James Miles Culpepper

James Miles Culpepper, director emeritus with more than 60 years of service with First Financial Holdings Inc. and former president of Copleston's Klendry Inc., died Sunday. He was 91. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at McAlister Funeral Home at 1620 Savannah Highway. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery. Visitation is from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Culpepper was born in Shellman, Ga., a son of John Clark Culpepper and Annie Sherrer Culpepper. He was a retired Army colonel and served in the Pacific campaign during World War II. After Japan's surrender, Culpepper was put in charge of a city in Japan. Before his Army career, Culpepper studied electrical engineering at Clemson University, and in May 1938, he received his Bachelor of Science degree. While at Clemson, he attained the status of a commissioned officer of the Clemson Cadet Corps. Following his 30-year Army service, Culpepper moved back to Charleston and became the president of Copleston's Klendry, a laundry service on Meeting Street. In 1949, he began his career with First Federal Savings and Loan, a career that would last for more than six decades. He became board chairman in 1964. As chairman, he oversaw many improvements to the company, from the implementation of computers in 1966 to the rise of checking accounts in the early 1980s. He recently received an internal service award from First Federal lauding his extraordinary career. During his time in Charleston, Culpepper was actively involved in his community, serving as president of both the South Carolina Lung Association and The Rotary Club of Charleston. In 1971, he was named president of the Coastal Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association. He was also a member of the Elks and the New England Society, and was on the Board of Trustees for Wofford College from 1964-78, where a scholarship was established in his name. Culpepper also served on the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army and the Board of Directors of the Carolina Council of Boy Scouts of America. He was a member of the Bethel United Methodist Church for more than 20 years. Tom Hood, president and chief executive officer of First Federal, said, Culpepper "was an amazing man. The thing I remember most about him was that he was a perfect gentleman." He was predeceased by three sisters, Marie C. Mobley, Edith C. Prater and Katherine C. Downs, and a brother, Jake C. Culpepper. Survivors includes three cousins, Louis Sherrer of Charleston, Claire Phillips of Cuthbert, Ga., and Ann Thompson of Shellman, and a niece and a nephew.