Earl Middleton Obituary

MIDDLETON, Earl Earl Matthew Middleton died at his Orangeburg home, Tuesday, after a short illness. He was 88 years old. Born in Orangeburg to Ella Govan and Samuel Edgar Middleton, Earl earned his bachelor's degree at Claflin University in 1942. He served as class president for four years and pledged Phi Beta Sigma at Claflin. Middleton trained with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in Alabama at the beginning of World War II and ended his military service in the South Pacific. In July he received the Congressional Gold Medal from President George W. Bush at the Charleston Air Force Base in appreciation for this service. He married the former Bernice Bryant and was the owner of Coldwell Banker Middleton and Associates Realtors and The Middleton Insurance Agency in Orangeburg. Middleton was a former Boy Scout leader and received the Silver Beaver Award from the Indian Waters Council. He belonged to numerous civic and service organizations in Orangeburg and was a Trustee Emeritus at Middleton Place Foundation in Charleston. Earl Middleton was elected to five terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives from Orangeburg District 95, serving from 1975 to 1984. His autobiography, "Knowing Who I Am...", is forthcoming from the University of South Carolina Press in February, 2008. He was predeceased by his parents, wife, brothers, Samuel T. and James W. Middleton, and sisters, Helen Middleton Haigler and Dorothy Louise Middleton. He is survived by a brother Phillip G. Middleton of Atlanta; three children, Anita Middleton (Alphonso) Pearson of Raleigh, NC, Kenneth E. (Cynthia) Middleton, and Karen Middleton (Kenny) Griffin of Nashville, Tennessee. BYTHEWOOD FUNERAL HOME is conducting the service, which is scheduled for 2 p.m., Friday, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Orangeburg. Friends may call at the home. The family requests memorials be made to Claflin University or Trinity United Methodist Church. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.