COLUMBIA - Dr. Richard B. Pool, 96, Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering of the University of South Carolina, was born in Greenville, South Carolina on January 3, 1922 and passed away on Sunday, January 14, 2018.
A funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 19, 2018 at Bethel United Methodist Church, 4600 Daniel Drive, Columbia, SC 29206. Visitation with the family will follow in the Pool Activities Building at the church. Dunbar Funeral Home, Northeast Chapel is assisting the family.
He grew up in Lugoff, South Carolina and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1942. He was commissioned into the US Navy and was sent to MIT for design training in battleship repairs. After which he was stationed in Recife, Brazil where he met his wife Carmen whom he was married to for 72 years. After the war, he worked as an engineer briefly in Birmingham before going to Georgia Tech for his masters and his first professorship. From 1955 to 1960 he taught at the University of Oklahoma before going onto the University of Illinois to obtain his doctorate. In 1963 he returned to the University of South Carolina as head of the Civil Engineering Department where he served for 30 plus years. He opened his home to international students and gave many a sense of family away from family. He was an active member of Bethel United Methodist Church where he served in many capacities. He was a deeply kind and caring person, generous to all except himself. He played tennis and rode his bike into his 80’s. He has left a wonderful legacy of selflessness and Christian faith to family and students alike. He and his wife Carmen have three children, six grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife; Carmen, his sons Tom, Steve (Mary) Pool, and his daughter Susan (Scott) Wilhelm; grandchildren; Alicia (Pool) Jones, Steve Pool, Ryan (Liz) Pool, Jeff Wilhelm, Laura (Wilhelm) Anderson, and Leah Pool; great-grandchildren are Eli, Marion, and Eva. He will be deeply missed.
Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church. Please sign the online guest book at www.dunbar funerals.com.
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