Ralph “Wayne” Gilchrist

Seneca, SC — Ralph “Wayne” Gilchrist, 97, passed away Thursday, February 6, 2020, at Cottingham Hospice House.

 

Wayne was born on June 16, 1922 in Harrisville, Butler County, Pennsylvania. He was the sixth of seven children born to Thomas Ralph and Carrie Ethel Critchlow Gilchrist. Wayne served his country during WWII in the Army on Leyte Island in the South Pacific. He taught and received degrees in Electrical Engineering at Tri-State College in Indiana, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. With his straight A’s as a student and a PHD in Engineering, specializing in Power Grid Distribution, he retired from teaching and research from Clemson University in 1984. Wayne married Virginia “Jean” Eileen Brock on June 8, 1949 in Angola, Indiana and they raised three children. His wife Jean passed in 1998 but Wayne remained at their home in Seneca, SC, where he had always loved listening to classical music, solving cross word puzzles, fishing and practicing his square dancing. A quiet man with high moral standards and a subtle sense of humor, his was a life well-lived.

 

Mr. Gilchrist is survived by his sons: Jack Eugene Gilchrist and spouse Mary of Shelby Township, MI and Randy Gene Gilchrist and spouse Cheryl of Seneca, SC; his 98-year-old twin sisters: Opal Rose Gilchrist Miller and Olive Ruth Gilchrist McCarl; four grandchildren: Sherri Loweke, Kevin Kaplan, Paul Gilchrist and Jennifer West; and five great-grandchildren: Rachel Loweke, Sarah Loweke, Kylie Kaplan, Lauren Gilchrist and Jessica West.

 

Funeral services will be conducted on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at 2:00 P.M. at Davenport Funeral Home Chapel. Entombment will take place at Oconee Memorial Park Mausoleum where he will be entombed beside his wife.

 

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Monday, February 10, 2020, at Davenport Funeral Home.

 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

Davenport Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.