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“REMEMBERING WARREN H. ABERNATHY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S6991 on June 24, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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