Clyde T. "Shot" Padgett Jr.

1938 - 2025

Clyde T. "Shot" Padgett, Jr.

July 2, 1938 - May 17, 2025

Florence, South Carolina - Clyde Talmadge Padgett, Jr.,"Shot," 86, of Florence, died Saturday, May 17, after a battle with multiple myeloma.

Shot was born July 2, 1938, in Florence at Saunders Memorial Hospital, the son of Frances Harley Smith Padgett and Clyde Talmadge Padgett. He attended Florence schools where he was an outstanding student and a standout athlete, graduating from Florence High School in 1956.

He quarterbacked the 1955 FHS Yellow Jackets through an undefeated season to the State Championship, making friendships that lasted a lifetime. Then, playing guard on the Yellow Jackets basketball team, he and the team won the Lower State Championship. Known as the fastest guy in school, Shot also excelled at track, tennis, and golf.

After graduation, he took various jobs, working to pay his way through three years at Wofford College and graduating early with a BS in biology. During his time at Wofford, he joined Kappa Sigma fraternity, once again enjoying friendships that would follow him throughout his life. He matriculated at the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry, graduating in 1963, to return to Florence to open his private practice.

Known for the gentle kindness he showed to his patients, Shot was a beloved dentist, serving the people of Florence and surrounding areas for more than 40 years, first in an office on McQueen Street, then in a lovingly restored Victorian home on Coit Street. The Florence County Historical Society recognized the success of the restoration by awarding him the Florence Harllee Cup.

Shot's family was dear to him and he loved to say that he was the luckiest man in the world, having been happily married twice to the two most beautiful ladies he had ever met.

In 1961, he married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Holiday Allen, "Betsy." Together they raised a family of three children until her death in 2002.

In 2005, Henrietta Weston Willcox, "Rett", became his wife and they joyfully blended their adult families. Their home quickly became the hub for three generations of Willcoxes and Padgetts who constantly dropped in for visits on the porch.

While raising his family and continuing his love of sports on the golf course and the tennis courts, Shot found time to serve on the board of directors for the Florence YMCA, finally serving as its president. He was a long-time member and served as president of the Florence Kiwanis Club. Later in life he was a faithful Steven's Ministry member at Central Methodist Church where he had been a member since 1963.

An avid nature and music lover, and a Master Gardener, Shot could be found at home softly singing along to his collection of musical standards and boogie-woogie, watching jitterbug demonstrations, or piddling in the flower beds planning his next planting. His bird feeders were always busy with a full complement of song birds while squirrels, possums, and racoons learned to fear him.

Surviving are his wife, Henrietta Willcox Padgett, of the home; children: Celeste Padgett Kahn and her husband, David; Clyde Talmadge Padgett, III, and his wife, Kristy; Dr. Edwin Allen Padgett, and his wife Ashley; his sister, Frances Padgett Farmer, all of Florence; nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; step-children: Edgar Lloyd Willcox, of Florence, Henrietta Willcox Dotterer and her husband, Gilly, of Mt. Pleasant; three step-grandchildren and one step-great-grandchild.

The family will receive visitors at 12:00 p.m. immediately before the 1:00 p.m. funeral on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Central United Methodist Church, 265 West Cheves St, Florence. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Waters-Powell Funeral Home.