Catherine Sherrill Lytton Altman

COLUMBIA - Catherine Sherrill Lytton Altman, of 1 Still Hopes Drive, Columbia, SC, beloved wife and mother, died July 4, 2022 at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. She was born on July 18, 1922 in Gastonia, NC, the daughter and eighth child of the late Hettie Sherrill and Cullen L. Lytton. Her father was the managing director of the Flint Textile Mill in Gastonia and invented the “lent less machine,” an automatic shuttle that removed lint from both the fabric’s thread and out of the air of the mill. Catherine adored her father, but he died when she was ten years old after experiencing a ruptured appendix before antibiotics were readily available. In spite of his early death, the proceeds from Mr. Lytton’s “lent less machine” enabled the fulfillment of his dream: that all of his surviving eight children would attend and graduate from college.

In addition to her parents, Catherine was preceded in death by her husband, Francis Wilfred Altman and her six brothers, Coit Barnwell Lytton, James Osborne Lytton, Charles Pershing Lytton, Kenneth Glenn Lytton, and infant brothers Lander and Calvin Lytton, as well as three sisters, Lucille Lytton Feemster, Margaret Lytton McGoogan, and Evelyn Lytton Lewis.

Catherine died peacefully in the presence of her eldest daughter who was holding her mother’s hand. Fireworks could be heard in the distance, ushering in the Fourth of July, celebrating our nation’s freedom. To her children, those same exploding fireworks seemed to be serendipitously celebrating Catherine’s long and exemplary earthly life and her victorious eternal life with God the Father.

A private family memorial service and inurnment will be held on July 18, 2022, the day that would have been her one hundredth birthday.

Catherine was a graduate of Flora McDonald College (now St. Andrews College) in Red Springs, NC, where she received a BA degree in Elementary Education. While at Flora McDonald, she held various class offices, was vice-president of the student body and a member of the May Court. Prior to her marriage, she taught grammar school in Gastonia. On November 25, 1947 she married Francis Wilfred Altman of Horry County and Charleston, SC. Catherine and Wilfred lived in Charleston for six years and were members of Bethel United Methodist Church. In 1954 she and her husband moved to Columbia where they lived for thirty-seven years before retiring to Lake Junaluska, N.C. In 2004 they returned to Columbia to live at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community.

She was a member of Trenholm Road United Methodist Church in Columbia and was among its founding charter members in 1955. There she served both as a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher. At Trenholm Road she enjoyed lifelong friends and was a member of the Medlox Sunday School Class which she attended with her husband Wilfred for many years. Catherine was active as a Girl Scout Leader and served as a Girl Scout Council Representative. She was a member of the Columbia Junior Women’s Club and helped organize and participate in the first “Red Stockings Review,” which benefitted local Columbia charities. She was also a member of the Lilac Garden Club of Columbia and the Cosmopolitan Club, a luncheon club for women over forty years old who had “aged out” of the Junior Women’s Club. After her children were grown, Catherine worked at Sylvan’s Jewelers in Columbia where she helped many young couples choose their wedding silver, crystal and china, and many husbands find a special piece of jewelry for their wives. Always talented working with her hands, at Sylvan’s she learned the art of stringing beads, a skill she used to create strands of pearls for her daughters.

After moving to Lake Junaluska, Catherine continued to be active in numerous community activities. There she and her husband were members of the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville, NC. An avid gardener and flower lover throughout her life, she continued her horticultural interests in Lake Junaluska as both a member and president of the Tuscola Garden Club, as well as serving as board member and president of the Waynesville Garden Club Council. Catherine enjoyed many hobbies, including flower arranging, sewing, creating extravagantly imaginative Halloween costumes for her three children, and making needlework Christmas stockings for her family. She also enjoyed decorating her home as well as helping her children decorate their homes. Her beautifully knitted scarfs and blankets keep her family warm.

Survivors include two daughters, Sherrill Altman Whetsell and her husband, Milton Heyward Whetsell, Jr., of Winston-Salem, NC; Jane Altman Phillips and her husband, Harry Rissler Phillips III, of Durham, NC; and her son, Francis Wilfred Altman, Jr. (Fred) and his partner, Robin Leigh Rawl of Columbia, SC. Catherine, affectionately called “Gaggie”, is also survived by four grandchildren: Milton Heyward Whetsell, III (Olivia) of Little Rock, AR, Francis Kenyon Whetsell (April) of Ventura, CA, Catherine Lytton Phillips Verstandig (Grant) of McLean, VA., and Thomas Martin Phillips, II (Lauren) of San Jose, CA and four great grandchildren.

Catherine’s family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers at Still Hopes and to Prisma Health Hospice for their unfailing care of Catherine before her death. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trenholm Road United Methodist Church, 3401 Trenholm Road, Columbia, S.C., 29204 or to Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community’s Resident Assistance Fund, One Still Hopes Drive, West Columbia, S.C. 29169.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.