Memorial service for William Roswell Carson, Jr., will be held 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at Leesville United Methodist Church, 510 East Columbia Ave., Leesville, South Carolina. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to The Citadel Foundation, 171 Moultrie St., Charleston, SC 29409. Barr-Price Funeral Home and Crematorium, Historic Batesburg-Leesville Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements. Mr. Carson died at his home on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at the age of 88. Born October 8, 1922 in Anderson, South Carolina he was the son of the late W. R. Carson, Sr. and Elise Mathews Carson. Mr. Carson spent his young life in Batesburg, South Carolina, graduating from Batesburg-Leesville High School in 1940, and entered The Citadel the following fall. The entire Class of 1944 (“”The Class that never was””) was called into active military service in the Second World War near the end of their junior year. Mr. Carson, a First Lieutenant, was wounded in action in northern Germany, for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. Following a prolonged period of recovery, he married Carolyn Barr of Leesville, in 1947, and completed his degree from The Citadel. The young couple returned to Leesville, where shortly thereafter, Mr. Carson began work with his father-in-law, C.D. Barr, Jr., at Imperial Casket Company, Inc., serving the company as Vice-President and after Mr. Barr’s retirement, President, over a span of nearly 40 years. Mr. Carson was, for many years, an active member of the local civic and business community. The father of six children, his keen interest in the quality of their education was at the heart of his active involvement in the establishment of James Butler Bonham Academy, Leesville, SC from 1966 to 1980. An avid businessman, Mr. Carson served for some time, as well, on the Board of Directors of the Casket Manufacturer’s Association of America, and following his retirement from manufacturing, as President of Imperial Woodlands, Inc., he maintained a vital engagement in the management of timberland until the closing years of his life. Mr. Carson was a man of great courage and generosity, strong-willed and resourceful, who deeply loved his family, and will be sorely missed. Surviving are his wife, Carolyn Barr Carson; daughters, Sally Carson Messick of Pittsboro, NC, Anne Carson Tyzack of Charleston, Amy R. Carson of Leesville, Carole Carson of Spencer, TN, Rebecca Carson Tremblay of Smithfield, NC, and a son, William R. Carson, III of Leesville; sister, Elise “”Sissy”” Carson Bagnal of Columbia; grandchildren, Jennifer M. Sullivan, Peter Carson Messick, Elizabeth M. Gargasz, Luke Carson Messick, Nicholas Carson Messick, Samantha D. Addis, Caleb Carson Tremblay, Jacob Barr Tremblay; five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a brother, Charles Adams “”Tiny”” Carson. Tags: 1944
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