Lt. Colonel Wallie Stovall Witte, Jr., USA (Ret.) 71, of both Myrtle Beach and Hanahan, South Carolina, husband of Janet “Jan” Pitts Witte, entered eternal rest Monday, October 5, 2020. Memorial Services will be held at Saturday, Oct 17th at Charleston Southern University’s Football Stadium, 9200 University Blvd, North Charleston SC 29406 at 1:00 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct 21st at Dunes Golf and Beach Club, 9000 N Ocean Blvd, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 at 2:30 p.m.. Interment services will be held later in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel. Stovall was born June 8, 1949 in Leland, Mississippi, son of the late Dr. Wallie Stovall Witte and Evelyn Rhodes Witte Sterling. His family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he graduated from Highland Park High School and met the love of his life, Jan. Upon graduation, he decided to attend The Citadel and lettered in crew. Stovall was a graduate of The Citadel Class of 1972, earning a bachelor’s degree in business. While at The Citadel, he fell in love with South Carolina. Even though his service to the country kept him away for many years, it prepared him to better serve the state when he made South Carolina his home. Stovall was immediately commissioned into the U.S. Army upon graduation and married Jan before reporting to his first duty station. He served 24 years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, including four years in Germany where he commanded a rifle company. Other posts included managing the $400,000,000 Hell-Fire Anti-Armor Missile Program, instructor at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth serving as the aide-de-camp to the commanding general, and a brigade executive officer in Korea in the 1990s. He was Airborne/Ranger qualified and retired as a Lt. Colonel from the Army in 1997. While serving, he also earned a master’s degree and an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology and graduated from the Defense System Management College, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Infantry Officer Advanced Course. Stovall continued serving his country spending six years working on Capitol Hill. He served in several senior staff positions to Congressmen J.C. Watts Jr., Roger Wicker, and Robert Inglis within the U.S. House of Representatives. He became chief of staff from 2000-2003 to Congressman Henry Brown, who was the congressman of the First District of South Carolina, bringing three years of Capitol Hill experience to that position. During his career in Washington, Stovall served as an advisor on a wide range of issues including national security, transportation, and veteran’s affairs. He oversaw the smooth operation of a congressional office that attended to thousands of constituents’ needs. Stovall was recruited by Charleston Southern University to be their Vice President of Advancement and Marketing. For six years Stovall supervised the development department, alumni office, and the university relations department. Under his guidance, he helped the university accomplish its mission to provide a quality education to its students as a premier Christian university. In January 2011, Stovall became the Chief Executive Officer of the Coastal Educational Foundation. His responsibilities were to advance higher education in this region by managing Coastal Carolina University’s vast investments and property. The amount of scholarships awarded since the beginning of Stovall’s tenure more than doubled, and he was the longest serving CEO in the history of the organization. Stovall was an active community leader and served on various board of directors including CCU’s Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values, the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Coastal Carolina Boy Scouts of America, Campus Outreach, and the Palmetto Family Council. He was also a member of the Downtown Charleston Rotary Club and The Washington Light Infantry. He and his family attended East Cooper Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. for many years while they were living in Charleston. When Stovall ran for congress in 2010, he raised more money than any of his rivals from sources within the district. Stovall and his wife of 47 years, Jan, demonstrated true love and commitment to all their children. Their affection and support for one another never wavered in the face of life’s adversities. They shared a deep sense of patriotism, adored skilling around the world and getting their hands on Texas BBQ whenever possible. On cross-country family car trips, Stovall imparted his vast knowledge about philosophy and religion to his children. He left his son with a love for football, his eldest daughter with an enthusiasm for the power of storytelling, and his youngest daughter with a shared interest in science fiction and history. A life-long southern Baptist, Stovall always advocated for highly ethical behavior in both public and personal life. Stovall is survived by his wife Janet Pitts Witte of Hanahan, SC; two daughters: Meredith Marie Witte of New York, NY and Evelyn Elaine Witte of Hanahan, SC; son, CPT W Stovall Witte III of Charlotte, NC who is also a graduate of The Citadel; three sisters: Jane Witte Loudon of Leland, MS, Lynn Witte Hamilton of Dallas, TX and Mignonne Kinney Witte of New Orleans, LA; and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in memory of Stovall to any of the following: 1. The Coastal Educational Foundation for the “Colonel & Mrs. W. Stovall Witte Jr. Army ROTC/Football Scholarship’ at PO Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528-6054 2. The Board of Visitors Scholarship Program at Charleston Southern University, Office of Development, P.O. Box 118087, Charleston, SC, 29423. 3. The Palmetto Family Council at Palmetto Family, PO Box 11953, Columbia, SC 29211-1953 4. The Wedgwood Circle at http://www.wedgwoodcircle.com/wedgwood-support
Posted in: SouthCarolinaFuneral.com
Posted on: 2020-10-12
Link to original obituary: https://southcarolina.funeral.com/2020/10/10/witte-jr-w-stovall/