Purvis H. Bedenbaugh, Jr.

Purvis Hobson Bedenbaugh, Jr. passed away Friday morning, March 4th, 2016 in the care of McLeod Hospice House of Florence, SC.  He was 89 years old.

Graveside services will be Sunday, March 6th, 2016 at 12:30 PM at the Manship Family Cemetery on Adamsville Rd. in Tatum and will be officiated by Rev. William Olsen. 

Mr. Bedenbaugh was the widower of Mrs. Mary Ann Manship Bedenbaugh, who passed away in 1992 after more than three decades of marriage.  He was born May 28, 1926 to the late Purvis H. Bedenbaugh, Sr. and the late Eldora Shirey Bedenbaugh in Saluda County, SC.  Mr. Bedenbaugh served in the United States Navy during World War II.  He completed his undergraduate studies at Clemson University, where he was a recipient of the Copeland Award, and earned a master's degree in education from the University of South Carolina.  Mr. Bedenbaugh was a teacher of vocational agriculture, a soil conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture, and a preservationist.  Mr. Bedenbaugh taught agriculture in Denmark-Olar and McColl, SC. His USDA assignments included Chesterfield, Chester, and special work in the New Mexico state offices in Albuqurque. He was recognized for his dedication to the environment with the 1972 prestigious Governor’s SC Conservationist of The Year award. He also represented the USDA Soil Conservation  Service as an instructor in the South Carolina Garden Club Council annual state conservation camp for fifteen years. 

In addition, Mr. Bedenbaugh was an organizing director of the Sandhill Cattleman’s Association.  He was a member of First United Methodist Church of Bennettsville, SC, the Soil Conservation Society of America, the Marlboro County Historical Society, Friends of the South Carolina Archives and History Center, the South Carolina Education Association, and a former secretary of the Denmark-Olar Lions Club.

In 1997 he obtained a listing on the National Register of Historic Places for the Manship farmstead and cemetery.  Mr. Bedenbaugh served the Manship Family Association continuously in various offices as long as his health permitted.

In addition to his beloved wife and aforementioned parents Mr. Bedenbaugh was preceded in death by three brothers: Harold Bedenbaugh, Jimmy Bedenbaugh, and George Bedenbaugh; a sister, Hazel Bedenbaugh Campbell; and a son-in-law, David Zammit.

He leaves behind a son, Purvis H. Bedenbaugh, III, his wife Jennifer, and their children Peter Harrison and Grace Ann; a daughter,  Julia Bedenbaugh Zammit and her son Simeon Thomas; two brothers, Robert Bedenbaugh and John Bedenbaugh, both of Leesville, SC;  two sisters, Mildred B. Franks of Grayson, GA and Carolyn B. Peak of Leesville, SC, as well as a number of nephews and nieces.

Memorial donations may be made to the Manship Family Association Cemetery Care Fund, Attn: Dr. Purvis Bedenbaugh,III, c/o Rogers Funeral Home, PO Box 38, McColl, SC  29570.

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