Category: 1937

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William R. “Bill” Bradford, Jr. ’37

William R. “Bill” Bradford, Jr. ’37, age 97, longtime civic, religious, and business leader, died on Friday, September 27, 2013. The family received friends in the church Fellowship Hall following the service which was held Monday, September 30, 2013, at 3 p.m. at Unity Presbyterian Church.

He was the son of the late W.R. Bradford, Sr. and Annie Culp Bradford, and the last survivor of a family of nine sons and daughters. Educated in the Fort Mill schools and Davidson College, Mr. Bradford was editor and publisher of the Fort Mill Times from 1943 until he sold the newspaper and retired in 1979. Under his leadership, the Times won several General Excellence Awards as the best weekly paper in South Carolina, and he personally won numerous writing awards. Many were for his popular “No Foolin” column, often excerpted by other newspapers. Prior to his purchasing the Times from his father, he had been employed by the Forest City Courier and the Lancaster News. In 1982, Mr. Bradford accepted appointment as York County Magistrate for Fort Mill Township and served with distinction in this capacity until retirement in 1987.

Active in almost every phase of life in Fort Mill, Mr. Bradford became Fort Mill’s Scoutmaster in 1937. For 18 years, he was a member of the board of trustees of the Fort Mill Schools, serving six years as Chairman. He was a charter member and director of the Fort Mill Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, member and President of the Fort Mill Loins Club, and served as a member of the Committee for the Elderly at Piedmont Medical Center. He was a member of the board that organized the University of South Carolina at Lancaster. He was devoted to Davidson College and served for many years as Secretary for his class of 1937. From 1954-1968, he was the voice of the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets football team, serving as the play-by-play announcer at all home games.

In his years as editor and publisher of the Fort Mill Times, he led with a strong voice on issues concerning the town and its residents. In the 1970s he repeatedly editorialized on the need for replacement of the bridge on Doby’s Bridge Road, and in 1979, the resulting new bridge was named for him. In 1991, Bradford was presented the first Lifetime Service Award given by the Fort Mill Chamber of Commerce, and, in 2005, he received the Fort Mill Citizen of the Year award. In 2009, he was one of five, and the only living member, inducted into the inaugural Fort Mill Hall of Fame. In 2012, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fort Mill Area Council of York County, SC, Chamber of Commerce. Bradford authored “Out of The Past,” a popular book on the history of Fort Mill, and he wrote and published many other papers and pamphlets on the subject. He was a frequent speaker at meetings and was well known for his knowledge of events past and present, which he would relate with humor. A talented artist, his landscape oil paintings hang in the homes of his family. A member of Unity Presbyterian Church since childhood, he served as deacon, elder, trustee and church historian, and was the oldest male member.

He was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Helen Parler Bradford. He is survived by his son, William R. Bradford III and wife, Pamela North, of Charlotte, NC, and daughter, Camille Bradford Hugg and husband, Bobby, of Columbia, SC.

Donations may be made to Unity Presbyterian Church, PO. Box 1267 Fort Mill, SC 29716 or Hospice and Community Care, PO Box 993, Rock Hill, SC 29731. Condolences may be left for the family at www.fortmillfuneralhome.com

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Samuel Edward “Ted” Eaton, Jr. ’37

Samuel Edward “Ted” Eaton, Jr. ’37, of Hingham, Mass., passed away at Queen Anne Nursing Home Jan. 2, 2013, three weeks short of his 98th birthday. He was born in Nyack, N.Y., Jan. 20, 1915, to the late Olive Bowers (Eddy) and S. Edward Eaton, Sr. After living in Nyack, N.Y., and then in Franklin, N.C., Eaton and his family moved to Hingham, where he lived for 62 years.

