Thomas English McCutchen, Jr.

Thomas English McCutchen, Jr. passed away at home on Monday, January 15, 2018. Born in Bishopville, SC on June 20, 1919, he was the son of Thomas English McCutchen and Cornelia Lavender McCutchen. He married the late Margaret Jane Perry of Columbia on September 25, 1943. Mr. McCutchen has been described as a Man’s Man and a Lawyer’s Lawyer. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with an AB degree, magna cum laude, in 1940 and a LLB degree in 1946. During his college days he was on the debating team, played the clarinet in the USC band, and won many oratorical awards. He was a member of the honorary fraternities Kappa Sigma Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was admitted to the practice of law on June 12, 1941 by special examination after one year in law school. He immediately entered the Army Air Corps for pilot training and served as a pilot for 4 ½ years, leaving the service as a Major. His primary service was as an instructor of twin engine bombing planes such as B-25, A-20, A-26, B-26. He practiced law from January 1946 until June 2012 with a primary focus on civil litigation. He was a president of the Richland County Bar Association, the Columbia Rotary Club, and the South Carolina Mental Health Association. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Mental Health, the Judicial Council of the 4th Circuit, and listed for many years in the publication “The Best Lawyers in America.” He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was selected by Attorney General Daniel McLeod to be head counsel in the boundary dispute instituted by the state of Georgia against the state of South Carolina. He successfully argued the case in the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1977 he was recognized for his outstanding contribution to continuing Legal Education by the South Carolina Trial Lawyers. In 1980 the School of Law of the University of South Carolina awarded him a Certificate of Merit for distinguished service to the School of Law. He received a Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of S.C. School of Law in 1987. The Richland County Bar Association presented him with their first Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. He loved sailing and racing his Lightning. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting. Quail hunting in particular was a passion. He enjoyed the performance of his bird dogs in the field and being with his hunting friends on the McCutchen family land in Lee County. He was a member of the St. Andrew’s Society and President of The Flamenco for many years. He transferred his membership in the Bishopville Presbyterian Church to First Presbyterian Church March 7, 1946, where he was an Elder Emeritus. He was predeceased by his brother, Luther Oliver McCutchen II; his wife, Jane Perry; his son, Thomas English McCutchen III and wife, Rebecca Bynum. He is survived by his daughters, Jane Perry McFadden and her husband, Barclay; Grace Stelling and her husband, Gerard; grandchildren, Anna McCutchen Shuford and her husband, David, Thomas E. McCutchen IV and his wife, Raven, Barclay McFadden IV and his wife, Sloan, Thomas Morrison Carnegie McFadden and his wife, Lisa, George Stillman McFadden and his wife, Carly, Grace Perry Daughtridge, and John B. Daughtridge; great-grandchildren, Rebecca Shuford, Jane Shuford, David Shuford, Wills McFadden, Millicent McFadden, Elizabeth McFadden, Thomas McFadden, Eva McFadden, and Lillian McFadden. Additionally, he is survived by his brother’s wife, Isabelle Bailey McCutchen and her two children, Luther O. McCutchen III and Ruth McCutchen Knight. The funeral service for Mr. McCutchen will be held 11 o’clock, Friday, January 19th, 2018, at The First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, with burial to follow in the churchyard. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 o’clock, Thursday, at the residence, 6 Heathwood Circle, and also following the church service in Jackson Hall. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to The First Presbyterian Church, 1324 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201, and the USC School of Law, the Thomas English McCutchen, Jr and Thomas English McCutchen III Scholarship Fund. 1525 Senate St., Suite 253, Columbia, SC 29208.

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Thomas English McCutchen, Jr.

June 20, 1919 - January 15, 2018