Obituary - Henry Spann Laffitte

Henry Spann Laffitte, 74, died Thursday, December 31, 2015, in Allendale, SC. A graveside service will be held in Lawtonville Cemetery in Estill, SC, on Saturday, January 2, 2016, at 2:00 p.m., to be followed by visitation at the family home in Allendale. He was born August 30, 1941, in Estill, SC, a son of the late Charles Atkins and Rosalie Spann Laffitte. A graduate of Allendale-Fairfax High School, he attended The Citadel and graduated from The University of South Carolina with a B.S. and a Master's of Business Administration. He served as president of the Carolina Commercial Bank in Allendale, SC. Upon its merger with Palmetto State Bank in 2007, he became executive vice chairman of Palmetto State Bank. He served as a board member of the Independent Banks of South Carolina and South Carolina Bankers Association. He was named Outstanding Young Banker, the highest honor presented in the South Carolina banking industry. He served as president of the Young Bankers Division of the South Carolina Bankers Association and as chairman of the South Carolina Bankers School. He was a graduate of the South Carolina Bankers School, the School of Banking of the South at LSU, and of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers. He served as a member of the American Bankers Association Community Bankers Group, and he was involved in acquiring funding and supplies for the ABA's Personal Economic Program. He took an active part in a wide variety of cultural and community organizations throughout South Carolina, some of which were Allendale County Council, Allendale County Alive, Allendale County Historical Society (president), Lebanon Association (president), the Huguenot Society of South Carolina (president), the General Society of Colonial Wars, the Society of First Families of South Carolina, the South Carolina Historical Society Board, St. Andrew's Society of Columbia (president), Governor's Mansion Foundation, the S.C. State Museum Board, and the S.C. Archives and History Museum Board. He was a man of extraordinary faith and was a member of the Allendale Presbyterian Church, where he had served as deacon and elder. He devoted his life in multiple endeavors designed to strengthen his community and his state and to serve others. His family, especially his grandchildren, gave him great joy. He was one of a kind and loved by all. While he will be greatly missed, he leaves behind a lasting legacy of a life well-lived. Surviving are his wife of almost 50 years, Elizabeth Peeples Laffitte; and their two children, Henry Spann Laffitte, Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Fraser Laffitte, of Columbia, and Elizabeth Laffitte Hutton and her husband, George Sargeant Hutton, of Columbia; and his grandchildren, Alice Lowndes Laffitte, Lucille Morrison Laffitte, Elizabeth Anne Hutton, Henry Sargeant Hutton and George Stearns Hutton of Columbia. Also surviving are his two brothers, Charles Atkins Laffitte, Jr. (LaClaire) of Hampton, and Montague Tucker Laffitte (Ann) of Bluffton, and multitudes of other beloved family members. Memorials contributions may be made to: Allendale Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 554, Allendale, SC 29810, Lawtonville Cemetery Association, PO Box 200, Estill, SC 29918, Epworth Children's Home, 2900 Millwood Ave., Columbia, SC 29205, Lebanon Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 445, Estill, SC 29918. The family would welcome written remembrances. Keith Smith Funeral Service, 128 Water Street, Allendale, SC 29810. 

Published in The State January 2, 2016

Congratulations!

I am delighted to announce the birth of a new descendant of the Pierre Robert /Esther Susannah family line:  Adeline Rebecca Bleu Williams was born on June 19 in in Alexandria, LA.  She is welcomed by proud parents Megan & Jarred, big brother Sebastian Peter, and big sister Nora Ophelia! Her maternal great-grandmother is Doris Nell Blakewood Newton & maternal grandmother Rebecca (Becky) Newton Descant. Becky is the current president of the Rev. Pierre Robert Family Association.  Becky says that her granddaughter is "as precious & sweet as can be..... A gift from God & a joy to all." We rejoice in this good news.

2015 Reunion Report

What fun we had! 62 descendants, family, and friends met in Alexandria, LA for the Ninth Biennial Reunion of the Rev. Pierre Robert Family Association. The beautiful, historic Hotel Bentley served as our primary meeting place but also we ventured to Loyd Hall and Greenwood Plantation in Cheneyville, LA and to the Campbell home in Moncla, LA. We made new friends, elected new officers, and learned a bit more about our rich heritage. Thank you to all you attended and made it such a special time.

