John Gregg Obituary

Some men fill their lives with ostentation, pomp, and inordinate indulgence in creature-comfort luxuries while neglecting the upkeep of their families. Not John Benjamin Gregg. Whenever I paid an early-evening visit to his home-which I did very frequently-on Dickson Avenue as a lonely and insecure young man back in the ´70s, I´d enter the living room and often see that there sat John Gregg in his cozy chair, engrossed in reading his newspaper and enjoying well-deserved relaxation after another day of working hard at the Charleston Naval Shipyard as a successful architect to support his wife and three children.

Ne´er a spendthrift was he. Although he unceasingly, for decades, gave to his family the critical necessities of comfortable and safe living in their well-furnished domicile in Hanahan while also providing them with a lakefront house and a boat for wonderfully fun outings, John, along with his lovely wife Sally, was a wise saver of money and hence an ensurer of financial security. He personified the success story of a man who spent a lifetime as an unsung-but-heroic provider for his dependents. Never achieving fame or aspiring to do so, John was one of those quiet heroes who, after serving in the U.S. Army, married someone he loved and then settled down to stay with her until the day she left for Heaven. He was utterly reliable as far as fulfilling his responsibilities as a husband, father, and grandfather. Not everyone is. But he was.

I easily remember the arguments in which he and I would sometimes engage, almost always regarding politics and societal issues. Our disputes were occasionally a bit heated, but always respectful. I must confess that there were times I was a classic case of being young and thinking I knew more than I knew, but didn´t know that I didn´t know. Well, as I told his son and my lifelong friend, Richard, several years ago, as I grew older, I began to realize that old John Gregg was right about many or most of the things about which we sparred-dang it!

John loved, loved, loved the game of golf. Though his top priority was ensuring the well-being of his beloved Sally, Richard, Ellen, Allison, and their sweet puppy, Pierre, he would also spend countless hours watching golf matches on TV. He understood the intricacies of golf and was fascinated with how golfers handled the pressure of trying to sink putts.

John Gregg was a highly intelligent gentleman. He was honest. He obeyed the law. He conducted himself in public in an honorable way that reflected well on his family and friends. I am privileged to have known him. May he live in eternal reunion with Sally, his parents, his siblings, his other loved ones and eventually his children and grandchildren.

Thank you Dad, for everything. I love you and miss you and Moma so much.