Caroline Barton Caughman died Friday, Nov. 4, 2011.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church. She will be interred at the graveside of her late husband, Kenneth Gladstone Caughman Jr.
Born Dec. 17, 1920, in Hartwell, Ga., she was the daughter of the late Dr. David J. Barton and Harrie Crouch Barton. She grew up in Anderson, S.C., and graduated from Girls High School, where she participated in a number of extracurricular activities, including varsity basketball.
Her father died when Caroline was a high school senior, and she forewent college pursuits for employment with Southern Bell Telephone Company to help support her mother, younger sisters and brother. During Would War II she went to Miami on special assignment with Southern Bell.
Returning to Anderson, she met and married Ken, a graduate of Clemson University and an Air Force veteran of 35 missions over Nazi Germany as a B-17 pilot. They were married in 1947, beginning a 51-year partnership that embodied their spiritual vows of “becoming as one.” Ken’s longtime career as an engineer for the DuPont Company led them to homes in many locations, including Argentina.
Caroline and Ken were avid golfers, both holding low handicaps and numerous trophies. Wherever they went, they were active members of the Presbyterian Church, in which Ken held the office of deacon, and both were involved with youth ministries.
In 1971 the Caughmans moved to Beaumont, Texas, where Ken became president and part owner of the Carruth Dishman construction company. Upon his retirement in 1984, they built their “dream home” in Whispering Pines, becoming members of the country club and of Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines. Caroline and Ken were dedicated supporters of Clemson athletics and academics.
Caroline is survived by her sisters, Dorothy B. Hawkins, of Anderson, S.C., and Harriet B. Littlejohn, of Greenville, S.C.; a brother, Donald F. Barton, of Columbia, S.C.; six nieces; and five nephews.
Memorials may be made to First Health Hospice, 150 Applecross Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374, or to Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 330 South May St., Southern Pines, NC 28387. Online condolences may be made at www.Pines Funerals.com.
Powell Funeral Home and Crematory in Southern Pines is serving the Caughman family.