Burette Stinson Tillinghast Jr., age 83, passed away in Kingwood, Texas on August 13, 2013. He was born on May 11, 1930 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. His parents were Pauline Johnson and Burette Stinson Tillinghast Sr. He was raised in Columbia, South Carolina and later Dillon, South Carolina.
Known all his life as “Red”, he served in the Navy, before earning a Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Wofford College, a Master’s degree in psychology at George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and a Doctorate degree in Counseling & Guidance at Florida State University.
Red loved teaching and was a professor at the University of Virginia from 1962 to 1967. From there, he became a Professor of Behavioral Studies at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. Red taught educational psychology, counseling and testing there from 1967 until he retired in 1990.
In addition to teaching, Red enjoyed spending time with his family, friends and students, reading history and fiction, writing novels, of which he published three, and going to the beaches in Alabama and Florida. His family and friends will remember him for his storytelling and his witty sense of humor.
Red is survived by the love of his life, Jo Tillinghast, his wife of over 60 years. He also leaves behind: his son Tom Tillinghast; his son Sam Tillinghast and wife Susan and his grandchildren April and Grant Tillinghast; his son Todd Tillinghast; his sister Mary Sue Newton; and step-sisters Jeanne Wilson and Betsy Metcalf. Red is predeceased by his parents Burette Stinson Tillinghast Sr., known as “Tillie”, and Pauline Johnson and by his step-mother Bessie Lee Farley Tillinghast.
Red will be laid to rest at a private service. Please visit Red’s online tribute at www.kingwoodfuneralhome.com, to sign his guestbook. To celebrate his commitment to teaching, a scholarship will be established in his name at the University of South Alabama.