TITLE:  Joseph Lawton Wiggins

SOURCE:  The Post and Courier

SUBMITTED BY:  The Post and Courier

FORMATTED BY:  Kim Grissom, Jun 2003

***********************************************************************
WIGGINS, Joe
Joseph Lawton Wiggins, 84, a long-time Hartsville community leader, 
newspaper owner, publisher and editor and Hartsville businessman died 
at his home Saturday evening, October 6, 2001. A celebration of his 
life will be held Wednesday, October 10, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 
at the family's house at Sail Club Drive on Lake Robinson. Born in 
Hartsville, SC, he was the son of the late A. Lee M. and Pauline Lawton
Wiggins. He was a graduate of Hartsville High School, attended The 
Citadel and earned a bachelor of aeronautical engineering from the 
Georgia School of Technology in 1939. He was president of Chi Psi 
Fraternity his senior year of college. For several years he worked in 
various positions as an aeronautical engineer and he returned to 
Hartsville in 1948 to become the publisher of THE HARTSVILLE MESSENGER
and the president of the Hartsville Publishing Company. Known for his 
hard hitting, conservative editorials, he was a strong proponent of a 
free and independent press. He was the president of the S.C. Press 
Association in 1958/59 and was a recognized leader in the non-daily 
press of South Carolina. In addition to the Hartsville Publishing 
Company, he was also the past president of the Hartsville Broadcasting 
Company and a past president of Cable TV of Hartsville. He also served 
on the board of directors of the Trust Company of South Carolina from 
1959 to 1968. In 1965, Mr. Wiggins was honored for his leadership in 
the Hartsville community by being named the Citizen of the Year. He 
was extremely active in Hartsville serving as a director in the 
Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and as the president of the Chamber in 
1962. He was a past president of the Hartsville Rotary Club and a Paul
Harris Fellow with that organization. Many institutions in Hartsville 
benefited from Joe Wiggins' leadership. He joined with other civic 
leaders in the 1950s and early 1960s to form the United Fund of 
Hartsville, which has evolved into the Hartsville United Way. He was 
chairman of the Darlington County Planning Commission, chairman of the 
Housing Authority of Hartsville and chairman of the advisory board of 
the Hartsville Township Memorial Library Association. Mr. Wiggins had 
a strong interest in health planning and served as an advisory council 
member for the South Carolina Comprehensive Health Planning, he was a 
past member of the statewide Health Coordinating Council and a past 
chairman of the Pee Dee Regional Health Systems Agency. One of his 
greatest interest in Hartsville was the former Byerly Hospital. He was 
elected to the board of trustees of Byerly Hospital in 1955 and was 
chairman of the Byerly Hospital Building Fund. In 1987, Coker College 
awarded Mr. Wiggins an honorary doctorate degree for his strong support
of the college and his decades of leadership in the Hartsville 
community. Joseph L. Wiggins is survived by his wife of 52 years, 
Betty Campbell Wiggins; a son, Joseph Lawton Wiggins, Jr. and 
daughter-in-law, Donna F. Wiggins; nephews, Douglas L. Bush of 
Hartsville, David M. Bush of Smyrna, Georgia and John A. Belding, 
Jr. of Rockville, Maryland. (Published Oct 9, 2001)
***********************************************************************************************
NOTICE:  Printing the files within by non-commerical individuals and 
libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter 
information is included.  Any other use, including copying files to 
other sites requires permission from submitters PRIOR to uploading to 
any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of 
contents.
***********************************************************************************************
The USGenWeb project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of 
the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of 
information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of 
evidence.  It is always best to consult the original material for
verification.