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9.08.04 "Chap" Lauderdale Former Erskine vice president W.C. "Chap" Lauderdale dies Dr. W.C. "Chap" Lauderdale, 80, a 1949 graduate of Erskine College and a 1952 graduate of Erskine Seminary, died Tuesday, Sept. 7. An ordained Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister, he served his denomination as Moderator of Synod and in many other capacities, devoted time and energy to his family and community, and offered loyal support to Erskine College and Seminary. Lauderdale served from 1970-79 as Vice President for Development and then as Assistant to the President at Erskine College, working under two presidents, Dr. Joseph Wightman and M. Stanyarne Bell. A native of Lexington, Va., he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the Second World War and was awarded the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters for combat in the European theater. While a student at Erskine College, he was elected president of the student body. While a student at Erskine Seminary, he served as supply minister for the Tirzah ARP Church near Rock Hill and the Lyndon Grove ARP Church in Augusta, Ga. He also studied at Duke University Divinity School and at the Institute for Church Consultants at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. Ordained by Virginia Presbytery in 1952, he served New Perth ARP Church and Elk Shoals ARP Church. In 1962 he was appointed Director of Church Extension for the ARP Church, serving until 1970, when he began his work as an administrator at Erskine College. Richard Haldeman, public relations director at Erskine from 1961 until his retirement in 1995, worked with Lauderdale for nine years. "Chap was a person who was able to really see the middle way and explain the college to the church and church to the college," he said. "He was a person who always kept a very calm head, always spoke in love, and had a great love for Erskine College as well as the ARP Church." Following his service at Erskine, he again became Director of Church Extension and remained in that position until his retirement in 1992. "Even before he began his second tour of duty as Director of Church Extension, I was aware of his special ministry to the widows of former ARP ministers and missionaries," said Ed Hogan, Director of Administrative Services at the ARP Center in Greenville. "While others forgot, Chap kept in touch with these widows with cards, personally written and addressed, and calls." Lauderdale received the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Erskine in 1969, and in 1995 was chosen by the Erskine Board of Counselors for the Chairman's Award. He was vice chairman of the ARP Church phase of the Campaign For Erskine, and served on the steering committee for the successful Science Center campaign. At the time of his death he was serving on the Erskine Alumni Board and was a member of the Memorial Building Committee for the Gold Campaign. When asked recently about his motivation for working as a volunteer for Erskine, Lauderdale gave a simple answer. "It's my alma mater and all my siblings came here, six of us," he said. "My father is a graduate of Erskine." "Chap was respected, appreciated and loved by thousands of Erskine folk and he knew most of them personally—he knew their family, their Erskine connections, and his stories of them told the story of Erskine," said Erskine Vice President for Development Lee Logan. "We were longtime friends, and both grew up in Lexington, Virginia," said Dr. Randy Ruble, Dean Emeritus of Erskine Seminary. "Throughout his career he was a pastor to pastors and a friend to many people in the denomination. He probably knew more people in the ARP Church at one time in his career than any other person." "Chap was a wonderful mentor and assisted me greatly during my formative years in ministry," said the Rev. Neely Gaston, Vice President of Erskine Seminary. "I also had the wonderful opportunity of working with him from 1996 to 2001 when he served as Minister of Visitation at the Greenville ARP Church." "He was most successful in his fund-raising efforts on behalf of Erskine, and his legacy will live on in the people of Erskine," Logan said. "He will be missed—we loved him." "His death is a great loss to the ARP denomination and the church at large," said Ruble. Lauderdale was well known for his community service, which included work with the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, the Due West Town Council and the fire department, and continued into his retirement years. "He recently got an Alzheimer's support group going at the Due West Retirement Center," said Erskine Professor Emerita Dr. Jan Haldeman. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Erskine alumna Barbara Ann Hobson Lauderdale, of the Due West Retirement Center, a 1951 Erskine College graduate; two children, Rebecca Lauderdale Tatum, a 1973 Erskine College graduate and 1983 Erskine Seminary graduate; and James Russell Lauderdale, a singer and songwriter who performed at the Gold Campaign kickoff in October; and one grandson, Mark Alexander Tatum. Memorials may be made to the Wilbur Chapman "Chap" Lauderdale Seminary Scholarship Fund, P.O .Box 668, Due West, SC 29639 or the Due West Retirement Center, P.O. Box 307, Due West, SC 29639. |
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