Dr. William C. Boggs

Dr. William C. Boggs of Columbia, 88, died on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, following a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. Born in Greenville, SC, he was a son of the late Rev. William Troy Boggs and Pauline Adams Boggs and a graduate of Lockhart High School, where he lettered in football and basketball. He received his B.A. degree in English from the University of South Carolina and his M.D. degree from the Medical College of South Carolina, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha. He served in the United States Air Force as a flight surgeon with the 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron (“The Iron Knights”) and as commander of the 49th Tactical Hospital at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Upon his return to the states, he established his practice of obstetrics and gynecology in Columbia, which later moved to a facility he built in West Columbia. Upon his retirement from private practice in 1986, he served as Director of Women’s Care at Thomson Student Health Center at the University of South Carolina until his retirement in 2007.

Bill was a renowned “car man.” Shortly after receiving his driver’s license at age 14, he purchased a pea green Plymouth, affectionately named “Roadrunner.” He graduated to a 1955 Thunderbird and soon fell head over heels for Studebakers. After commandeering a string of sports cars, Baby #5 prompted the trade of his Corvette for a Suburban, but he accepted the transition with dignity and grace.

Bill possessed a keen sense of humor. If anyone asked “How are you?” Bill’s routine responses were: “Not bad for my age and mileage,” or “Vertical, mobile, and above room temperature.” He would often ask friends, “Are you behaving yourself?” and if they made the mistake of saying “Yes,” he was quick to reply, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

If you knew Bill well, you were surely the recipient of his stories. Some detailed his youthful adventures as the “son of a preacher man” or his days in the “delivery business,” but most recounted his exploits as an Air Force flight surgeon, including having drinks with Muammar Gaddafi at Wheelus Air Base in North Africa before Gaddafi became dictator of Libya, escorting the Queen and Prime Minister of Luxemburg on a tour of German air bases, seeing the sun rise on snow-capped Kilimanjaro and the pyramids of Giza from the air, and flying back to the states for the final time in an F-105.

“Boggs,” as he was affectionately known by his closest friends, cherished time spent with those he loved. In Columbia, he treasured hosting Thanksgiving dinners, enjoying happy hours on the porch, evenings by the fire, and dips in the pool, as well as Christmas and Easter dinners on Duncan Street and services at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, his “little church on the corner.”

As a devoted steward of his beloved Marshpoint on Winyah Bay in Georgetown, SC, for 31 years, he was a celebrated July 4th pyrotechnic expert, master grass cutter, and precision painter. There, he spent summers teaching his youngest daughter how to shoot a BB gun (on a make-shift range created from a fallen tree trunk and tin cans), create the perfect peanut butter sandwich, cast a shrimp net, and land a catfish on her Mickey Mouse rod and reel. On one occasion, when his wife announced that she was tired of cooking, he popped up from the table and created Bananas Foster, complete with open flame, just to prove he could do it. This culinary feat was never repeated.

Summers also included many trips to Walt Disney World. Although he referred to Mickey Mouse as a “rat” and “a cunning thief,” rumors suggest that he actually enjoyed his visits.

He loved his patients and they loved him back. He was a pioneer and champion of prepared childbirth, using nurse-midwives to operate the first free-standing birthing center in the midlands. He encouraged and supported many of his office staff to pursue nursing degrees. He was a founding member of the Lexington Medical Association and served as Chief of Staff at Lexington County Hospital (now Lexington Medical Center).

Boggs relished classical music, college football, and Gamecock sports. He was a member of the Gamecock Club and full scholarship donor for over forty years. He was fluent in German and embraced their culture, especially Oktoberfest, German beer, and Riesling Spätlese.

“I can’t believe I’ve become a cat man,” Bill often said. Actually, he was a cats man, as he was quick to adopt the next stray that showed up at the back door. He never met a cat he didn’t love.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sallie Hook Boggs, daughters Mary Ann (Tommy) Betenbaugh and Allison Parks Boggs of Columbia, Dr. Elizabeth Wingard Boggs (Julie Price) of Denver, Iowa, and Creighton-Elizabeth Radcliffe Boggs (Avi Yadav) of Garden Grove, California, grand-children Amy Lahlou of Greenbelt, Maryland, Sara Betenbaugh of Columbia, Sage Price (Sonya Levitova) of Brooklyn, New York, PJ Price of Washington DC, River Price of Columbia, and Schuyler Boggs-Price of Denver, Iowa, sister-in-law Elizabeth Hook Bolton, brother-in-law Marion Burnside Hook, Jr., niece Dr. Molly Irwin Hook, nephews Marion Burnside Hook III and Frank Thomas Bolton and great-nephew Ryan William Alexander Bolton, all of Columbia, nephew William Burnside (Katie) Bolton of Lambertville, New Jersey, niece Sheryl McAhren (Dave) of Flower Mound, Texas, nephew Scott (Liz) Boggs of Rockledge, Florida, beloved extended family, and cats Bitty and Piper. He was predeceased by his brother Wallace H. Boggs, son William C. Boggs, Jr. and best friend Casey Cat.

The Burial of the Dead, Rite Two, will be conducted by The Rev. Alice Mills at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 900 Calhoun Street, at 3:00 PM on Saturday, May 18th followed by interment in the family square at Elmwood Cemetery. A visitation will be hosted by sister-in-law Beth Bolton at her home, 2925 Duncan Street, in Shandon, on Friday, May 17th from 5:00 PM until 7 PM.

The family is deeply grateful to those who enhanced Bill’s quality of life, especially his family, friends, St. Timothy’s family, the late Dr. Jack Gottlieb and his staff, Dr. Erik Crook, Dr. Bradley Word, Shannon Colley and the staff at The Columbia Medical Group, Dr. Christopher Huffman, Dr. Conrad Bauknight, Alta, Robin, and the staff at MUSC Heart and Vascular, Dr. Stacy Story, Marianne, and the staff at Eye Physicians of Columbia, Dr. Jennifer Hucks, therapists Laura Garvin and Kristi Wilbur with Amedisys Home Health, beloved caregivers Yvonne Hunter, Janie Langley, and Hart Langley, and the staffs of Prisma Health Baptist IICU and Amedisys Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, if you are so inclined, please consider offering a “Prost!” with a German beer or Riesling, adopting a stray animal, helping someone in need, or donating in his memory to the Remembrance Fund at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 900 Calhoun Street, Columbia SC 29201 (https://www.sainttimothyscolumbia.com/) or The Animal Mission at PO Box 50023, Columbia SC 29250 (https://animalmission.org/)

“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth, …put out my hand, and touched the face of God.” (from “High Flight,” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.)