Peter Ouzts

Rev. Peter Daniel Ouzts HICKORY - The Reverend Peter Daniel Ouzts of Hickory, NC died Wednesday, May 6, 2015, one day shy of his 85th birthday. Born in Ware Shoals, SC to Emmie Hill and William Daniel Nelson Ouzts, he is preceded in death by his parents and sister Miriam Speed. Surviving are his wife of 43 years, Henrietta, son Nelson of Jupiter, FL, daughter Elizabeth of Raleigh, NC and sister Ruth Ouzts of Columbia, SC. Also surviving are nieces Joanna Walkup of Columbia and Mitzi Hall of Forsyth, GA and brother-and-sister-in-law Rolfe and Diddy Hughes of Greenville, SC. Father Ouzts received a B.A. from Yale University and served as a lieutenant in the Air Force. He earned a M.A. in languages from the University of South Carolina, and B.A. and M.A. in theology from General Seminary in New York City. As a young man, Father Ouzts taught French at the University of South Carolina, Winthrop College, and Presbyterian College. But he spent the bulk of his adult life as a priest in the Episcopal Church, serving parishes in South Carolina, Western North Carolina, and Virginia for 51 years. He was a full-time minister in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Clinton, Greenville, Grahamville, Hampton and Bluffton, all in South Carolina, then served St. James Episcopal Church in Lenoir, NC for seven years before retiring in 1994. He continued to pastor on an interim and part-time basis up until the time of his illness. A regular member of the audience at the Western Piedmont Symphony and Quartet, Father Ouzts's interests were wide-ranging, from sailing to photography to classical music. He volunteered for ten years with Habitat for Humanity after his retirement, attended classes at the YMCA, and traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad well into his eighties. In lieu of flowers, the family asks those wishing to give memorials to contribute to the church or charity with which they most associate Father Ouzts. His family thanks all his friends and the staffs at Trinity Ridge and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care of Hudson for their support and kindness throughout his three-month illness. A funeral service will be held at the Church of the Ascension in Hickory at 11:00 am on Friday, May 8, 2015. Internment of the ashes will take place the same day at 2:30 pm at St. James of Lenoir. Each service will be followed by a reception. Online condolences may be left at www.greer-mcelveenfuneralhome.com. Greer-McElveen Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.