Mack Gerald Fleming

b. 3 May 1932, d. 8 June 2012
  • Mack Gerald Fleming was born on 3 May 1932 in Hart County, Georgia.
  • The following appeared on 1 April 1963 in the Greenwood Index-Journal: (Mount Pleasant) Miss Miriam Elizabeth McClellan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Pegues McClellan, became the bride of Mack Gerald Fleming, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Mack Judson Fleming of Anderson, at 7:30 p.m. March 30.
         The double-ring ceremony took place in Hibben Methodist Church at Mount Pleasant, with the Rev. Carl D. Clary officiating.
         Wedding music was presented by C. Jan Westmoreland of High Point, N.C., soloist; and Mrs. J. R. Kendall of Mount Pleasant, organist.
         The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a formal gown of white peau de soie etched with seed pearls. . . .
         Mrs. Max Milner of Greenwood was matron of honor. . . .
         Honorary bridesmaids were Miss Joan Skinner of bishopville, cousin of the bride; Miss Alice Enright and Miss Kieran Trihey of Columbia and Washington, D.C; Miss Jayne Roth of Washington, D.C; Miss Adeline Callison of Greenwood; Miss Jo Ann Fralick of Orangeburg; and Mrs. Emmet Howle Jr. of Greer. . . .
         The groom's father served as best man. Ushers were James H. Fleming and Bobby M. Fleming of Anderson, brother of the groom from Anderson.
         . . .
         Following the ceremony a reception was held in the church fellowship hall. Out-of-town guests included Contressman and Mrs. William Jennings Bryan Dorn of Washington, C.D., and Greenwood.
  • Mack Gerald Fleming died on 8 June 2012 at age 80 in Seneca, Oconee County, South Carolina, at Cottingham Hospice House.
  • The following appeared in a Clemson University publication: Mack Gerald Fleming, 80, of Seneca, S.C., husband of Elizabeth “Libby” McClellan Fleming, died Friday, June 8, 2012, at Cottingham Hospice House.
         Born in Hart County, GA, on May 3, 1932, Mack grew up in Anderson, S.C. He was the son of the late Mack Judson Fleming and Dessie Leola Vickery. As a boy, Mack inserted comics in the Anderson Independent on Saturday nights, and he worked as a printer at the Independent during his senior year at Boy’s High School.
         With the help of friends and Abney Mill, where his father worked, Mack received a partial scholarship to attend Clemson University, where he majored in Textile Manufacturing. At Clemson, he became a manager with the football team.
         After earning his degree in 1956, Mack received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Second Armored Division, with the U.S. Army, where he served in Germany for two years. Following service, he worked in the quality control department at Woodside Mills.
         In 1960, he accepted a job with the U. S. Patent Office, but after only one-and-one-half weeks on the job, he began working as the Administrative Assistant for Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of S.C. While working for Congressman Dorn, Mack met and married his wife, Libby, on March 30, 1963. During his time with the Congressman, Mack entered the Washington College of Law, American University, in Washington, D.C., where he received his law degree in 1966.
         From 1965 through 1967, Mack served as Director of the Congressional Liaison Service of the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to the White House as an Advance Man for President Lyndon Johnson. He continued his service with the Congressional Liaison Office until President Johnson announced he would not run for a second term.
         Then for five years, Mack worked in private practice of law in Washington, D.C. In 1974, at the age of 42, Mack became Chief Counsel for the Committee on Veterans Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. Four years later he became Staff Director and Chief Counsel, where he served a total of twenty-one years with the Committee. During his tenure, the Committee drafted many major legislative acts, including the The Montgomery GI Bill, the establishment of U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, and the elevation of the Veterans Administration to the Cabinet-level position of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
         In 1995, Mack retired, and he and Libby moved back to Seneca S.C. to care for Libby’s father and be near Mack’s family. However, Mack continued to work during his retirement. He was appointed by Congress to the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance in Washington, D.C; by President William Clinton to the World War II Memorial Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C; and by President George W. Bush to the President’s Task Force To Improve Health Care Delivery For Our Nation’s Veterans. Mack also served on the Advisory Committee of the Committee on Legislative Matters for the U. S. Court of Appeals For Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C., and on the Board of Counsel for the Dorn Veterans Affairs Research Institute of the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Columbia, S.C.
         Mack is survived by his wife, Libby; daughter, Katharine “Katie” Lee Carmona and her husband, Paul David Carmona, of Austin, TX; son John McClellan Fleming and his wife, Candace Danielle Sigmon Fleming, of Washington, D.C; and five grandchildren: Katherine Layne Carmona, Caleb McClellan Dukes, Joshua David Carmona, Colton Sigmon Fleming, and Cooper Miller Fleming.
         In addition to his parents, Mack was preceded in death by his brothers, James Homer Fleming and Bobby Meritt Fleming.
         A graveside service was held at 12 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012, at M.J. “Dolly” Cooper Veterans Cemetery, 140 Inway Drive, Anderson, S.C.
  • Last Edited: 26 Jun 2015