He attended Davidson and transferred to Wesleyan University, where he graduated in 1937 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Eaton was a man of remarkable talent and energy, as well as a strong family man with a great sense of humor. He lived a long vibrant life as he pursued his many passions. He had a 26-year career at Arthur D. Little as a research chemist and was a group manager of business development, where he led over 100 projects and holds 14 patents. During his tenure at Arthur D. Little, Eaton presented a paper, “Atoms for Peace,” on the peaceful uses of atomic energy at the International Conference in Switzerland in 1955 held by the United Nations. During World War II, he was part of a group of scientists with the Office of Scientific Research and Development helping the War Department decipher messages in invisible ink. He felt certain that his work as a member of the code breaking team helped to shorten the war. As a result of this work, which was examined in the book The Code Breakers, Eaton received a letter of commendation from the War Department, as well as the Navy Department.

Eaton was an avid sailor and loved the ocean. He was a member of the Hingham Yacht Club, where he raced and won several championships in the Mercury and Ensign classes. He also enjoyed skiing, tennis, golf, and loved to sing. He sang in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in Hingham and in the choir at St. Johns for many years, and loved singing with his family. He spent his life looking for solutions to complex problems, both as a chemist working on nuclear weapons, and later in life tackling what he felt those weapons threatened-world peace. Toward this end, Eaton wrote a peace proposal, entered it in a contest sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, and was one of 48 selected out of 1,500 essay contributions. He participated in MIT seminars, which were sponsored by the Club of Rome, during which they grappled with issues such as population growth, poverty, resource depletion, and environmental issues. Later in life, Eaton focused on causes that mattered to him, and he was instrumental in developing the Hingham dump, working with the town to create a state-of-the-art landfill. In his later years, he also spent a fair amount of time looking for scientific answers to theological questions, writing his thoughts in a published treatise.

He is survived by his spouse, Teri C. Sands Eaton, 100 Otis St., Hingham, MA 02043; his daughters, Deborah E. Keeney (Terry) and Meredith E. Walsh (Tim); his sons, Timothy E. Eaton and Christopher A. Eaton; his stepdaughter, Trish Waddleton Hardey (Tom); as well as four grandchildren, Bill Keeney, Darcy Keeney Green, Maura Walsh, and Brennan Walsh; and three great-grandchildren, Dillon and Tyler Keeney and Wyatt Green. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Dorothy Gittins Eaton, in 1990, and also by his sisters, Lavinia Eaton, Dorothy Eaton Sample, and Mary Eaton.

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Dennis Eugene Myers, Jr. ’37

Dennis Eugene Myers, Jr. ’37, 97, of Charlotte, N.C., passed away Nov. 25, 2012, in the Stewart Health Center of The Cypress of Charlotte. He was born Aug. 31, 1915, in Spartanburg, S.C., son of the late Dennis Eugene Myers and Reathea Pitt Myers. His family moved to Charlotte when he was five years old. Myers graduated from Davidson, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

In 1941 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served until the end of the war. In 1945 he returned to Charlotte and took over Myers Automobile Service, which was founded by his father. Myers was a charter member of Myers Park United Methodist Church. He served on the Board of Visitors of Davidson College, and was one of the founders of WDAV radio station. He was a past president of the Charlotte Downtown Association, the Mint Museum, and Family Children’s Service. He was also president of the Boy Scouts of Mecklenburg County and served as a member on the National Board of the Boy Scouts of America. He was vice-chairman and a founder of the Methodist Home, a member of the Piedmont Club and the Society of Cincinnati.

Myers loved and cherished his family, especially his wife of 72 years, Elizabeth Welles Myers, 7035 Marching Duck Dr., Apt. 408E, Charlotte, NC 28210-2239. His humor, quick wit, and ready jokes brought joy to those fortunate enough to know him. Myers loved nature, especially bird watching, history, genealogy, the beach, the mountains, but most of all being surrounded by his family.

Myers is survived by his loving wife, Libby; daughters, Gay Pender (Bill) and Alice Walker (Carl); and his son, Dennis E. Myers III (Janet). He is also survived by his adoring grandchildren, Will Pender ’92 (Elizabeth), Peyton Powell (Bert), Gibbon Pender (Marie), Courtney Pender, Crosby Stowe, Wilson Walker, Holly Hunter (Charlie), Michele Reich (Allan), Peyton Gehron (Jake), Dennis Myers IV, and Jack Myers; and 16 great-grandchildren [including Carl Wilson Walker III ’98].

