Louis Ernest Wooten Jr.

He was born in Durham, NC on March 12, 1920 and raised in Raleigh. He was the oldest child of Louis E. Wooten and Edith Rembert Williamson Wooten. He is predeceased by his siblings, Edith Williamson Wooten Padgett, Sara Rembert Wooten Little and Robert Edward Wooten.

Louis attended Wiley Elementary and Broughton High School. He graduated in 1940 from NC State College with a degree in Civil Engineering. He often noted that all three schools were within walking distance of his home in Cameron Park Louis was an avid tennis player most of his life and played for both Broughton and NC State. In college, he was associate editor of The Agromech, and a member of the Scabbard and Blade military fraternity and the Kappa Sigma social fraternity.

Louis joined the United States Army in October 1941. He served with the 8th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson and the Florida Keys and then with the 100th Infantry as Division Transportation officer. During World War II, Captain Wooten was stationed in Germany and France where he commanded a German POW camp. He organized his prisoners to repair damage done by the occupying German forces in and around the POW camp.

Louis returned to Raleigh in 1946 where he joined his father’s engineering firm, L.E. Wooten and Co. (now The Wooten Company). Louis enjoyed both an active professional and civic life. As a registered engineer, he served on the board and as treasurer of The Professional Engineers of NC. He was a member of the NC Society of Engineers and The American Waterworks Association. He was vice- president of L.E. Wooten and Co. for many years and initiated the profit sharing plan in 1951, an innovative idea at that time. He served on the board and as vice president of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and as a board member of the Raleigh Kiwanis Club and the Raleigh Rescue Mission. He had been a member of the Carolina Country Club since 1946 and was active in the social activities there. Mr. Wooten was a member of The Church of The Good Shepherd for 50 years where he served as secretary of the vestry. He was a member of Holy Trinity Church since 2005.

Early on Louis developed a keen interest in residential development. As a young man he undertook numerous land surveying projects and even taught surveying in summer school at NC State. Beginning in 1953, Louis began assembling land west of Raleigh on what was then known as the Durham Highway. At the time, most believed that the land was “too far out into the country” but Louis and his business partner, Philip Taylor, had faith in Raleigh and its future. Now Brookhaven and Glen Forest are established Raleigh neighborhoods. Prior to annexation into the City of Raleigh he, along with his wife as chauffeur, would actually read all 350 water meters in Brookhaven and Glen Forest on a monthly basis.

Mr. Wooten is survived by his devoted wife of over 57 years, Lytle Batchelor Wooten. He is also survived by his daughter Marian and her husband Billy Troxler and their children Katherine, Finch, Lillie and James, daughter Katherine and her husband Jim Bailey and their son James, daughter Edith and her husband Ivan Bailey, son Louis and his wife Sally and their children Louis, George and Maddison, and son Stephen and his wife Margaret and their children Sam and Edith.

The family will receive friends at their daughter’s home at 1100 Marlowe Road on Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm. Memorial services will be held on Thursday November 15 at 2pm at Christ Episcopal Church in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Wake County, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607 or the Raleigh Rescue Mission, 314 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601.