Category: 1967

Nelson Andrew Waite, Jr. (Skip) passed away in Houston, Texas on July 30, 2023. Skip was born on March 31, 1945, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Mr. & Mrs. Nelson Waite. He is preceded in death by his parents, Nelson A. Waite, Sr, and Anne Dunlap Waite. He is survived by his brothers, Richard D. Waite (Kimberly) of Santa Rosa, CA, and Philip T. Waite of Spartanburg, SC. He is also survived by his son, Gregory Scott Waite (Victoria), four grandchildren Sage, Dakota, Noah & Elizabeth Waite, great granddaughter Kirra and his nephew, Ricky Waite. Lastly, Skip is survived by numerous cousins from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Savannah, GA, where the family roots began, his extended family in California who know him as “Uncle Skip” and several loving friends from Houston, TX.

Skip was quite an athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball in his high school years, where he graduated from Glenrock High School in Glen Rock, New Jersey. He went on to play baseball for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina where he earned a B.A.in Psychology in 1967. After graduating from Davidson and the ROTC program he joined the Army as an officer in a tank battalion serving our country for 4 years. After returning home from his time in the Army to his then wife, Nancy, and son Scott, he went on to begin his career in the insurance industry in Chicago at Chubb & Sons. Skip later divorced and moved to Houston, TX continuing to work in the insurance industry. He had a stellar career serving as an Officer with Chubb & Son, Inc, VP with Marsh & McLennan, VP with Reed Alexander Stenhouse of TX, VP with River Oaks Insurance Services and retiring with AON Insurance Services.

Skip’s passions in life when not working included teaching his son, Scott, how to play ball, sailing, golfing, playing tennis and spending many hours pouring over the Julia Childs cookbook while cooking fabulous dinners for many friends and family over the years. He belonged to “gourmet supper clubs” with dear friends, and also enjoyed hosting dinners in his home. His favorite annual trips were to California at Christmas time to see his son, Scott, and 4 grandchildren, Sage, Dakota, Noah & Elizabeth…and always an annual trip at Thanksgiving to spend time with his brother, Rick and his family, visiting the wine country and hosting “his dinner” at Bacci Café in Healdsburg with extended family.

Per Skip’s request, no formal services will be held, instead please prepare your favorite meal with your loved ones and toast him with a great bottle of French wine, his favorite!

Bertram “Buddy” Carlos Finch III, M.D., 78, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, husband of Justine Blow Finch, entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

His Memorial Service will be held Thursday, March 30, 2023, in First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting Street, Charleston, at 2:00 in the afternoon. The family will receive friends after the service in Molly Weir Fellowship Hall. Interment will be private.

The oldest of five children, Buddy was born January 17, 1945. He was the son of the late Bertram Carlos Finch, Jr. and the late Dorothy Falls Finch. Buddy was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, while his father was interned as a POW during World War II. After his father returned to the United States, the family moved to Charlotte, where Buddy spent his formative years. In 1963, he graduated from Myers Park High School where he played football and was a member of the Student Council, Hi-Y, Key Club, and National Honor Society.

Buddy attended Davidson College after high school and graduated in 1967 with a BS in PreMed. He entered the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and earned an MD degree in 1971. Although Buddy was attracted to several medical specialties, he embraced Obstetrics and Gynecology. One week after earning his medical degree from UNC, Buddy married Justine Blow from Smithfield, North Carolina. They moved to Charleston, where Buddy continued his training with a one-year general medical internship and a four-year OB-GYN residency under the leadership of Dr. Lawrence Hester at the Medical University of South Carolina. During residency, many enduring bonds were formed with other doctors who were experiencing the same grueling hours and challenges. Throughout his life, Buddy cherished friendships and camaraderie with these fellow physicians.

After residency, Buddy’s deferred military service was activated by the United States Army Medical Corps. He served two years as a Major in Wurzburg, Germany. After deciding to make Charleston their permanent home, Buddy and Justine returned from Germany in 1978 with two daughters, Kathryn Leigh Finch and Justine Lindsay Finch.

Buddy joined Dr. Fraser Wilson and Dr. Watson Finger in their private OB-GYN practice. He later joined Dr. Edward Huggins and practiced with Dr. James Townsend, Dr. Granger Osborne, and others during his 36 years as a dedicated Obstetrics and Gynecology physician in the Charleston community.

Buddy Finch was honest, kind, and trustworthy with a quick wit and a warm smile. Foremost, he was a family man, always prioritizing his experiences with his daughters and wife over other events or obligations. He was an active member of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and an Elder. Buddy enjoyed exploring the waterways and surrounding islands near Charleston while sailing and motorboating. He also was privileged to join a group that spent multiple years of fellowship and fly fishing in Alaska. Buddy’s favorite vacations were bareboating with his family in tropical destinations.

