Louise Pettus

1926 - 2021

Louise Pettus
February 1, 1926 - August 15, 2021
Rock Hill, South Carolina - Mildred Louise Pettus, age 95, passed away peacefully on, Sunday, August 15, 2021, at Westminster Skilled Nursing Center in Rock Hill.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at Belair United Methodist Church in Indian Land, S.C.
Born to the late Calvin Hall Pettus and Bessie Kathryn Rodgers Pettus of Indian Land, S.C., Louise started her education graduating from Indian Land High School. After the death of her father, she took the role of cotton gin manager to assist her brother in running the family business, Pettus Gin Company. During this time, she earned her master's degree in history from the University of South Carolina. She continued her education earning her bachelor's in history degree from Winthrop College. Upon receiving her degree, she started her career as a teacher. She left the family business to follow her love of education. For the following 11 years Louise taught students in high schools and colleges in South Carolina, Arizona, and Florida. She returned to her alma mater, Winthrop College in Rock Hill, where she was a professor in both the School of Education and the Department of History at Winthrop College, retiring after 22 years of service.
Louise helped preserve and illuminate the history of this region as a distinguished historian and author for more than 50 years. She was an American history educator, a writer, a recipient of the Outstanding Publication Editor award for South Carolina, a member of the Confederation of State and Local History Societies, and a member of the York County Genealogical and History Society (serving on the board of directors and editor of "The Quarterly"). Her constant research led to her office becoming a repository of family histories, articles, books, and artifacts. In much of her research, she worked alongside her brother Lindsay. In 2006, Winthrop University named its newly built Archives and Special Collections Facility in honor of Louise particularly because she performed a masterful job in chronicling the institution's past and this region's rich history. She received Winthrop's Alumni Professor Achievement Award that same year. Louise remained devoted to the school throughout her life.
She is survived by his sister, Peggy Grow of Macon, Georgia and by cousins, nieces, and nephews. In addition to her parents, Louise was preceded in death by her two brothers, Hall Pettus and Lindsay Pettus.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Winthrop University Foundation (Louise Pettus Archives Fund), Room 302, Tillman Hall, Winthrop University, 701 Oakland Ave., Rock Hill, SC 29733.