We hope to be able to distribute CDs of the association's business meeting and keynote address of Dr. Dana Robert. Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing one of the CDs. There will be a nominal fee to cover production and mailing.

If you have any news you want us to post on this site, please send us a message or post it yourself on our new Facebook page - Robert Family Association.

Invitation to 2015 Reunion

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you are ready to confirm your plans to join us for the Rev. Pierre Robert Family Association 9^th biennial reunion on June 5-7, 2015 in Alexandria, LA because we’ve been working on the details and we’re ready to share them with you now. We think you’ll agree that it’s going to be a fabulous reunion!

Headquarters for the reunion will be the newly restored and renovated Hotel Bentley in historic downtown Alexandria.  The guest speaker for the Saturday morning program will be Dana L. Robert, Boston University School of Theology.  Dr. Robert is the Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission and the Director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission.  She is a native of Louisiana and also a family member.  Her presentation will be “Rev. Joseph & Gen. Henry M. Robert – from Abolitionism to Parliamentary Procedure.” You’ll notice on the schedule that we will also be electing new Association officers on Saturday morning. PLEASE consider serving.

We’ve been invited to Loyd Hall Plantation for a tour and snacks on Saturday afternoon by owners, Michael and Jennifer Jenkins. Jennifer is a Robert descendent.

The Saturday evening program and dinner will be held at the Diamond Grill.  Speaker, Michael Jenkins, will provide us with some historical information regarding Central Louisiana.  Mr. Jenkins is the current owner of the Hotel Bentley and the Diamond Grill and is responsible for several revitalization efforts in downtown Alexandria.  Once a downtown jewelry store, the Diamond Grill is now a fine dining restaurant where we will enjoy “superb cuisine and exceptional service in a visually rich historical setting. The building features twenty-two foot ceilings, original chandeliers, ornate plaster, dramatic staircase, true wine vault and an elegant Mezzanine bar.” (from website)

We hope the reunion hotel (for sleeping) will be the Hotel Bentley too, but there is a chance that it will not be ready for overnight guests in June. So our back up hotel (for sleeping) will be the Best Western of Alexandria Inn & Suites & Conference Center, 2720 N. MacArthur Drive, Alexandria, LA 71303.  Please call the Best Western at (318) 445-5530 to make your room reservation. A block of rooms will be held until May 22 at the rate of $89 per room per night for our group. They only have rooms with king beds available. You will be able to cancel your reservation at the Best Western until noon the day before check-in without penalty. If I get word that the Bentley is available, I’ll contact everyone who has registered for the reunion and let them know so they can decide if they want to switch hotels.

We do hope you will be able to join us for the reunion. If you would like a full schedule of the weekend’s events and a registration form, please contact me at marie_mcentire@hotmail.com. 