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Charles Carter Elder ’37

Charles Carter Elder ’37, 97, of Charlotte, N.C., died of melanoma on his birthday, June 13, 2012. Born June 13, 1915, in Greensboro, N.C., he was the son of the late Frankie Carter Elder and Charlie Crofford Elder.

Elder graduated from Davidson in 1937 with a degree in business and economics. He was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and played on the first soccer team at Davidson.

Elder worked for 40 years in the sales department of the Southern Railway in Greensboro, New York City, Lynchburg, Va., Durham, and Raleigh. He was a 30-year member of Rotary International.

Survivors include a daughter, Anne Elder Greene (Joe), 7038 Ladys Secret Dr., Indian Trail, NC 28079-5729; two grandsons, David and Andrew; a granddaughter, Joanna Greene; and six great-grandchildren, Kasey, Jamie, Seth, Christopher, Carter, and Joshua. Additional survivors include a niece, Dona Carlson; nephews, Dwight Trent and Daryl Trent; and great nieces and nephews, Erin and Malin Carlson, Redding and Sarah Trent, and Nicholas, Ryan, and Grace Trent. In addition to his parents, Elder was preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor Rosser.

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Marshall V. Yount ’37

Marshall V. Yount ’37, of Hickory, N.C., died Feb. 7, 2012. He was born Jan. 21, 1917, in Hickory. He was the son of Marshall H. Yount, a native of Catawba County, and Maude Vivian Hutchisson, of Mobile, Ala.

Yount attended Davidson and UNC Chapel Hill, graduating there with a B.S. degree in commerce, and continuing with the UNC School of Law, where he received his LLB degree in 1940. He entered the practice of law with his father, Attorney Marshall H. Yount, Yount & Yount, which practice was interrupted when he began a four-year term with the U.S. Army, returned and practiced law with his father until his father’s death in 1948.

In the Army he was positioned with the Security Intelligence Corp, Fourth Service Command as special agent commissioned second lieutenant, stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco as staff member of the Japanese-American branch office of the Provost Marshal General, promoted and transferred to complete his service with the Provost Marshal General office in Washington, D.C., until he was discharged from the service in 1946. He then returned to Hickory and resumed the law as a sole practitioner until a young lawyer, Oliver Noble, came to Hickory and joined him. That association ended when Noble was appointed a District Court judge.

In 1981 Yount began a practice with Attorney Rufus Walker, son-in-law of his longtime friend and fellow attorney, George D. Hovey. The partnership Yount & Walker was dissolved in 1999 when Yount joined the law firm of Sigmon, Clark, Mackie, Hutton, Hanvey & Ferrell, “of counsel” along with his longtime assistant, Linda Sigmon, where he continued his legal career until his death. Early in his career, Yount served several terms as judge of the Hickory Municipal Court and two terms as judge of the Catawba County Court, but never thereafter sought public office.

He was active in and a supporter of community organizations, charitable and otherwise. He headed the Community Chest; was a deacon and elder of Corinth Reformed Church and consistory member of Corinth Church; a member of the Catawba County ABC Board; member and a director of Hickory Kiwanis Club; member of the American Legion and Loyal Order of the Moose.

In his profession, he served as president of the Catawba County Bar Association and of the 25th District Bar, and was a member of the American Bar Association and American Judicature Society. He was honored in 2004 by being inducted into the General Practice Hall of Fame of the North Carolina Bar Association.

Yount is survived by his wife of 65 years, Jerrie, 1081 16th Ave. NW, Hickory, NC 28601, who was a young secretary to the general in charge at Provost Marshal General office in Washington, D.C., where he met her during the last year of his service. He is also survived by his sons, Douglas, Stanley, Jeffrey (Cathy), and Marshall; grandchildren, Jeremy (Emily), Brian, April, Naomi, Dannon, Jay, Lindy, and Brandon; and great-grandchildren, Graham and Lana. He was preceded in death by his son, Alfred, and his sister, Helen Saipher. Yount loved his wife, his family, children, grandchildren, and his profession. He was well regarded by his fellow attorneys and will be remembered as among the oldest practicing attorneys in North Carolina at the time of his death.