South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 4255

STATUS INFORMATION

Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. Richardson
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11755ac03.doc

Introduced in the House on May 21, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on May 22, 2003
Adopted by the General Assembly on May 22, 2003

Summary: Mr. Stephen Richards McCrae, Sr.

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   5/21/2003  House   Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-35
   5/22/2003  Senate  Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-10

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VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

5/21/2003

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPON THE DEATH OF STEPHEN RICHARDS MCCRAE, SR., OF ROCK HILL, A DISTINGUISHED ARTIST AND DESIGNER AND A RENOWNED PATRON OF THE ARTS AND TO CONVEY DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS.

Whereas, the members of the House of Representatives were deeply saddened by the death of Stephen Richards McCrae, Sr., of Rock Hill, on April 29, 2003, at the age of eighty-one; and

Whereas, Mr. McCrae was born November 7, 1921, in Denmark, South Carolina to the late Thomas Patterson and Sarah Edwards Richards McCrae. He was raised in Columbia and Liberty Hill and graduated from Camden High School in 1939; and

Whereas, Mr. McCrae enrolled in the University of South Carolina where he studied art until 1942, when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. In 1943, the bomber plane on which he was the tail gunner was shot down in Italy, where he was captured by the Axis troops. He endured extreme hardships for the rest of the war as a prisoner of war in Germany, escaping once but returning after several weeks deathly ill to the prisoner of war camp, until liberated by the Allies in 1945; and

Whereas, after several months of recuperation in a Paris hospital, he returned to the United States and resumed his art studies at the University of South Carolina. In 1946, Mr. McCrae left to study at Parson's School of Design in New York City. After completing his course of studies at Parson's in 1947, he became a member of its teaching faculty; and

Whereas, on December 27, 1946, he married Miriam Griffin Cook of Batesburg. They made their home in Columbia from 1951 to 1962 where Mr. McCrae worked as an advertising manager for several firms and also as a director of design for Dora Gray Studios; and

Whereas, Mr. McCrae was active in a number of arts and civic related organizations, such as the Town Theater, where he was technical director for many years, the Columbia Advertising Club, the Players Club, the Columbia Museum of Art, and the Columbia Lyric Opera, for which he was set designer. He was both a cub master and scout master for the troop sponsored by Eastminster Presbyterian Church, where he also was a Deacon and directed the annual live outdoor Christmas montage; and

Whereas, in December 1962, he took the position of Assistant Public Relations Director under Marshall Doswell at Springs Cotton Mills in Fort Mill. He later was named Director of Springs Arts Services and served in that position until 1981, when he retired but remained as a consultant to Springs until 1986; and

Whereas, among his duties at Springs was directing the Annual Springs Art Show, which grew under his management to be the largest nonjuried art show in the Southeast. Mr. McCrae contributed to many civic endeavors in Fort Mill and was a dedicated choir member of Unity Presbyterian Church, where he was a Deacon and an Elder. He was appointed by Governor West to the State's first Arts Commission Board and later served as a member of the Lace House Commission; and

Whereas, Mr. McCrae was instrumental in founding of the Fort Mill Community Playhouse, for which he was the primary scenery designer and set builder during its formative years. After his retirement in 1981, he took up watercolor painting. Mr. McCrae founded the Leroy Watercolor Group, and was the founder and director of the Leroy Springs Watercolor Workshops in Springmaid Beach and Springmaid Mountain until 2001. Under his direction, these fall, spring, and summer workshops have become nationally known and much sought after by watercolorists from all over the country; and

Whereas, Mr. McCrae became an accomplished watercolorist himself, receiving a number of awards not only on the local and state level, but in national shows as well. His paintings and collages are in a number of well-known collections, and he was selected as one of the featured artists in the 2000 exhibition sponsored jointly by the South Carolina Arts Commission and the State Museum, "One Hundred South Carolina Artists in the Last One Hundred Years". In 1998, he was honored by the Governor with the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award for Outstanding Contributions by an Individual in the Arts. He received the Keepers of the Culture Award by the York County Culture and Heritage Commission in 2000; and

Whereas, Stephen Richards McCrae was the loving husband of Miriam Griffin Cook McCrae; loyal brother to his sister, Virginia Laffitte McCrae; devoted father of Stephen R. McCrae, Jr., John Richards McCrae II, Susan McCrae Moore, and Angela Hartley McCrae; and the beloved grandfather of Richards McCrae III, Stephen McCrae III, Andy Anderson, Katherine McCrae Ozburn, Lacy Anderson, Janet McCrae, Marc Ozburn, Jr., Will Moore, and Alex Moore; and

Whereas, it is fitting and proper for the members of the General Assembly to pause in their deliberations to recognize the passing of this distinguish son of South Carolina. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, express their profound sorrow upon the death of Stephen Richards McCrae, Sr., of Rock Hill, a distinguished artist and a renowned patron of the arts, and convey deepest sympathy to his family and many friends.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mrs. Stephen Richards McCrae, Sr., of Rock Hill.

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