William Mercer Rowe Jr.

WILLIAM MERCER ROWE, JR.

William Mercer Rowe, Jr. of Wilmington, died Tuesday, March 24, 2009. at the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Care Center. He was born in Harrellsville, NC, on December 11, 1918, the son of the late William Mercer Rowe, Sr. and Clarice Williford Rowe.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Anne Arrington Braswell Rowe; two children, William Mercer Rowe, III and wife Angela Barnett Rowe of Chapel Hill, NC, and Jan Battle Rowe Capps and husband Stephen Allen Capps of Greensboro, NC; four grandchildren, William Mercer Rowe IV and wife Angela Hummel Rowe of Santa Cruz, CA, Brent Reynolds Rowe and wife Stacy Banks Rowe of Palo Alto, CA, Morgan Masten Rutherford and husband Richard Woodson Rutherford, Jr. of Augusta, GA, and Michael Andrew Masten and friend Erica Huray of Durham, NC; and a great-grandson William Mercer Rowe V.

Mr. Rowe graduated from Harrellsville High School, Hargrave Miliatary Academy, Chatham, VA, and attended Wake Forest University.

Mr. Rowe was a very active member in his community throughout his life. He was a former Board member of Cape Fear Country Club, Cape Fear Men's Club, and the Surf Club. He was a member of the Carolina Yacht Club and for many years he was a Rotarian. He was a member of the original Board of Trustees of Cape Fear Technical Institute (now Cape Fear Community College) and later served as Chair of the Cape Fear Community College Foundation. He also served as a Director of NC Education Council for National Purposes and as a Director of NC Rural Rehabilitation Corporation. He had served as President of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and as a Director of Brigade Boys Club. He was a long time member of First Presbyterian Church where he formerly served as an elder.

Mercer, as he was called by his friends, came to Wilmington in 1962 to become the first President and CEO of Carolina Nitrogen Corporation. In 1972, he founded South Atlantic Services, Inc. and operated it with a very dedicated and hard working group of employees; he sold the company and retired in 1992.

He was born and raised on a farm in Eastern North Carolina and was a veteran of over 35 years in the agricultural chemicals industry. During his career, he was manager of the fertilizer division of Farmers Cooperative Exchange, Assistant Sales Manager of the Agricultural Chemical Division of Pennsalt Chemicals, Inc., Vice President and General Manager of Flag Sulfur and Chemical Co., Tampa, FL, at which time he was also Vice President of Florida Agricultural Research Institute. Prior to moving to Wilmington, he was Executive Vice President of Ashcraft-Wilkinson Company, a company dedicated to international import, export, and trading of agricultural products.

A memorial service will be held at 11 AM, Friday, March 27, 2009, at the First Presbyterian Church with Dr. Ernest Thompson officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Cape Fear Community College Foundation, the Mercer and Anne Rowe Scholarship at Cape Fear Community College, or the First Presbyterian Church.

Condolences may be made at www.andrewsmortuary.com

Andrews Market Street Chapel



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