council, including two terms as chairman. Wofford conferred upon him an honorary degree in 1994. Memorials may be made to Wofford College.
Dr. Robert Daniel Utsey Sr., Sept. 30, 2017, Lexington, S.C. Utsey spent a year after graduation stationed on Wofford’s campus as a physics instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He then served in World War II in France and Germany in the 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion. He went on to become a dentist, spending 12 years as the first on-site dentist for the S.C. Department of Juvenile Services. In retirement his two passions were playing bridge and teaching Sunday school. Memorials may be made to Wofford College.
1950
William James Clark Jr., Sept. 20, 2017, Manning, S.C. Clark’s professional life took him from service in the U.S. Navy to Air Force mechanic to hotel owner and operator. He traveled extensively and loved spending time with his wife, daughters and grandchildren.
George P. Maughan, Sept. 15, 2017, Southern Pines, N.C. A retired U.S. Army colonel, Maughan joined the Army as a private in 1940 and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Maughan ended his career as director of the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Evaluation and Testing Agency at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Jack R. Thompson, Aug. 16, 2017, Roebuck, S.C. A retired U.S. Army first sergeant, Thompson served under General George Patton in the 10th Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge. He also served during the Vietnam War. He owned and operated Thompson Appliance and was active in Arcadia United Methodist Church.
1954
Neil C. Bonds, Oct. 2, 2017, Marietta, Ga. As an English teacher in Cobb County, Ga., for more than 35 years, Bonds touched numerous lives. He started a literary journal at the school and also served as the yearbook advisor. He was also a noted quilter.
Thomas Daniel Wyatt Jr., Aug. 17, 2017, West Columbia, S.C. Wyatt held pharmacy and law degrees. He spent the majority of his professional career with the S.C. State Board of Health (later SCDHEC), becoming chief of the Bureau of Drug Control in 1973. He was an elder, clerk of session, Sunday school teacher and choir member at Providence Presbyterian Church.
1955
Jackson Westmoreland Hambrick, Sept. 26, 2017, Roebuck, S.C. Hambrick served with the U.S. Army’s First Missile Corps in Germany before pursuing a career in the ministry. He retired as head of the ministry department at Baptist Medical Center in Columbia, S.C.
David Lowrey Lasher III, Aug. 26, 2017, Jacksonville Beach, Fla. A retired captain in the U.S. Navy, Lasher also served as a special investigator in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). His work took him around the world.
1957
Ronald Preston Brown, May 5, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. While attending Wofford, Brown went to work for Draper Corp., where he remained for 47 years, eventually becoming vice president for marketing and a member of the management group that bought the company in 1985. He was a Sunday school teacher at Southside Baptist Church.
Dr. Cobia Dwight Goforth, July 24, 2017, Charlotte, N.C. A biologist, Goforth was president of Goforth Corp.
1960
Thomas Lee Barrack, Aug. 29, 2017, Orangeburg, S.C. A U.S. Army veteran and member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Barrack worked in sales for U.S. Plywood (Champion International) for more than 30 years. He loved hunting, fishing, woodworking and spending time with family and friends.
Miles Phillips Powell, Sept. 20, 2017, Hickory, N.C. Powell worked for many years as a sales management executive with Hickory Printing Co. He was active in the community, including helping found the Lake Hickory Rotary Club, where he had served as president.
1961
James Watts Hudgens, Sept. 22, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. A U.S. Navy veteran, serving as a communications officer onboard the USS Navarro, Hudgens died after a long battle with ALS. He spent most of his career as an attorney with the Ward Law Firm and was an avid community volunteer.
William Vaughn Witherspoon Jr., Sept. 24, 2017, Raleigh, N.C. Witherspoon attended Wofford on a baseball scholarship. He continued to pitch after graduation for a New York Yankee’s Triple-A team. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order at Wofford and spent most of his career with 3M Co. as a national sales manager. After retirement, he and his golden retriever enjoyed serving the community as a certified therapy team.
1966
Walter Edwin McDaniel III, Aug. 15, 2017, Greenville, S.C. McDaniel began his career with Orders Mattress, was owner of The Ugly Biscuit and worked 32 years in sales at Sitton Buick. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for service in the Vietnam War.
