Posted on 11/20/2019
Rev. Chancellor Byron Waites, 90, of Columbia, South Carolina, died November 17, 2019, after a brief illness. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 27, 1929, Byron was a son of Chancellor Wood Waites and Sarah Eunice McClendon Waites. He and his wife Beverly moved from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Columbia, South Carolina in 2009.
A graveside service and burial will be held at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 1101 Lebanon Pike, Nashville, TN 37210 on Wednesday, November 27, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.
Byron attended the U.S. Naval Academy, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University and his Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University. King College honored him with a Doctorate degree. He was ordained Deacon in The Methodist Church in 1954 and Elder in 1955. He was pastor of Methodist churches in Kingsport, Morristown, Cleveland, and Johnson City, Tennessee and in Bristol, Radford, and Pulaski, Virginia. He was Superintendent of the Tazewell, Virginia, District of The Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. Throughout his ministry, Byron served on various church and civic boards and charitable organizations. In retirement, he preached part-time at area churches and was chaplain at a nursing home.
He is survived by his wife Beverly Cate Waites; two daughters Sarah Waites Hennig (Jay) of Columbia, SC and Evelyn Cate Waites of Charleston, SC; one son, Dr. John Anderson Waites (Cindy) of Springfield, MO and five grandchildren Julian Hennig IV, Beverly Waites Hennig, David Heinemann Waites, Margaret Claire Waites, and Meredith Grace Waites. His one brother Charles Lynwood Waites died in 1997.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Shandon United Methodist Church, 3407 Devine St., Columbia, SC 29205 or to the charity of one's choice.
Dunbar Funeral Home, 3926 Devine Street, Columbia, SC 29205 is assisting the family.
Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
Published in Tennessean from Nov. 19 to Nov. 20, 2019