Harry McCarley Giles, Jr (Mac), 83 years old, died on September 20, 2019 at his home, surrounded by his wife and children. A celebration of life service will be held in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC on October 5, 2019 at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends in the Virginia Gilmer Room following the service.
Born in Seneca, SC, Mac was the son of the late Harry McCarley Giles and Lillian Shirley Giles. He grew up in Gastonia, NC, graduating from Gastonia High School. He earned his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he received a Braswell Scholarship and was the first recipient of the North Carolina Association of Insurance Agents Scholarships. In 1961, he received his LLB from the University of North Carolina Law School. He was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar that same year. Mac worked as a Research Assistant for the late Honorable Clifton L. Moore, Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court before coming to Greensboro as Assistant City Attorney. In 1964, he entered private practice with Hoyle, Boone, Dees, and Johnson. In 1999, he retired from the practice of law as a partner in the firm of Dees, Giles, Tedder, Tate and Gaylord. He was a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society. He was also a member of the Greensboro Bar Association and the Real Property Section of the Greensboro Bar; in each he held leadership positions.
True to his Scots-Irish heritage, Mac was a Presbyterian by faith. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, where he served as a deacon, elder, church school teacher and superintendent and on numerous committees.
In his younger years, Mac was an active member of the Greensboro Jaycees. In retirement, he enjoyed the friendships he shared in several coffee clubs and lunch groups. He was dedicated to his family and friends. He loved good music, the outdoors, gardening, and travel. In retirement he was fortunate enough to travel in much of Europe and Asia-Minor with his wife, his children, and his grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, Mac was preceded in death by a brother, James Alan Giles. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Barbara Funderburk Giles. Other survivors include his daughters Mary Giles McGee and husband, Dr. Scott McGee of Leesburg, GA; Ann Giles Stephenson and husband Dr. James Stephenson of Rockville, MD; and a son, Jonathan Chamblee Giles and wife Melissa Meegan Giles of Charlotte, NC. He was fondly known as Daddy Mac to four granddaughters, Tracy McGee, Abigail Giles, Katie Stephenson, and Caroline Giles, and three grandsons, Justin Giles, Henry McGee, and William Stephenson. He is also survived by a brother, Larry Mills Giles, and wife Dean, of Atlanta, Georgia, sister-in-law, Marilyn Wiggins Giles of Greensboro, NC,, and brother-in-law, Thomas Lee Funderburk III and wife, Mary of Matthews, NC.
The family deeply appreciates the loving care he received from Dr. Daniel G. Patterson, Dr. Ronald L. Davis III, Dr. Christopher Y. Thomas, and Hospice Care of Greensboro.
Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 617 N. Elm Street, Greensboro, NC 27401; Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Ave., Greensboro, NC 27405.
Online condolences may be offered at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.
