Frederick Amzi Triplett

Rock Hill - Frederick Amzi Triplett, Jr., formerly of Chester, SC died on July 29, 2011.A Memorial and Celebration of Life Service will be held at Purity Presbyterian Church at 2:00 PM, Monday, August 1, 2011. The family will greet friends following the service at a reception in the Fellowship Hall of the church. Born on January 20, 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida, where his father was engaged in bridge construction work, he was the first of four sons born to Frederick Amzi Triplett (1889-1962) and Jennie Iva Mahaffey Triplett (1893-1970).After moving to bridge job locations in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, in 1929, the family moved to Chester, SC to the house on Walnut Street that Thomas Neely Triplett, Fred's grandfather built. Fred graduated in the Chester High School class of 1943.He entered Clemson College and attended there until he was called to serve in the US Army in 1945.He served in the Infantry and was stationed at Lawton, OK until his discharge in 1946.At that time, he returned to Clemson and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1948. Fred's mother was an accomplished singer and encouraged her sons musically. Fred played the piano, trumpet, harmonica and guitar and was in the Chester High School orchestra and in the band at Clemson. He and Margaret Ann Vaughan of Chester were married at Purity Presbyterian Church in Chester, SC on October 8th, 1949. Fred began working in his father's business in 1948.In 1952 he started his own company, Inland Bridge Company, Inc., and built bridges in Georgia, North and South Carolina.The most demanding contract for the company was placing the concrete roadway of the 135 feet high trusses in the second Cooper River Bridge built in Charleston, South Carolina in 1964. In 1965, he and James M. Peek of Charlotte, NC became co-owners in Triplett-Peek, Inc., formerly F.A. Triplett, Inc.In 1970, Fred and Bob Vaughan started Bridgebuilders, Inc. as co-owners. Mr. Triplett was the chairman of the Bridge Division of the Carolinas Branch of the Associated General Contractors of America in 1981, a member of the board of directors of South Carolinians for Better Transportation from 1982-1988, and a member of the joint committee of the South Carolina Highway Department and the Associated General Contractors from 1985-1988. An innovator and inventor, Fred designed and built an overhead crane that was used on several of his bridge jobs in the 1950's and 1960's and was featured in the February 1963 issue of Roads and Streets magazine. In 1976, Fred was honored as "Employer of the Year for South Carolina" by the Disabled American Veterans for his design and modification of a crane with hand controls to accommodate a disabled veteran and former crane operator. For a number of years, one of his interests was the development of an unmanned automatic lawnmower system for the lawn at his residence. Fred was active in civic affairs, having served on the Chester County School Board from 1967 - 1980, some of the most turbulent years in the school system's history.He was chairman of the School Board in 1972. He was on the board of directors of Southern Bank and Trust, and a member of the local board of directors of First Union National Bank.He was also actively involved in his church, Purity Presbyterian, where he served as a Sunday School teacher, choir member, deacon and elder.In 1985, he was chairman of the pulpit search committee. Fred is survived by his wife of nearly 62 years, Margaret Ann Vaughan Triplett and two daughters, Margaret Lee Triplett, of Tega Cay, SC, and Jane Ellen Triplett Horner and husband James Hugh Horner, Jr. of Fort Mill, SC. He is also survived by a brother Dr. Robert F. Triplett of Columbia, SC, in addition to 9 nieces and nephews.He was predeceased by his son, Fred A. Triplett, III, and two brothers, James Thomas Triplett of Chester, SC, and William Mahaffey Triplett of Los Angeles, CA and his wife Eileen Guder Triplett. Memorials may be made to Purity Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 278, Chester, SC, 29708. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfuneralhome.com