Best wishes,

Marie Hiott McEntire

Obituary - Adrian Sinclair Balch

June 01, 1945 - February 02, 2015

Adrian Sinclair Balch passed away Monday, February 2, 2015 after a long struggle with brain cancer. She is survived by her loving husband of 35 years, Raymond; their son, Senior Chief Petty Officer Christopher Bartlett, daughter-in-law, Amanda; granddaughter, Elizabeth Nicole and grandson, Saxon Avery of Crestview, FL. Adrian is also survived by her sister, Margaret and husband Philip Laney of Riverside, CA.; brother, William Sinclair of Torrence, CA; nephew, Bill Carter of Oswego, New York; and her six cats. She was preceded in death by her nephew, Matthew Carter of Phoenix, AZ.
Adrian, the daughter of William Stanley and Mary Kate Sinclair, was born on June 1, 1945 at Fort Benning, Georgia where her father was stationed at the close of World War II. The family returned to Houston when she was 6 months old. She attended River Oaks elementary, Lanier Junior High and graduated from Lamar High School class of 1963. She and Raymond both attended Lanier where she was in 5th period orchestra and he 6th period band. It is most likely that they passed each other every school day going in and out of the band hall without ever knowing each other (they would meet on a blind date on super bowl Sunday 1979).
Adrian attended Trinity University in San Antonio where she majored in music. After leaving Trinity her first job was as a secretary for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. She later worked at Texaco before taking a position as secretary to Dr. Lauro Halstead at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. When Dr. Halstead left for Washington, D.C. he asker her to go with him but she declined choosing to stay in Houston near her family. She eventually moved to Baylor College of Medicine where she was executive secretary to Dr. Gail Demmler in infectious disease-a position she held until her retirement in 2003.
After a short "retirement", she took a part time position in the Advancement Office of Episcopal High School which she held until health issues forced her to retire again in 2013. This last position allowed her the opportunity to work with her husband who teaches Government and History at Episcopal High School.
Adrian loved music-especially Renaissance and Baroque music. Adrian also loved to sing. She was an alto in the St. James Episcopal Choir. She and her husband were also members of a choral group-Chorus Angelorum-for almost ten years. Besides performing an evensong service each month first at St. Thomas Episcopal and later Our Lady Of Walsingham Catholic Church, the choral group also traveled to England to be the choir in residence for a week at various cathedrals. The first such residency that Adrian and Ray participated in was at the Cathedral in Lincoln. In 2006 it was the Cathedral in Durham. The third and last trip in which Adrian and Ray were involved was at the Cathedral in Canterbury, England.
While in England on the last two trips, Adrian and Ray were able to visit Scotland traveling to the northern city of Wick to visit the Sinclair castle. (Wick is a six hour train ride from Inverness and there are only two trains in and out each day. It is small and remote but quiet beautiful.)
It was one of the most depressing moments of her life when after the surgery to remove the brain tumor in 2009, her vocal chords were damaged and she was unable to continue singing. (I am sure that she has joined that heavenly choir and is singing her heart out.)
Adrian also loved animals as evidenced by the fact that at one time, she and Ray had eight cats and a beagle (In fact, when she met Ray, she told him that for the relationship to go anywhere he would have to get her cat Sybil's approval) Five of the eight cats were strays that she and Ray took in.
She was also accomplished at needlepoint as well as knitting. For many years she knit beautiful items for family and friends. Two of her husband's most prized possessions are two needlepoint creations that adorn the walls of their home.
Adrian was also very interested in genealogy. She spent endless hours doing her genealogical research with the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research almost becoming her home away from home. One of her first successes was helping Ray to reconnect with a 92 year old aunt that he had last seen when he was 9 years old.
Adrian also shared her fascination with genealogy with others on line and developed friendships across the nation with like-minded individuals from Hood, Oregon to Boston, Mass. A few years ago, she was able to meet one of her on-line friends, Karen Rich, when she and Ray visited Boston. Adrian was also ready, willing and able to help other genealogists in their searches. She and Ray spent many weekends visiting cemeteries in and around the greater Houston area searching for the answers to the many questions posed to her by other like-minded individuals.
Adrian was a loving, compassionate woman. One of her employers described her as "smart, witty and real". With Adrian, you always knew where you stood. She had a wonderfully dry sense of humor. She was someone with whom you felt comfortable almost immediately after meeting her.
I often told her that besides being born, she was the best thing that had ever happened to me. In the words of the Bette Midler song, she was very much "the wind beneath my wings".

Funeral Information

Visitation will be held Monday, February 9, 2015 in the Miller Funeral Chapel, 7723 Beechnut, Houston, TX 77074 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at St. James Episcopal Church, 3129 Southmore Blvd., Houston, TX 77004. Following cremation, interment will take place Wednesday 4:00 p.m. at Glenwood Cemetery, 2525 Washington Avenue, Houston, TX.

Donations Information

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in her memory to the American Cancer Society, The American Brain Tumor Association or the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research.

(posted on Miller Funeral and Cremation Services website, Houston, TX)

Obituary - Cora McKenzie Peeples

Cora McKenzie Peeples, 95, wife of Reverend Doctor Robert E. H. Peeples, passed away 27 December 2014 at Life Care Health Center, Hilton Head Island, SC. She was born 6 December 1919 near Charleston, Arkansas. She was the daughter of Alexander Francis and Ola Frances Shelby McKenzie, who preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Dr. Peeples, and two sisters, Pauline McKenzie Payan (Virgil) and Frances McKenzie Weissman (James), and nieces and nephews. She was a Registered Nurse, graduating from the Sansun Clinic in Santa Barbara, California and a Registered Midwife, graduating from the American College of Midwifery in New York. She moved to Hilton Head Island in 1953. She was a member of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer; a member of the Huguenot Society of SC; a life member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Captain William Hilton Chapter; a charter member of the HHI Choral Society, the HHI Art League, and the Heritage Library; and longtime Secretary of the HHI Historical Society. She was also the author of What One Lawyer Did, a biography of John Rutledge. Graveside Services will be held at 2pm December 31, 2014 at Lawtonville Cemetery, Estill, SC . A memorial service will be held by The Anglican Church of the Redeemer at Indigo Pines Retirement Center, 110 Gardner Drive, HHI, on January 3, 2015 at 2pm in the third floor Chapel. 

