Edwin H. Betsill

COLUMBIA - Edwin Houseal Betsill, of Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Home, died July 8, 2015. A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 11, 2015, with burial immediately following in Greenlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the Guignard Mansion at Still Hopes on Friday, July 10, 2015, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Mr. Betsill was born on November 26, 1922, in Enoree, South Carolina, the son of Varina Feagle and William Russell Betsill. He graduated from Woodruff High School as valedictorian in 1939. He enrolled at the University of South Carolina and graduated in 1943. Mr. Betsill entered the armed services in 1943 and served as secretary to Major General George Griner until discharged in 1945 after serving in the Pacific Ocean area. He was then hired by General Motors Acceptance Corporation, where he worked for 33 years, the last 13 of which were spent travelling to over 45 cities around the world as Senior Supervising Auditor. Mr. Betsill sang in the USC Men’s Glee Club and for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where he was tenor soloist for 15 years. He also was chairman of the Baker and Baker Concert Series at the Columbia Museum of Art for 25 years. He was on the original board for the Friends of USC School of Music. He also sang with the South Carolina Opera Workshop for three years. Mr. Betsill is survived by his brother, George Sease Betsill of Columbia; his niece, Susan Arnold of Temecula, California; his nephew, William Martin Betsill of Indianapolis, Indiana; and great niece, Shelli Breidenbach Flood of Bedford Downs, New York. He was predeceased by a brother, William Feagle Betsill. Memorials may be made to the USC School of Music, Trinity Cathedral Foundation, or a charity of one’s choice.