Robert Goodwyn Rhett

Robert Goodwyn Rhett of Charleston, South Carolina, died on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at his home in Charleston. He was 93 years of age. Born in 1920 in Charleston, he was the son of Mildred Bobb and Robert Rhett, President of the Peoples National Bank of Charleston and official in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. He was the grandson of R. Goodwyn Rhett, who was Mayor of Charleston from 1903 to 1911 and President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1916 to 1918. Mr. Rhett graduated from the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, and from Yale University in 1942, where he was awarded the 1941 F. Wilder Bellamy Jr. Memorial Prize, given annually to the most outstanding student. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant JG during World War II. He was a purchasing executive in the mining firms Cerro de Pasco, Kennecott Copper Corp., and AMAX Inc. Mr. Rhett was married to the late Joan Morgan Rhett of Rye, New York for 64 years, and they lived in Darien, Connecticut for many years before retiring to Charleston in 1985.

Mr. Rhett had a lifelong interest in history and poetry, as well as the origin of words and was known for his puns. He was a member of the Charleston Ancient Artillery Society, as were his father and grandfather. Mr. Rhett believed in the importance of always telling the truth and facing life head on, a philosophy he summed up by saying," don't run around your backhand," a phrase from one of his favorite sports. A member of the Country Club of Charleston, he was also an avid golfer and played until a few months before his death.

Mr. Rhett is survived by five children: Anita Prentice and husband, Nathaniel, of Garrison, New York, Robert G. Rhett, Jr. and wife, Adriana Morales, of Staunton, Virginia and Hightstown, New Jersey, Amy Rhett of Princeton, New Jersey, and John Rhett and Peter Rhett, both of Charlottesville, Virginia. There are also eight grandchildren: Roberto Rhett, Alejandro Rhett, Goodwyn Rhett Prentice, Jennifer LaMotte, and Gretchen LaMotte, all of New York City, Annabel Prentice of Sydney, Australia, Michael Prentice of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Samara Rhett of Phoenix, Arizona.

There will be a graveside service at Magnolia Cemetery on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR, INC., DOWNTOWN CHAPEL.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Charleston County Public Library for the Charleston Archive and sent in care of Dr. Nic Butler, 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC 29401.