Donald Frederick Barton

COLUMBIA – A private memorial service for Donald “Don” Frederick Barton, 96, will be held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, November 15, 2020 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, with burial in the church memorial gardens. A livestreaming of the service will be available to view at https://eastminsterpres.org/live-services. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.

Mr. Barton passed away Wednesday, November 11, 2020. Born in Anderson on August 19, 1924, he was a son of the late Dr. David Judson Barton and Harriett Rose Crouch Barton.

Don graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Journalism. While attending USC, he was in the Kappa Sigma Kappa service fraternity, Blue Key Honor Society and Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity, as well as sports editor of The Gamecock.

He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II as a B-29 Flight Engineer. Don worked as a sports editor at the Columbia Record and was USC Sports Information Director for seven years. He then founded an advertising agency, where he worked for 33 years. Don was also the author of six books pertaining to USC and Clemson sports.

Don was a member of Eastminster Presbyterian Church, where he was an Elder. He was chairman of the commission that planned and built Riverbanks Zoo and was elected Director Emeritus of Riverbanks Zoo Society. He also served as Chairman for many committees in Columbia including: United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Bicentennial Celebration and 100 Years of Gamecock Football. He was selected as the 1977 Ambassador of the Year and named to the Diamond Circle.

More than his achievements we will remember Don for his quick wit, solid character and strong faith. He reminds us that we are commanded to follow Jesus and give thanks for “the abilities and strivings that sustain us, true experiences that shape us, the relationships that enrich us, and His Grace that redeems us.”

Surviving are his wife, Betty Kneece Barton; daughter, Mary Elizabeth Barton Thorne and her husband, John Calvin Thorne III of Columbia; grandchildren, Elizabeth Henderson (Drayton), John Thorne IV (Eliza), Mary Katharine Hill (Haynes); and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two brothers, Hasell Barton and David Barton and sisters, Caroline Caughman, Dorothy Hawkins and Harriett Littlejohn.

Memorials may be made to Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3200 Trenholm Rd, Columbia, SC 29204; or Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, 500 Wildlife Pkwy, Columbia, SC 29210.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.