After a life of service to Boy Scouts and USC, trustee dies at 69

University of South Carolina board of trustee member A.C. “Bubba” Fennell III, 69, has died, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland confirmed Thursday.

Fennell, a retired accountant from Greenwood, graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1972 and had served on the board since 2012, according to his bio on USC’s website.

“It is with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of board of trustee member A.C. ‘Bubba’ Fennell III,” USC President Bob Caslen said in a statement. “Bubba was a tireless advocate for the university and a true friend to Gamecock Nation. Our deepest sympathies are with his friends and family during this difficult time.”

Fennell had been suffering from cancer, Stensland confirmed.

Herbert Adams, a former USC board of trustees member and one of Fennell’s closest friends, remembers him as one of the most “unselfish” people he ever met.

Adams said Fennell’s company was in charge of auditing USC in the mid-2000s, and because of that, wasn’t allowed to sit on the board. Fennell then resigned his position as a top accountant at Elliott Davis, LLC in order to be on USC’s board of trustees, which is an unpaid position, Adams said.

Fennell’s public service extended beyond just USC’s board of trustees. He served as the president of USC’s MyCarolina Alumni Association from 2000-2002, according to the alumni association’s website.

Fennell had a lifelong passion for the Boy Scouts of America, according to the Greenwood Index-Journal. At the age of 14, Fennell earned the organization’s top rank of Eagle Scout. Since then, he has served on various boards for the organization and helped raise money for the Boy Scouts, according to his bio in the 2019 Boy Scouts’ Blue Ridge Council Banquet.

Fennell also served as the treasurer for the First Baptist Church Foundation, according to the bio.

“The city of Greenwood and the state of South Carolina are going to miss him,” Adams said.

This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 2:51 PM.