Kathryn Salley Obituary

Kathryn "Kat" Wallace Salley, age 96, peacefully passed from this life on May 21, 2025 surrounded by family. She was born on October 20, 1928 in Benson, North Carolina.

She was just 15 years old when her father, Charles Wallace, was killed in the South Pacific after volunteering to serve in World War II. Her mother, Kate Wallace, went on to serve as CEO of Wallace Concrete Pipe Company for the next 25 years. These profound experiences shaped Kat into a woman of remarkable self-discipline, resilience, and determination.

A valedictorian of Columbia High School, Kat graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina in 1949. She was a straight A student throughout high school, college and master's program at MUSC, except for one B in Home Economics. She entered medical school in Charleston as the only female, where she ranked first in her class after the first year. There, she met her future husband, Nat Salley, her anatomy lab partner. When they decided to get married, they approached the dean to explain one of them would be dropping out. He looked at Nat and said, "We will miss you." Kat withdrew from medical school, tutoring Nat along the way and enabling him to graduate second in the class. Kat taught histology to the medical students for the three remaining years.

Kat was the best athlete in the family. In the late 1950s, she turned her focus to golf and motherhood with the same intensity she brought to academics. Despite taking up the game at age 30, she won the Forest Lake Club Championship two years later. She won it 14 more times over five different decades, with her final championship win at age 72. She also won numerous championships at Spring Valley, Wildwood, and Columbia Country Club, and captured several city and state titles.

She was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame in 1984. She served as President of the South Carolina Golf Association, the Women's Senior Golf Association, and the Women's City Golf Association. During her leadership, she implemented the USGA women's slope handicap system across golf courses throughout South Carolina and played most of them. She was an inspiration to female golfers statewide and played a pivotal role in advancing women's golf in South Carolina.

Kat was the ultimate "boy mom." At 39 weeks pregnant and shooting doves at Rainbow Farms, she went into labor and nearly delivered her third son, Mark, in the field - hence the name. She raised her sons to be independent and adventurous, involving them in every sport imaginable: water and snow skiing, horseback riding, tennis, golf, hunting, fishing, surfing-and she participated in many of these activities herself.

Kat was the quintessential tomboy. As a young girl, she could often be found climbing trees, while her older sister, Jean, played with dolls in the yard. For a time, neighbors assumed the Wallace family had an older daughter and young son. As a teenager, she dove from the tallest cliff at Green Hole. As a young woman, she frequently hunted ducks, quail and doves near the Congaree Swamp. She went by herself often during the middle of the school week, leaving a note for her sons that their lunch was in the refrigerator. After her wedding ring was stolen, she used the insurance money to buy a bird dog and named him "Diamond." When her son's cat was chased up a tree, she shimmied 30 feet up the tree to rescue. In her seventies, she retrieved a trapped pet snake from the engine block of a car, lying on her back and reaching up into the engine.

Kat Salley taught us perseverance, self-reliance, determination, and honesty - traits that defined her life and success. One of her favorite lines came from Hamlet: "To thine own self be true." She encouraged us to stay grounded in our own values, to live with integrity, and never pretend to be someone we're not.

She was a devoted grandmother who cherished her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She faithfully attended their sporting events and school activities, always offering love, wisdom, and encouragement.

Kat was predeceased by her beloved husband, Julian "Nat" Alexander Salley; her sister, Jean Wallace Blount; and her daughter-in-law, Anne Richie Salley. She is survived by her sons: Alex, Chuck (Susan), and Mark (Jane); grandchildren: Josh (Taylor), Trey, Charles, Ella (Lee), Alex, Dylan (Caitlyn), Jackson (fiancée, Hannah), Eliza; four great-grandchildren and three treasured nieces.

A private family burial will be held at High Creek. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, June 8, 5:00-7:00 pm at Forest Lake Country Club on The Terrace by the 18th green. Casual or golf attire is encouraged.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Kat's devoted caregivers: Doris Jones, Joyce Sims, Toya Best, Gwen Tyler, Bridget Washington and Thelma Green. Their love and care for Kat will never be forgotten.

Memorials may be made to: Congaree Land Trust, PO Box 5232, Columbia, SC 29250; First Presbyterian Church, 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201; or South Carolina Wildlife Federation, 1519 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.