Feb. 27, 2011

The South Carolina Athletics Department mourns the passing of Dr. Charles F. Crews, longtime supporter of the program. The football facility at the south end of the stadium which houses the football weight room and meetings rooms is named for Dr. Crews after he gave a significant financial gift for its construction.

“Dr. Crews has been a huge supporter of the University, especially the Athletics program for many, many years,” said Athletics Director Eric Hyman. “His commitment, his support, his energy, his vision – where we are as an athletics program – is because of people like Dr. Crews. It’s a shame he won’t be here to reap all the benefits of his life-long support. He is one of the really true supporters of South Carolina Athletics, one who was with us whether we won or lost. He will be missed.”

“Dr. Crews was one of the super Gamecocks of all time,” added head football coach Steve Spurrier. “He made a major contribution in 2004 when we added the weight room and meeting rooms for football in the south endzone. We have a great appreciation of Dr. Crews and all that he did for the University and for Carolina Football. When we won the SEC East Championship, he wrote me a letter saying he had been waiting 93 years for this. He was a wonderful man who loved his school.”

Charles F. Crews, M.D., died on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The family will receive visitors from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington, with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Dr. Crews’s grandsons and Dr. Melton Stuckey will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Mr. Mike Biediger, Dr. John Black, Dr. Vasa Cate, Mr. Raymond Caughman, Mr. Smokey Davis, Dr. Will Harmon, Dr. Tripp Jones, Dr. Homer Mathias, Dr. Harry Metropol, Mr. Bill Routh, Dr. Hasel Skinner, Dr. J.D. Whitehead, Mr. Lyman Whitehead, Dr. Frank Young, and Dr. Mohammed Yousufuddin.

Dr. Crews was born September 6, 1917, in Oxford, North Carolina. He was a son of the late Roy Walter Crews and Ruby Adcock Crews. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1943 and the Medical College of South Carolina in 1947. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, during which time he was based in a field hospital in Okinawa.

Upon returning to Columbia, he joined his uncle, Dr. David F. Adcock, in a surgical practice. He served Lexington and Richland Counties as a surgeon in his private practice for over 30 years, as well as serving as the staff surgeon for the South Carolina Department of Corrections and for Seaboard Rail Lines.

During Dr. Crews’s medical career, he received a number of honors, including the Order of the Palmetto in 1988, and in 1993, the South Carolina Medical Association Doctor of the Year award, and the University of South Carolina Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 1987, the surgical suite at the Baptist Medical Center was named for him in honor of his many contributions for more than forty years. He was instrumental in the formation of Lexington Medical Center and performed the first surgery there in 1971. In 1996, a wing of the Lexington Extended Care was named in his honor, as well as the surgical suite at Lexington Medical Center in 2006.

He took the lead in establishing the nursing program at Midlands Technical College. He also created the Dorothy Johnson Crews Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing, in honor of his wife, who worked alongside him as one of his nurses throughout his career. In addition, he created the Charles F. Crews, M.D., Endowed Chair in Surgery at MUSC.

Following his retirement, Dr. Crews enjoyed gardening, traveling with family and friends, and cheering on the Gamecocks. Dr. Crews was a loyal supporter of USC athletics and was a charter member of the Gamecock Club for over 70 years. He received the Richland County Gamecock Club’s Outstanding Member Award. He faithfully attended basketball, baseball, and football games and was a member of the famous “Bubbly Group” of the Frank McGuire era. In 2005, the Charles F. Crews Football Facility, which houses the football weight room, meeting rooms and training facilities, was dedicated at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Dr. Crews is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy Johnson Crews. He is also survived by his four children, Diane C. Hazelrigg, Lynn C. Boyleston (Larry), Charles F. Crews Jr. (Debra), and Carolyn C. Middlebrooks (Gil). He is survived by 10 grandchildren, Dee Hazelrigg, Matt Boyleston, Charlie Hazelrigg, Mary Catherine Crews Fowler, Brent Boyleston, Debra Dele Crews, Bobby Hazelrigg, Nikki Middlebrooks, Charlee Crews Green and Charlie Middlebrooks; four great-grandchildren; his brother, Roy W. Crews; his sisters, Marge Crawford and Nelle Smith; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to the Lexington Medical Foundation, 2720 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia, SC 29169, or to UMAR (United Methodist Agency for the Retarded), P.O. Box 1558, Huntersville, NC, 28070-1558.