Horton
Ira Boyce Horton, Jr., M.D., 92, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, widower of Mary Anne Jones Horton entered into eternal rest Wednesday, January 29, 2020. His memorial service was held Saturday, February 1, 2020 in The Church of the Holy Cross, 352 N. Shelmore Blvd at 3:00 p.m. The family received friends at the church following the service. Interment was Sunday in Memorial Park Cemetery, Orangeburg, SC at 3:00 p.m. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Mount Pleasant Chapel. Ira was born in 1927 in Bethune, South Carolina, son of the late Ira Boyd Horton and Ethel Lois Baker Horton. He served as a hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy detached to the U.S. Marine Corps in 1945. Ira served as a Chief Petty Officer Pharmacy Mate at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He married his high school sweetheart in 1947. In 1951 Ira entered pharmacy school at the Medical College of South Carolina, including active duty in the Navy during the Korean conflict while attending school. He graduated pharmacy school with Rho Chi honors and then immediately began study toward his Doctor of Medicine. Ira graduated from MUSC with membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (A.O.A.). He practiced family medicine in Orangeburg, SC from 1959-1976. Ira served a term as Chief of Staff at Orangeburg Regional Hospital. He was President of South Carolina Academy of Family Practice 1971-1972. Ira was commissioned as a Captain in the Navy by Congressional appointment in 1976 and was instrumental in the foundation of Navy Family Practice. He served as Chief of Family Practice from 1976-1981 and served as President of the Armed Forces Academy of Family Practice. From there, Ira moved to other Naval facilities across the United States ending his Naval career as Chief of Medicine for the Naval Sealift Command in Bayonne, NJ in
1989. He served the state of South Carolina as Medical Director of the Department of Health and Human Services until retirement in 2000. Ira was a lifelong Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a lifelong member of the Navy League, the American Academy of Medicine, the South Carolina Academy of Family Practice and Alpha Omega Alpha. Ira is survived by his son, Thomas B. Horton (Millie) of Mt. Pleasant, SC; daughter, Mary Anne Horton Hollingsworth (Eben) of Lexington, KY; two granddaughters: Eleanor R. Hollingsworth of Denver, CO and Caroline B. Hollingsworth (William C. Nigut III) of Atlanta, GA; and sister, Margaret H. Gainey of Bethune, SC. Ira lived his life as a devoted husband, father and grandfather and lifelong follower of Jesus Christ. Memorials may be made to the Star Gospel Mission, 474 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29403 or Samaritan's Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607. A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting our website at www.jhenrystuhr.com.