Obituary - John B. Hiott

John Blanton Hiott, the fifth of six children in the family of Gary Lander Hiott and Eunice Biggerstaff Hiott, was born February 25, 1928 in Pickens, SC and died December 3, 2014 in Raleigh, NC. He was a man enlivened by discoveries and new understandings and steadied by his sense of family and faith.

He enlisted in the US Army during his last year of high school and after graduation was assigned to post-war Japan where he served as a "clerk, non-typist," processing the correspondence course paperwork for other soldiers. It is unlikely he or anyone else realized at the time how this work defined what his life would become - one dedicated to helping others cultivate a life of learning.

He spent the years after his military service earning his A.A. from Gardner-Webb College, his B.A. from Baylor University, and his Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. While at seminary in New Orleans, he attended Coliseum Place Baptist Church and met Mary Carmen Moncla. They married on August 21, 1953. 

After graduation from seminary, John and Carmen went to New York to start the first Southern Baptist church in the state, but even the summers in Niagara Falls were too cold for the two southerners and they moved back to the south. John served as pastor of three churches in three states and in college administration at Gardner-Webb College (now University) and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now University). The second half of his life was spent primarily as educator and minister as he found a home along the line formed by Hillsborough Street in Raleigh that extended from the Cameron Park neighborhood west to Meredith College and east to First Baptist Church.

During his 25 years at Meredith, John worked as registrar and assistant to the academic dean, director of planned giving, and director of scholarships and financial assistance. He joined First Baptist Church and soon became the teacher of a Sunday School class for young couples that still meets today. He worked in the church's clothes closet program and served as a deacon and on many committees. John also became a scoutmaster so his two oldest sons would have a way to be in the outdoors they learned to love when he was pastor at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Wagram. He was an active member of the Raleigh Civitan Club.

He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Gary Jr. and Robert; and his sisters, Eulalia and Eunice. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Carmen Moncla Hiott; sons, John Jr. (Joannie), Gray, and Blake (Amy); daughters, Marie McEntire (Mark) and Ann Barham (Charlie); beloved grandchildren, Atticus McEntire, Claire McEntire, Lily Hiott, Eli Hiott, and Emma Hiott; brother, David (Sue) of Pickens, SC; sister-in-law, Eloise of Pickens, SC; sisters-in law, Gloria Revere of Southern Pines, NC and Carol Campbell (Max) of Moncla, LA; brother-in-law, Alfred Moncla, Jr. (Kay) of Elizabeth City, NC; and by many nieces and nephews.

The family thanks the members of First Baptist Church for their unfailing compassion and generosity and the staff at Sunrise of Raleigh for their professional care. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist, 99 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Visitation will follow in the church fellowship hall. His ashes will be entombed at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, SC and scattered at the family home in Moncla, LA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Meredith College Annual Fund, the First Baptist Church Third Century Fund, or the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Published in The News & Observer on Dec. 7, 201

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#sthash.fivFJ0YA.dpuf

Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#storylink=cpyJohn Blanton Hiott, the fifth of six children in the family of Gary Lander Hiott and Eunice Biggerstaff Hiott, was born February 25, 1928 in Pickens, SC and died December 3, 2014 in Raleigh, NC. He was a man enlivened by discoveries and new understandings and steadied by his sense of family and faith.

He enlisted in the US Army during his last year of high school and after graduation was assigned to post-war Japan where he served as a "clerk, non-typist," processing the correspondence course paperwork for other soldiers. It is unlikely he or anyone else realized at the time how this work defined what his life would become - one dedicated to helping others cultivate a life of learning.

