George "Tank" William Barnette III

George William Barnette III, "Tank" to his wife and many friends and "Billy" to his family, died Tuesday, December 13, 2022. 

Billy was born, November 9, 1935 son of the late George William Barnette, Jr. and Ruth Bail Barnette. He is survived by his bride of 40.9 years of marriage, Marie "Scooter" DeLorme Barnette of Charleston, SC; brothers: Richard Thomas "Dick" Barnette (Jane) of Wilsonville, OR and David Roger Barnette (Lucy) of Goose Creek, SC; nephews: Doug Crabb (Cindy) of Emerald Isle, NC, David Crabb of Charlotte, NC and Blaze Barnette (Lillian) of Wilsonville, OR; and niece, Emily Barnette Henderson (Nathan) of Moncks Corner, SC. He was predeceased by his sister, Miriam Barnette Plyler.

Billy graduated from St. Andrews High School in 1953. He earned his BS degree in Math at the College of Charleston (CofC), Class of 1958 where he was President of the Student Body in 1957 and President of the Alumni Association from 1981-82. Billy received his MS degree in International Affairs at George Washington University in 1971 during his War College assignment in the Navy. Later in 1995, Billy earned his BS in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina. At that time he was one of twelve men in the program and when he graduated at the age of 58, he was the oldest student to receive a BS in Nursing from MUSC.

After CofC, Billy served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, primarily on diesel submarines; Sardis, Chivo, Sterlet, and Tunny. He was part of many missions in Vietnam from 1967-69 serving on the Tunny; being home-ported in the Philippines 600 miles away. Billy was also deployed to the Korean demilitarized zone from 1971-73 and on SubPAC staff from 1969-70 in Hawaii. He retired in 1978 as Lt. Commander and chose to return to Charleston as a bachelor.

In 1980 Billy bought a building next to the College of Charleston campus and opened the Cougar's Den. He became "Uncle Tank" to so many students on campus and many of his friend's children. The CofC students felt safe with Tank or one of his trusted bouncers, Peter W., Skip M., Pete D., or Tom S. when he wasn't there. The students also loved Tank for cashing their checks!

In 1981, two coaches at the College of Charleston, Joan C. and Nancy W., asked Tank to hire one of their incoming assistant coaches, also a CofC alum, who would be going to graduate school at the College of Charleston. He reluctantly, unseen and without an interview, hired his future wife, Scooter, to be his lunch manager at the Cougars Den. They were married four months later. Tank gained a wife for life, but lost a manager. Scooter quit her job with him for a better offer, a CofC graduate school fellowship, but kept coaching. (She later became the head women's basketball coach, with Tank being their number one fan - yelling at refs, his specialty.)

After receiving his nursing degree in 1995, Tank started his work as a registered nurse in the Dialysis area in Charleston. Later he joined the Special Procedures Radiology group at Roper Hospital until retiring from nursing with a much-needed knee replacement.

Tank was a member of Saint James Anglican Church for 25 years. He served as a lay reader for many years and was a 25-year, beloved member of the Friday Morning Men's Breakfast. His faith in Jesus Christ gave him much comfort as he visited with his Hospice staff weekly and also when family, friends and neighbors came by to visit him. Billy especially enjoyed his surprise 87th birthday drop-in on November 9, 2022 where 70 of those dear friends, came by to honor him.

A funeral service to honor Tanks life will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 10:30 am in the Summerall Chapel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston SC 29409. A reception will follow in the Holliday Alumni Center.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the College of Charleston Cougar Club, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424.