For the last 14 years, he was proud of his new name, Pop, as he became a grandfather to two boys and two girls. He loved to visit them in Charlotte and California. Buddy is survived by his wife of 51 years, Justine; two daughters: Kathryn Finch Mileham, M.D. (Dunn) of Charlotte, NC and Justine Lindsay Trout (Carter) of San Mateo, CA; four grandchildren: Wells and Cooper Mileham and Ella and Charlotte Trout; one sister, Melinda Finch Adkins (Chuck) of Charlotte, NC; two brothers: David Ralls Finch (Eddie Lynn) of Charlotte, NC and William Douglas Finch (Cathy) of Pensacola, FL; brother-in-law, Gordon Lowry Blow (Wanda) of Smithfield, NC; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Susan Finch Caskey.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, 53 Meeting St., Charleston, SC 29401. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel. A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com. 

Kemmer Anderson, McCallie’s unofficial poet laureate, who taught and inspired thousands of boys over his 42-year career on the McCallie faculty, died unexpectedly on Friday, March 3, 2023.

“Yogi,” as he was affectionately called by his students, retired in 2019 but remained active in school life, often attending campus events and visiting former students and faculty members. He was attending the funeral service of a former student, Brice Burbank ’87, when he collapsed. He died a few hours later at Erlanger Hospital.

“Kemmer was one of those legendary faculty members who touched the hearts and minds of thousands of McCallie students over his long career at McCallie,” said Head of School Lee Burns ’87. “His love – for his wife Martha, for his God, for poetry and literature (especially Milton), for academic curiosity, and especially his love for his students and his fellow faculty – was what made Kemmer special to all of us. We will always remember his booming voice, his bright eyes filled with passion and wonder, and his classroom wanderings, which somehow, amazingly, his students were able to follow and appreciate more than adults.”

His wife, Martha, served for many years on the faculty as a counselor and was editor of several of Kemmer’s volumes of poetry. The two traveled throughout the world, often with other McCallie faculty.

According to Martha, funeral services will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Chattanooga.  The funeral is set for Saturday, March 25^th at 11:00 (10:00 visitation with a reception following the service).  St. Paul’s is located at 305 W. 7^th Street in downtown Chattanooga, near several hotels.

A native of New York City, Kemmer was a graduate of Davidson College and Pembroke State University. He served as a lieutenant in Korea. He worked briefly as a brickmaker, a carpenter, and a news reporter before attending Union Theological School in New York, where he decided that his real calling was to teach. He was hired as an English teacher at McCallie in 1977.

At McCallie, he taught virtually all levels of English. He also served as a goalkeeper coach for the varsity soccer team, created and served as faculty advisor to the McCallie chapter of Amnesty International, and held many other formal and informal campus titles. He was the recipient of the Keo Kio Outstanding Teacher Award, as well as many faculty study/travel grants. As an expert on Milton, he traveled to many Milton conferences around the world, including the 400^th birthday conference of Milton in London in 2008. At one conference, he presented a paper on Milton’s influence on American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson.

With Martha’s assistance, Kemmer published numerous volumes of poetry and was eager to read his poems to anyone willing to listen. For close to two decades, he wrote a special Christmas poem that he distributed to fellow faculty members, alumni, and students of his poetry classes. His poetry has appeared in many national and international publications.

Dr. Charles Henry Robertson, Jr., “Chip,” of Richmond, Virginia, age 76, passed away on November 20, 2022, at home with his family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Henry Robertson and Florence Richardson Robertson Givens; stepfather, J. Edwin Givens; two grandchildren, Lily and Caroline. Chip is survived by his wife, Michael Nexsen Robertson; three children, Brett Robertson (Heidi), Dr. Lang Liebman (Spencer) and Dr. Ryan Robertson (Kristin); six grandchildren, Kate, Emma, Jackson, Trey, Walter and Laurel; siblings, Sandra O’Neal, Donna McAnulty and Bruce Robertson.

Chip dedicated his life to Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care, first in an academic environment at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. Later, he moved into private practice with Pulmonary Associates of Richmond. He finished out his career as the CMO for Intercede Health, where he recruited and trained Hospitalist groups for a number of hospitals across the country.

A memorial ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, November 28, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Ave., Richmond, Va. 23226. All are welcome and encouraged to a reception immediately following the service at The Country Club of Virginia, 6031 St. Andrews Ln., Richmond, Va. 23226.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Peter Paul Development Center, 1708 N. 22nd St., Richmond, Va. 23223; The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, Md. 21741; or the charity of your choice.