1968
Robert McNary Mullis, Aug. 10, 2017, Columbia, S.C. A U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a CPA and enjoyed all things outdoors, including arrowhead hunting, farming and fishing.
Glen Franklin Vick II, Aug. 23, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. A retired educator, Vick taught and coached in Spartanburg County School District 7 for 30 years.
1969
Edwin Roger Heaton, Sept. 29, 2017, Greenville, S.C. Heaton died after a brief battle with cancer. He retired as a senior systems engineer after 35 years with IBM. Active in Fourth Presbyterian Church, his greatest enjoyment was spending time with his grandchildren.
1973
Charles Thomas Marsh Jr., Aug. 27, 2017, Asheville, N.C. He died of pancreatic cancer. Marsh was an innovative spirit, an environmental activist, bioregional educator, permaculture designer and organic landscaping pioneer. He co-founded Earthhaven Ecovillage in the early 1990s and Useful Plants Nursery, the only regional nursery dedicated to edible, medicinal and dye plants.
James Wyatt Phillips Jr., Aug. 26, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. Phillips enjoyed a long, successful career in individual and family therapy and was the owner of Working Well Inc., an employment assistance program. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed taking his grandchildren “snake hunting,” nurturing their love of nature. A U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, Phillips made a log cabin and everything in it by hand. It’s now a courtyard sanctuary treasured by family and friends.
1976
Andre G. Stanley, Aug. 19, 2017, Gaithersburg, Md. A member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., he was a policy analyst for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products. He was completing courses at the University of Chicago’s Ph.D. program in public health at the time of his death.
1982
Michael DeWitt Fields, Aug. 23, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. Fields loved everything outdoors and helped develop Glendale Outdoor Leadership School and other projects through the Palmetto Conservation Foundation.
1984
William Paul Bennett Jr., Oct. 4, 2017, Columbia, S.C. A member of Kappa Alpha Order, Bennett retired from BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.
Friends
Paul Hardin III, July 1, 2017, Chapel Hill, N.C. Hardin served as the eighth president of Wofford College from 1968 to 1972 before leaving to become president of Southern Methodist University and later chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During a time of turmoil on college campuses, Hardin instituted a number of reforms at Wofford, including the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Alcoholic beverages were permitted in certain places on campus during Hardin’s era and compulsory chapel assemblies were abolished. Women also were admitted for the first time as full-time day students. An avid golfer, he competed as an amateur in the 1962 British Open, recorded six career holes in one and shot his age on numerous occasions. Above all, he was devoted to his wife and family.
Dr. Edmund Schley Henry, Oct. 1, 2017, Tryon, N.C. Henry joined the Wofford faculty in 1970 and served until his retirement in 1997. During his tenure he participated in SAT workshops for local high school students and coached the Wofford college bowl team. A much-loved professor of English, Henry was considered a mentor by many, giving bright and interested students his books and inviting groups of English majors to his home for gourmet meals. His daughters, Shelley Sperka ’75 and Kim Henry ’86, were among the first women to graduate from Wofford.
Dr. W. Raymond Leonard Sr., Oct. 18, 2017, Spartanburg, S.C. Leonard joined the Wofford faculty in 1949 and later was named Reeves Professor of Biology and chair of the Department of Biology, a position he held until his retirement in 1993. In 1973, 20 physicians he taught honored him with the establishment of the Walter Raymond Leonard Scholarship Fund. In 1987, he was named the Kenan Professor of Biology. Leonard was also an avid Terrier athletics fan and rarely missed a home football or basketball game. He served as faculty athletic representative and was named an honorary letterman in 1993. In 2012 Wofford dedicated a new student apartment building in the senior village in his honor, and the department’s top award is named for him.
Toccoa Wise Switzer, Aug. 5, 2017, Union, S.C. A loving and beloved wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend who brought joy to all who knew her, Switzer shared that same affection with the students at Wofford College. She served on the college’s Board of Trustees from 1990-2002, helped establish an endowed scholarship at the college and made a lead gift to bring baseball back to Wofford’s campus. Switzer Stadium was named in her family’s honor. She also was devoted to Union County, supporting numerous community organizations and Grace United Methodist Church, where she was a leader and Sunday school teacher for 40 years.