KINGSTREE - Dr. Walter Carlisle Cottingham, 83, husband of Mary Elizabeth DuBose “Beth” Cottingham, passed away peacefully Monday, July 25, 2016, in Tidelands Hospice House in Georgetown.
Born Oct. 29, 1932, in Trio, he was a son of the late Mitchell C. Cottingham and Mary Cole Cottingham Boyd. He was a 1954 graduate of Clemson University, where he was a member of the Pershing Rifles, the Tiger Brotherhood and the Senior Drill Platoon.
After graduation, Walter served for two years in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps. In August 1958, he married the love of his life, Beth, and they moved to Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia, where Walter received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 1961.
That same year, they moved to Kingstree and established the Cottingham Veterinary Hospital
Walter was an active member of Williamsburg Presbyterian Church and had served as a deacon there. He was a member of the SC Association of Veterinarians, and, in 1984, he began a three-year term on the Advisory Board for Foreign Animals and Poultry, reporting to the Secretary of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. That same year he was recognized as Veterinarian of the Year by SCAV, and in 1986, served as president of SCAV. He was named Distinguised Veterinarian of the Year in 2010 by the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians.
Dr. Cottingham was a former director of The Exchange Bank of Kingstree and was on the Board of Directors for First Citizens Bank. He was an IPTAY member, and for many years was the Williamsburg County Representative of that organization. He was a life member of the Clemson Alumni Association and a former member of the State Board of Veterinary Examiners. In 2013, Dr. Cottingham was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Williamsburg Hometown Chamber, and in June 2016, he was the guest of honor at Williamsburg Regional Hospital Foundation’s first “Williamsburg County Dancing with the Stars.”
Because of their belief that education is key to success, he and his wife Beth have established scholarships at Coker College, Williamsburg Technical College, Clemson University and the University of Georgia Veterinary School.
Survivors besides his wife, Beth, include two sisters, Margaret (Fritz) Smith of Kingstree and Marilyn (Tom) Summers of Columbia; two brothers, Mitchell Cottingham of Manning and Elton Cottingham of Sumter; 16 nieces and nephews; two special nephews, Brian (Mary) Smith of Georgetown and Presto Smith of New York, New York.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, J.D., Wallace and Sam Cottingham; two sisters, Jaunita Gordon and Doris McCants; and two nephews.
Memorial services will be held 2 p.m. Friday, July 29, 2016, at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church.
The family will receive friends following the serv ice in Grace Hall.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, 411 N. Academy St., Kingstree, SC 29556; the Williamsburg Regional Hospital Foundation, P.O. Drawer 568, Kingstree, SC 29556; or to Tidelands Community Hospice, 2591 N. Fraser St., Georgetown, SC 29440.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.WilliamsburgFuneralHome.com.
