Sumner Pingree Jr.

1928 - 2015

Sumner Pingree, Jr. Sumner Pingree, Jr., 87, died peacefully on December 9, 2015 at his South Carolina home on Brays Island Plantation. He was the eldest of three sons to Sumner Albert Pingree and Mary Weld, born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 11, 1928. Sumner lived for more than a half century in Beaufort County, with residences both in Beaufort and Sheldon, where he pursued his life's work as a farmer, land conservationist and developer. Sumner's years growing up on his family's Flying Horse Farm in the Massachusetts countryside set the stage for a life "on the land" and his agricultural pursuits. He was an accomplished horseman at an early age, and his particular interests in animal husbandry- which were further developed after his high school years with coursework at UMass, jettisoned him into a world far from his New England upbringing. In 1950, he joined forces with his father to develop one of Cuba's largest cattle raising operations at Hacienda San Andres in Oriente Province, where his step grandfather had started a sugar business in the early 1900's. With the expropriation of the family's Cuba enterprise in the wake of the communist revolution, Sumner moved to the South Carolina Lowcountry in the early 1960's, with his then new bride Virginia "Ginga" Caswell of Charleston. Despite his early dislocations resulting from divorce of his first wife, Janet Ford, and the Cuban ouster, Sumner's personal and professional trajectory was on a solid footing thereafter, and found full expression in the many decades he enjoyed with family, friends, and work colleagues in the Beaufort area and beyond. His commitment to land conservation, of course, grew out of the privilege and responsibility of land ownership, as well as his long experience as a farmer and sportsman. As president of the Brays Island Company, Sumner was the inspiration, alongside the professional guidance of Robert Marvin and others, for a new vision of community development in the southern tradition. Sumner lived to see his vision of Brays Island Plantation become reality and admired by 21st century land use planners and developers world-wide. As such, it stands as his most notable achievement and testament to his commitment as a community builder. Sumner maintained life-long connections to the island communities of North Haven, Maine and Abaco, Bahamas where he successfully led another generation of family onto the water, and reaffirmed his avid interests in boating, sailing and sportfishing. Through his many engagements, Sumner led by example and with interest in the larger community. He served numerous institutions as varied as the Port Authority of Charleston, the Beaufort Memorial Hospital and AMIkids-Beaufort. And his legacy of generosity and service extended to many individuals in need. Sumner is survived by his wife of 10 years, Rebecca Smith of Brays Island Plantation; his sons Charles F. Pingree of North Haven, Me., Sumner Pingree III of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Richard C. Pingree of Beaufort, S.C.; his four step children, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held for friends and family at Brays Island Plantation at 11am, on Monday, January 11, 2016, with a reception immediately following. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Sumner Pingree to benefit Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation PO Box 2233 Beaufort, SC 29901 or AMIkids-Beaufort are appreciated. Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family.