John F. McNair III ’49

John F. McNair III ’49 died November 3, 2005, in Winston-Salem after a brief illness. He entered Davidson College in the summer of 1944 and stayed through the fall semester. In early 1945, he joined the United States Navy and served in the occupational forces in Japan. At Davidson he played freshman football, was business manager of the campus newspaper, was president of his social fraternity, and was involved in other campus activities. After graduation, he returned to Laurinburg and was involved in a wide range of family-owned businesses including McNair Automotive Company, Laurinburg Milling Company, and Laurinburg Plywood Corporation. His civic activities included four years of service on the Laurinburg City Council, and serving as president of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Laurinburg Rotary Club. He was also commander of the American Legion Post in Laurinburg. Upon his father’s death in 1966, he was was asked to assume his father’s role as president of The State Bank of Laurinburg. In 1986, he was named President of Wachovia Bank & Trust Company. He also served on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, The Board of Directors of Piedmont Natural Gas, the state Highway Commission, the state Economic Development Board, the N.C. Railroad Company, Research Triangle Park, and N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry. He was a founding member of Winston-Salem Business, Inc. and founding chairman of The Piedmont Club. He served on the Boards of Directors of the YMCA, the Winston-Salem Foundation, The United Way, Leadership Winston-Salem, and the North Carolina Saint Andrew’s Society. He was a member of the board and chairman of both Old Salem, Inc. and Senior Services. He was a lifelong Presbyterian and served as a deacon in the Laurinburg Presbyterian Church and an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem.  He also served the larger church as member of the Board of Annuities and Relief, and as a trustee of Davidson College, Union Theological Seminary, and Peace College. He is survived by Martha Adams Fowler McNair, his wife of fifty-four years, 1244 Arbor Rd. Apt. 236, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27104; his children and their spouses, J. Frank and Laura T. McNair of Winston-Salem, and the Rev. Elizabeth McNair Ayscue and Austin U. (Skeet) Ayscue of Albemarle. He also leaves behind two beloved grandchildren, Rebekah Fairley Ayscue and Spencer McNair Ayscue. Other survivors are his brother James A. McNair and his wife Marion Hays McNair of Pinehurst; a much-loved aunt, Martha McNair Tornow of Laurinburg, and a host of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister, Martha Jane McNair Bell, of Raleigh.