Lillian Blake Hart, Ph. D.

Lillian Blake Hart, Ph. D., died Friday, January 28, 2022, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Born June 5, 1938, in Clinton, S.C. to Jesse Blondel Hart and Lillian Blake Brown Hart, Dr. Hart attended Clinton public schools and graduated from St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, Va. in 1956.  She received her B.A. degree from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga. in 1960.  After teaching in Primary Education in Charlotte, N.C., Newport News, Va. and Williamsburg, Va., Dr. Hart attained her Master of Education Degree in Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Elementary Education at the University of South Carolina, where she was the recipient of the Stoddard Graduate Fellowship in the College of Education. 

Dr. Hart began her university teaching career in Early Childhood Education at Memphis State University before transferring to Clemson University to become an Associate Professor of Elementary and Secondary Education, a position she held for twenty-six years.

Dr. Hart was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church; her longer associations as a volunteer and communicant were with Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Va., All Saints Episcopal Church in Clinton, S.C., and Grace Episcopal Church in Anderson, S.C.   She is a past member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. 

Her parents predeceased her.  Surviving are her brother, Carroll B. Hart, Sr. (Jimsie) of Greenville, S.C. and her sister, Catherine Hart Hall (Edward) of Spartanburg, S.C.; two nephews, Carroll B. Hart, Jr. (Angela) of Greenville, S.C. and John S. Rainey, Jr. (Deborah) of Stowe, Vt; two nieces, Martha Hart Kent of Greenville, S.C. and Catherine de Veaux Rainey of London, England; two great-nephews and three great-nieces.

A private, family service will be conducted graveside on Wednesday at 3pm at Belton Cemetery in Belton, S.C.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The General Scholarship Fund and sent to The Office of Development, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030-3770.

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