He spent the years after his military service earning his A.A. from Gardner-Webb College, his B.A. from Baylor University, and his Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. While at seminary in New Orleans, he attended Coliseum Place Baptist Church and met Mary Carmen Moncla. They married on August 21, 1953. 

After graduation from seminary, John and Carmen went to New York to start the first Southern Baptist church in the state, but even the summers in Niagara Falls were too cold for the two southerners and they moved back to the south. John served as pastor of three churches in three states and in college administration at Gardner-Webb College (now University) and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now University). The second half of his life was spent primarily as educator and minister as he found a home along the line formed by Hillsborough Street in Raleigh that extended from the Cameron Park neighborhood west to Meredith College and east to First Baptist Church.

During his 25 years at Meredith, John worked as registrar and assistant to the academic dean, director of planned giving, and director of scholarships and financial assistance. He joined First Baptist Church and soon became the teacher of a Sunday School class for young couples that still meets today. He worked in the church's clothes closet program and served as a deacon and on many committees. John also became a scoutmaster so his two oldest sons would have a way to be in the outdoors they learned to love when he was pastor at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Wagram. He was an active member of the Raleigh Civitan Club.

He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Gary Jr. and Robert; and his sisters, Eulalia and Eunice. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Carmen Moncla Hiott; sons, John Jr. (Joannie), Gray, and Blake (Amy); daughters, Marie McEntire (Mark) and Ann Barham (Charlie); beloved grandchildren, Atticus McEntire, Claire McEntire, Lily Hiott, Eli Hiott, and Emma Hiott; brother, David (Sue) of Pickens, SC; sister-in-law, Eloise of Pickens, SC; sisters-in law, Gloria Revere of Southern Pines, NC and Carol Campbell (Max) of Moncla, LA; brother-in-law, Alfred Moncla, Jr. (Kay) of Elizabeth City, NC; and by many nieces and nephews.

The family thanks the members of First Baptist Church for their unfailing compassion and generosity and the staff at Sunrise of Raleigh for their professional care. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist, 99 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Visitation will follow in the church fellowship hall. His ashes will be entombed at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, SC and scattered at the family home in Moncla, LA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Meredith College Annual Fund, the First Baptist Church Third Century Fund, or the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Published in The News & Observer on Dec. 7, 201

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#sthash.fivFJ0YA.dpuf

Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#storylink=cpyJohn Blanton Hiott, the fifth of six children in the family of Gary Lander Hiott and Eunice Biggerstaff Hiott, was born February 25, 1928 in Pickens, SC and died December 3, 2014 in Raleigh, NC. He was a man enlivened by discoveries and new understandings and steadied by his sense of family and faith.

He enlisted in the US Army during his last year of high school and after graduation was assigned to post-war Japan where he served as a "clerk, non-typist," processing the correspondence course paperwork for other soldiers. It is unlikely he or anyone else realized at the time how this work defined what his life would become - one dedicated to helping others cultivate a life of learning.

He spent the years after his military service earning his A.A. from Gardner-Webb College, his B.A. from Baylor University, and his Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. While at seminary in New Orleans, he attended Coliseum Place Baptist Church and met Mary Carmen Moncla. They married on August 21, 1953. 

After graduation from seminary, John and Carmen went to New York to start the first Southern Baptist church in the state, but even the summers in Niagara Falls were too cold for the two southerners and they moved back to the south. John served as pastor of three churches in three states and in college administration at Gardner-Webb College (now University) and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now University). The second half of his life was spent primarily as educator and minister as he found a home along the line formed by Hillsborough Street in Raleigh that extended from the Cameron Park neighborhood west to Meredith College and east to First Baptist Church.

During his 25 years at Meredith, John worked as registrar and assistant to the academic dean, director of planned giving, and director of scholarships and financial assistance. He joined First Baptist Church and soon became the teacher of a Sunday School class for young couples that still meets today. He worked in the church's clothes closet program and served as a deacon and on many committees. John also became a scoutmaster so his two oldest sons would have a way to be in the outdoors they learned to love when he was pastor at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Wagram. He was an active member of the Raleigh Civitan Club.

