Former Winthrop Professor Louise Pettus passed away at 95 on Aug. 15, 2021. Professor Pettus earned her B.A. at Winthrop in History in 1946, and then to archive her masters at the University of South Carolina in 1954. She also completed additional graduate studies at the University of Arizona.
After graduating, Professor Pettus returned to Winthrop as a professor in both the School of Education and the Department of History for 22 years. She also wrote several books in her career and retired in 1989.
On Sept. 2, 2021, a memorial service was held for Professor Pettus at Winthrop in the Tuttle dining room. The speakers at the service included former colleagues and friends of Pettus.
Interim President Hynd, who sent an email to faculty and staff the day of her passing, had many kind words to say of our beloved late professor.
“I speak for the Board of Trustees and the entire Winthrop community in expressing sorrow at this news. Louise was a kind and giving woman, as well as an exceptional friend to her alma mater,” President Hynd wrote. “Louise helped preserve and illuminate the history of this region as a distinguished historian and author for more than 50 years.”
Louise, along with being a professor at Winthrop, contributed many years to the Winthrop Archives. Our Archives were named after Louise Pettus in 2006, officially being named the “Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections.”
“It was fitting that Winthrop named its Archives and Special Collections for Louise in 2006, particularly because she performed a masterful job in chronicling this institution’s past and this region’s rich history,” President Hyde wrote. “Her outstanding accomplishments prompted the university to name Louise the recipient of its 2006 Alumni Professional Achievement Award. It was one of many tributes for an alumna who loved Winthrop and remained devoted to this institution for her whole life.”
Other than President Hyde, many friends will carry on the legacy and lessons Pettus brought to Winthrop.
Dr. Eddie Lee, a history professor here at Winthrop, was a longtime friend of Louise Pettus for many years.
“Professor Louise Pettus and I had a long friendship dating back to 1976. We worked together on many things, including a program in 1995 commemorating Winthrop’s re-location from Columbia to Rock Hill, which took place a century earlier,” Mr. Lee said. “I served as president of the York County Genealogy and Historical Society, and Louise was editor of our journal, The Quarterly.”
Lee remembers Pettus’ advocacy for the archives and her devotion to her students.
“The Louise Pettus Archives is a permanent legacy to her love for students and her alma mater,” Lee said. “I had many opportunities to observe the conscientious care she displayed for every student.”
Another friend of Professor Pettus was Gina White, who worked alongside her for many years at the Winthrop Archives. White is the current director of the archives at Winthrop.
“I met Louise Pettus here at Winthrop. I was in the class of 1983, so I met her while I was a student, and while I never had her as a professor, she did a lot of research in the archives,” White said. “So I had a lot of interactions with her as a student, and then again when I started working here full time in the Archives in 1986, I got to know her even better.”
Pettus cared deeply about uncovering as much history as should, especially about Rock Hill. She’d gone on to publish eight books and hundreds of articles
“She was just a wonderful and generous person, very meticulous in her research,” White continued. “And whenever I talked to her, I would learn something, and she would offer up something she had found. She mostly concentrated on the history of South Carolina.”
Although Pettus retired several years ago, she always kept Winthrop very close to her. She’d even left in her estate a considerable donation to Winthrop University and the archives.
“She was so generous here at the Archives. She set up an endowment for us, so we were able to set up paid internships for students who were considering archival work as a career,” White said. “It helped us create research projects. She helped researchers further their knowledge of Winthrop and this area of South Carolina.”
Pettus is missed deeply; her impact, contribution and legacy to Winthrop will never be forgotten. She will always live on in the memories of her family, friends and former students.
