Claude Scarborough Obituary

Claude Mood Scarborough, Jr. COLUMBIA, SC - Claude Mood Scarborough, Jr., husband of Sarah Carpenter Scarborough, died Saturday, September 15, 2012. Born December 7, 1929, he was the son of Claude Mood Scarborough, Sr. and Gelene Armor Stallworth Scarborough. A native of Columbia, Claude graduated from Dreher High School where he served as Student Body President, 1946-47. He was the Managing Partner of the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm from 1964 through 1995. He practiced law with the firm since 1955 after completing service in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant from 1952-1955. The law firm consisted of 6 attorneys in Columbia, South Carolina when Claude assumed management responsibilities. He was a visionary leader and the firm now has more than 440 attorneys across the Eastern United States with offices from Boston to Tallahassee. Claude attended the University of South Carolina School of Law where he received an LL.B. in 1952 as well as the University of the South (1947-1949) and the University of South Carolina, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and received an A.B. in 1951. Always an active leader in his profession, he served as President of the South Carolina Bar, 1975-76; and as Chairman of the Board of the South Carolina Bar Foundation, 1978-80. He was a lifelong champion of lawyers - instrumental in integrating the S.C. Bar, establishing pro-bono service to the poor as a core ethic of his firm and the bar at large, and always striving to improve the administration of justice. He was awarded the Herbert Harley Award by the American Judicature Society in 1976 for his service to judicial reform in South Carolina, the "Order of the Palmetto" for his service to the state in 1986, and the DuRant Award in 1996 for "distinguished public service" to the bar and the community. He also received the Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1992. A dedicated proponent of bettering his city and state, Claude served as Chairman of the South Carolina Research Authority, 1983-1987, and Chairman of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, 1986-1987, as well as a member of its board from 1980 to 1990. He served as President of the Board of Trustees and as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Columbia Museum of Art, where he served as a member of the Trustees' Board from 1995 through 2007, championing the museum's move to Main Street. He has also been a member of several other boards including the board of the South Carolina Philharmonic, 1992-1995; the State of South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development, 1984-1987; the Midlands Board for Economic Development; the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; the Board of Visitors of Columbia College; and the Board of the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation. As a lifelong servant of his church, Claude served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, 1985 to 1997, and as Senior Warden, vestry member and lay reader among other positions in Columbia's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Surviving in addition to Sarah, his wife of 57 years, are his children, daughter Sarah Catherine Scarborough and her husband, David Wayne Perrault, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Gelene Bivins Scarborough; and son, Claude Mood Scarborough, III, and his wife, Monica Whelan Scarborough, and their daughter Kathryn Anne Scarborough. He was predeceased by his brother, Nicholas Eugene "Gene" Stallworth Scarborough. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, 1100 Sumter Street, with burial following the the Trinity churchyard. A reception will be held in Satterlee Hall at Trinity Cathedral following the burial. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, September 18, 2012, from 6 until 8:00 p.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home, 3926 Devine Street. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 1100 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201, the Columbia Museum of Art, 1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, the South Carolina Bar Foundation, 950 Taylor Street, Columbia, SC 29201 or the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Center for Professionalism at the University of South Carolina School of Law, 701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29208. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston