Obituaries – October 23, 2019
Family and friends of William Heard Boatwright (July 15, 1933-Oct. 12, 2019) are mourning the loss of a kind-hearted man, great friend, valued church member and provider. They are also celebrating a life well lived, and the value of lifelong relationships.
Born July 15, 1933, in Marion to William Heard Boatwright and Rosa Ada Simons, William grew up in Darlington. After graduating in 1951 from St. John’s High School, he attended Clemson University where he received a degree in electrical engineering.
In 1957, he accepted a position with Westvaco Corp., which moved him to Charleston, where he met his wife of 51 years, Caroline Davis. They started their family in Mount Pleasant. William’s work moved them to Covington, Va., in 1970.
Upon retirement in 1993, he and Caroline moved to Brevard, N.C., where they bought a beautiful home off Cantrell Mountain Road. This wonderful property became the gathering place for many memorable celebrations with family and friends. After the loss of Caroline in 2012, William moved to the Deerfield Retirement Community in Asheville, N.C.
A member of the Episcopal Church, William served in various committees and leadership positions at Emmanuel in Covington and St. Philip’s in Brevard. He was active in Rotary in both Brevard and Covington, where he served as president from 1981-82, and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
He helped establish Transylvania County Volunteers In Medicine’s “Free Clinic” which opened in 2003 to serve county residents with no options for health care. (This program folded into The Brevard Health Center in 2013.) William made many friends wherever he went. His life was blessed with both recent and lifelong friends from Brevard, the Charleston area and Covington.
William is survived by his daughters Elisabeth Boatwright Cobb (Grant) and Caroline Boatwright Collins (Steven Anderson), and his grandchildren Margaret, Turner, Aaron, Sara and Nicole, and great-granddaughter Audrey. He is also survived by his sisters Ann Igoe and Peggy Peck, nieces and nephews, cousins, his dear friend Linda Callaway, and his Deerfield dining gang.
Two memorial services celebrating William’s life were held: The first at Deerfield’s Haden Hall Chapel on Oct. 16 and the second Oct. 19 at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Brevard. A private Committal will be held at St. Paul’s-in-the-Valley Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Boys Home of Virginia, 414 Boys Home Road, Covington, Va. 24426.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Archie Shaw Dargan, 70, of Darlington, died at the McLeod Hospice House on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. Born Jan. 27, 1949, in Greenville, he was the son of the late Archie Shaw Dargan Jr. and the late Caroline Sligh Dargan.
Shaw was educated in the public schools of Myrtle Beach and graduated from Francis Marion University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He was a recipient of the Silver Beaver award from the Pee Dee area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
From 1968-72 he was a member of the Marine Corps, serving at Camp LeJeune, Jacksonville, N.C.; 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Okinawa and Vietnam and Headquarters 4th Marine Corps District, Philadelphia.
Shaw was employed by Dargan Construction Co. of Myrtle Beach for over 30 years where he served as president and chairman of the board.
Shaw enjoyed making furniture, a hobby he was unable to pursue in his later years. He was member of Darlington Evangelical Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon.
He is survived by his beloved spouse of 50 years, Linda Fields Dargan; his daughters, Nichole Dargan Ambos and her husband, Harold Carter Ambos, Caroline Shorey Dargan Egan and her husband, David Anthony Egan; his son, Archie Shaw Dargan IV; a granddaughter, Caroline Shaw Ambos; a brother, Waldeck Sligh Dargan and his wife, Carolyn Dargan; three sisters and their husbands: Caroline Douglas MacKorell and her husband, John Davidson MacKorell, Louisa Dargan Harris and her husband, Claude O’Briant Harris III, Melissa Dargan Hufhand and her husband, Brian Lee Hufhand.
Also surviving are his mother-in-law, Merle Threlkeld Fields, and many special nieces, nephews and cousins.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his father-in-law, Dallas Norman Fields, and sister-in-law, Joyce Chestnut Dargan.
Services were held at Darlington Evangelical Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Oct. 20, officiated by the Rev. Kevin Cauley. A reception followed the service at Darlington Country Club. The burial will be held privately at Grove Hill Cemetery with military honors, directed by Belk Funeral Home.
Memorials may be given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, LLS, c/o Nichole Ambos, 3 Bartow Point Drive, Savanah, Ga. 314040 or Darlington County Humane Rescue, PO Box 503, Darlington, S.C. 29540. A guestbook is available online at belkfuneralhome.com.
