Former Manning Mayor Will Harvin, who also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and in multiple capacities as a decades-long member of the Manning Rotary Club, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, surrounded by his family.
During his life, Harvin was formally recognized twice by the South Carolina House of Representatives, once by the South Carolina State Senate and once by the hometown he led in the mid-20th century.
Harvin was a three-sport athlete at Manning High School, graduating in 1941, not long before the bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.
He attended Presbyterian College for two years, and then joined the U.S. Navy as the war raged on. Serving in the Pacific on the USS Oberrender, Harvin survived a Japanese Kamikaze attack that sunk the battleship.
After leaving the service, Harvin enrolled at the University of South Carolina, where he lettered in both football and baseball. He even earned a scholarship and a starting role on the football squad in his senior year, graduating in 1948.
Services will be announced. Manninglive.com will have more as information is available.
