Samuel Cary Beckwith III

Samuel Cary Beckwith III, 73, husband of Dixie Lee Beckwith, died Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
Born in Greenville, Cary was the son of the late Hallie McCuen and Samuel Cary Beckwith, Jr.
After graduating from Greenville High School, Cary attended Clemson University and received a degree in Economics. He continued at the University of South Carolina, earning an M.B.A. with a concentration in accounting. He served as an officer in the South Carolina National Guard and began his career as an accountant. He entered private practice as a CPA, serving his clients in this capacity and later as a Certified Financial Planner for 48 years before retiring.
Cary’s clients knew him as a meticulous, scrupulous, and trustworthy professional, one of impeccable integrity who put their interests first and who could be counted on never to run afoul of the IRS. He looked the part too: One client remarked that Cary “never had a hair out of place.”
He was a past president of the Greenville Estate Planning Council and served for many years on the Board of the Greenville YMCA, including a term as President of the Cleveland Street Y. He also served as Treasurer on the Metropolitan YMCA board.
Cary was a teacher at heart. Early in his career he taught accounting at Clemson. In his financial planning practice, his meetings with clients became tutorials on investing, tax planning, and estate planninga�”complete with whiteboard diagrams.
One of his greatest pleasures was coaching youth sports teams. Starting at age sixteen he coached over 60 youth football, basketball, and baseball teams at the YMCA and Christ Church Episcopal. He took pride in his teams and made sure they looked good for game day, going so far as to spray-paint football helmets and double-stitch numbers onto jerseys.
Cary loved his clients, students, ball players, friends, and especially his family.
He is survived by his wife, Dixie of 45 years, his son, Cary of Brooklyn, NY, his daughter, Ann of Columbia, SC, and his sister, Beverly Howard and her husband, Bob of Greenville. Also surviving are his brother-in-law, Charles Lee and Charles’ wife, Lynn of Lydia, SC, and his longtime friend and business associate, Laird Whitmire Green.
The family would like to thank Dr. Mark O’Rourke and the ITOR staff of the GHS Cancer Center as well as the personnel of Homestead Hospice for their care and attention. Also, a special thank-you to Dr. David Koontz and his family for their continuous support throughout the past year. We greatly appreciate the kindness of the many friends who have been so generous during this time.
Visitation will be on Friday, April 7 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown. A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Episcopal, All Saints Worship Center at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 8.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Caine Halter YMCA, 721 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC 29601; Christ Church Episcopal Pastoral Care Fund, 10 North Church Street, Greenville, SC 29601; or the charity of one’s choice.

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