William Douglas Workman Iii

1940 - 2019

William Douglas Workman III

Walterboro - William Douglas Workman III, husband of Patti Fishburne Workman, died May 12, 2019 in Walterboro, South Carolina. Born in Charleston on July 3, 1940, Bill was the son of the late William Douglas Workman Jr. and Heber Rhea "Dimples" Thomas Workman. He was a graduate of The Citadel class of 1961. He then served in the United States Army as a member of the S-2 (Intelligence) 7 Artillery Group in Thule, Greenland, and subsequently in the Office of the Chief of Staff for Intelligence in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Bill's military service continued after his active duty, serving in the U.S. Army Reserve before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Bill began his professional career as a news reporter, first for the Charleston News and Courier, and then for The Greenville News from 1966-1970. After serving as the Executive Assistant to Governor James B. Edwards from 1975-1978, Bill joined Fluor Daniel, Inc. He served as Mayor of Greenville from 1983-1995, his tenure being defined by the emergence of Greenville as the economic and cultural center of today.

In 1994, Bill joined Piedmont Natural Gas in Greenville as its Vice President, SC District Operations. Following his retirement in 2004, he continued working as an economic development consultant, serving on the Board of Directors of the Colleton County Economic Development Alliance, and as a commissioner of the Savannah River Maritime Commission.

Bill was the recipient of the Order of the Palmetto in 1978. He was named the 1999 Nelson Mullins Business Person of the Year Award in Greenville, and received the Distinguished Service Award by the South Carolina Economic Developers Association in 2006. Bill was twice named a South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development, first in 2004 in Greenville, and in 2013 in Colleton County. In summing up his business and political career, he once said "Economic development is what I have done for a living and for fun…economic development is a high calling as far as I'm concerned."

Bill is survived by his wife, Patti Fishburne Workman, his two sons, William D. Workman IV and wife Marlene and Frank Morehouse Workman and wife Amie, his three step-daughters, Gage Marks Beerer, Barnwell Johnson Marks and Kemp Marks Bouvia, his sister, Dorrell Benedict, his niece, Eaddy Thomas Hayes, and ten grandchildren.

A graveside memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 16, at Live Oak Cemetery at 3:00 pm, followed by a celebration of his life at his residence at 109 Silverhill Road, Walterboro, South Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to either The Citadel Foundation or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.