[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S6991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    REMEMBERING WARREN H. ABERNATHY

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask my fellow colleagues to join 
me in honoring the memory of a dedicated servant and leader, Warren H. 
Abernathy. After a lifetime of unprecedented service to his State and 
Nation as a World War II veteran and a 49-year staffer of Senator Strom 
Thurmond, Mr. Abernathy passed away in Spartanburg, SC, on June 22, 
2009, at the age of 85.

       While he will be remembered by most as a ``private man who 
     wanted to make a difference,'' I will remember him as a 
     larger than life figure who greeted everyone with a smile. He 
     was a World War II veteran who was prepared to make the 
     ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our freedom. After a lifetime 
     of duty, he retired as colonel with the U.S. Army Reserves.

  Born and raised in Spartanburg, Mr. Abernathy attended Spartanburg 
High School, Wofford College, and graduated from Spartanburg Methodist 
College and the University of South Carolina. He later received a 
master's in business administration from Command and General Staff 
College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, and in September of 1992 he received 
an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Voorhees College in 
Denmark, SC.
  In 1948 he began working for then-Governor J. Strom Thurmond as his 
administrative assistant. When Governor Thurmond was elected Senator 
Thurmond, Mr. Abernathy transitioned with him and served as the 
Senator's State assistant for 49 years. Mr. Abernathy also served as 
the former secretary-treasurer of the Strom Thurmond Foundation, a U.S. 
marshall, a member of the Civil Service, an honorary member of the 
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and in 2007 the Spartanburg 
County Bar Association awarded him the E. C. Burnett, III, Contribution 
to Law and Justice Award for his contributions as a nonlawyer to the 
overall improvement of the legal system in Spartanburg County.
  In addition to his time in politics, Mr. Abernathy was an active 
member of the Southside Baptist Church where he participated in the 
Layman's Sunday school class and served as a former deacon. In 1997 a 
portion of highway 29 in Spartanburg, SC, was renamed Warren H. 
Abernathy Highway by the Department of Transportation in honor of his 
service. And after decades of serving South Carolina, Mr. Abernathy was 
awarded the Order of the Palmetto from Governor David Beasley on April 
13, 1998.
  Mr. Abernathy, the husband of the late Margaretta Scruggs Abernathy, 
is survived by family and friends who are rightfully proud of a well-
lived life in service of his fellow man.
  I ask that the U.S. Senate join me in commemorating Mr. Abernathy's 
lifelong dedication to service to our country and to the State of South 
Carolina.

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