BISHOPVILLE, S.C. – Mr. George Tillman Swearingen, age 80, died June 19, 2013 in Bishopville, SC.  He was born July 20, 1932, a native of Trenton, SC, son of the late Dorothy Swearingen Toney and George Tillman Swearingen.  He was also preceded in death by his sister, Bobbie Swearingen Smith.

George was a graduate of Trenton High School.  He then attended Clemson University graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry in 1955, and then received his Master of Public Health from The University of Oklahoma.   Clemson was a military institution at the time, and George served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army, based in Germany, after graduating.

He worked with the South Carolina State Board of Health in Aiken, SC for several years and then moved to Charlotte, NC where he worked and retired from Duke Power Company as manager of environmental health.   George’s retirement years were spent in Bishopville, SC.  In Charlotte, George was an active member at Sharon Presbyterian Church, where he served in a number of capacities, including as an elder and on the committee to build a fellowship hall, resulting in plenty of Clemson orange in the new building.  Upon moving to Bishopville, George was a member of Bishopville Presbyterian Church.

If a man can be defined by his friends, George had a full life, with numerous friends from his childhood in Edgefield County, his time at Clemson, neighbors, and coworkers at Duke Power Company.  He was a gregarious man, a real character, who loved his family and friends, coaching baseball, the outdoors, building and woodworking, gardening, hunting and fishing, and all things Clemson.  His quick wit and unique sayings will be missed.

He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Roberta “Boochie” DuRant Swearingen; his children, Robin Swearingen Goodson (Michael) and George Tillman Swearingen III (Kerry); and his grandchildren, Morgan Flinn Goodson, Ian Cooper Goodson, George Tillman Swearingen IV and Dargan Shaw Swearingen.  He is also survived by his sister Harriet Toney Shirley; his brother-in-law Marion DuRant (Sue); and numerous nieces and nephews.

A service in celebration of the life of George Swearingen will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at Bishopville Presbyterian Church in Bishopville, SC.  Burial will follow in the church cemetery.   The family will receive friends at the church following interment.

The family greatly appreciates the love and care provided to George by the staff of Cottonwood Villas over the last several years, as well as the assistance of Hospice Care of South Carolina during the last two months of his life.

Arrangements are in the care of Hancock-Elmore-Hill Funeral Home of Bishopville.