He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Gary Jr. and Robert; and his sisters, Eulalia and Eunice. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Carmen Moncla Hiott; sons, John Jr. (Joannie), Gray, and Blake (Amy); daughters, Marie McEntire (Mark) and Ann Barham (Charlie); beloved grandchildren, Atticus McEntire, Claire McEntire, Lily Hiott, Eli Hiott, and Emma Hiott; brother, David (Sue) of Pickens, SC; sister-in-law, Eloise of Pickens, SC; sisters-in law, Gloria Revere of Southern Pines, NC and Carol Campbell (Max) of Moncla, LA; brother-in-law, Alfred Moncla, Jr. (Kay) of Elizabeth City, NC; and by many nieces and nephews.

The family thanks the members of First Baptist Church for their unfailing compassion and generosity and the staff at Sunrise of Raleigh for their professional care. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist, 99 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Visitation will follow in the church fellowship hall. His ashes will be entombed at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, SC and scattered at the family home in Moncla, LA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Meredith College Annual Fund, the First Baptist Church Third Century Fund, or the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Published in The News & Observer on Dec. 7, 201

- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#sthash.fivFJ0YA.dpuf

Read more here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=john-hiott&pid=173392210&fhid=5774#storylink=cpyJohn Blanton Hiott, the fifth of six children in the family of Gary Lander Hiott and Eunice Biggerstaff Hiott, was born February 25, 1928 in Pickens, SC and died December 3, 2014 in Raleigh, NC. He was a man enlivened by discoveries and new understandings and steadied by his sense of family and faith.

John Blanton Hiott, the fifth of six children in the family of Gary Lander Hiott and Eunice Biggerstaff Hiott, was born February 25, 1928 in Pickens, SC and died December 3, 2014 in Raleigh, NC. He was a man enlivened by discoveries and new understandings and steadied by his sense of family and faith.

He enlisted in the US Army during his last year of high school and after graduation was assigned to post-war Japan where he served as a "clerk, non-typist," processing the correspondence course paperwork for other soldiers. It is unlikely he or anyone else realized at the time how this work defined what his life would become - one dedicated to helping others cultivate a life of learning.
He spent the years after his military service earning his A.A. from Gardner-Webb College, his B.A. from Baylor University, and his Th.M. from New Orleans Baptist Seminary. While at seminary in New Orleans, he attended Coliseum Place Baptist Church and met Mary Carmen Moncla. They married on August 21, 1953. 
After graduation from seminary, John and Carmen went to New York to start the first Southern Baptist church in the state, but even the summers in Niagara Falls were too cold for the two southerners and they moved back to the south. John served as pastor of three churches in three states and in college administration at Gardner-Webb College (now University) and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (now University). The second half of his life was spent primarily as educator and minister as he found a home along the line formed by Hillsborough Street in Raleigh that extended from the Cameron Park neighborhood west to Meredith College and east to First Baptist Church.
During his 25 years at Meredith, John worked as registrar and assistant to the academic dean, director of planned giving, and director of scholarships and financial assistance. He joined First Baptist Church and soon became the teacher of a Sunday School class for young couples that still meets today. He worked in the church's clothes closet program and served as a deacon and on many committees. John also became a scoutmaster so his two oldest sons would have a way to be in the outdoors they learned to love when he was pastor at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Wagram. He was an active member of the Raleigh Civitan Club.
He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Gary Jr. and Robert; and his sisters, Eulalia and Eunice. He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Carmen Moncla Hiott; sons, John Jr. (Joannie), Gray, and Blake (Amy); daughters, Marie McEntire (Mark) and Ann Barham (Charlie); beloved grandchildren, Atticus McEntire, Claire McEntire, Lily Hiott, Eli Hiott, and Emma Hiott; brother, David (Sue) of Pickens, SC; sister-in-law, Eloise of Pickens, SC; sisters-in law, Gloria Revere of Southern Pines, NC and Carol Campbell (Max) of Moncla, LA; brother-in-law, Alfred Moncla, Jr. (Kay) of Elizabeth City, NC; and by many nieces and nephews.
The family thanks the members of First Baptist Church for their unfailing compassion and generosity and the staff at Sunrise of Raleigh for their professional care. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist, 99 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 20, 2014. Visitation will follow in the church fellowship hall. His ashes will be entombed at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, SC and scattered at the family home in Moncla, LA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to the Meredith College Annual Fund, the First Baptist Church Third Century Fund, or the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities.

(published in Raleigh's News and Observer on December 7, 2014)