Mr. Hoover C. Blanton

Mr. Blanton died Saturday, December 26, 2020. Born October 13, 1925 in Green Sea, SC, he was the first of four children of the late Clarence Leo Blanton and Margaret Hoover Blanton. Six months after graduating high school in 1942 (after persuading his mother to give her written consent) Hoover joined the United States Navy at age 17. He served during World War II from 1942 until 1946 in the American and Pacific theaters, his last assignment being with the Submarine Force Pacific Fleet.

While in port on the West Coast, he met Cecilia Maria Lopez, who offered to teach him to dance, and after a courtship of several years, on July 31, 1949, the two married in Jacksonville, Florida.

In 1950, after completing his junior year in law school, Hoover was recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict and served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas. After graduating from USC Law School in 1953, Hoover began his legal career with the law firm of Whaley & McCutchen in Columbia. His entire legal career was with that firm, later McCutchen Blanton Hopkins & Campbell, LLP, until his retirement in 2012. He was admitted to practice in the State and Federal Courts of South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Hoover served as president of the Richland County and the American Bar Associations in 1980, and served the South Carolina Bar in many capacities. He was state chairman of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys from 1971-1977 and 1980-1995, president of the S.C. Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1989, and a member of Phi Delta Phi. He also served as associate editor of the S.C. Law Review from 1952-1953.

When not practicing law, Hoover enjoyed spending time at his second home in the North Carolina mountains, where he was frequently spotted driving his Kubota tractor, felling tall trees, or devising creative new uses for the winch and cable mounted to the front of his pickup.

Hoover was a member of Park Street Baptist Church in Columbia, and he also attended Bald Mountain Baptist Church when he was in North Carolina.

Surviving are sons, Lawson Blanton (Joanna Delany) and Michael Blanton (Chrissy Hopkins) of Columbia, SC; grandson, Bennett Blanton; brother, Weldon Blanton of Conway, SC, and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his wife, Cecilia Lopez Blanton; daughter, Carol; and sisters, Juanita Bosdell and Gynland Prince.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.