William Meritt Quattlebaum III went to be with his Lord and Savior on October 3, 2023. He was born in Columbia, S.C. on April 19, 1933. He was the first child and the only son of William Meritt Quattlebaum Jr. and Dorothy Cunningham Quattlebaum, both South Carolinians. His first years were with his parents in Charleston, West Virginia, where his father was conducting research for Union Carbide. The family moved back to Columbia when Bill was 14. He then entered Dreher High School and went on to graduate from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Chemistry. Bill served for several years in the U.S. Army, and was stationed in Germany . He was selected for membership in the Honor Guard and was later promoted to lead his drill team. He worked on his Masters of Business Administration at Georgia Tech before assuming a position in Columbia in the family chemical manufacturing business, where he remained active until his retirement to Florida in 2000.

He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Mary Oliver Quattlebaum, and their son, Dr. Alexander Quattlebaum. He is also survived by his ex-wife Joyce Quattlebaum and their children : Anne Q. Sturgis , Grace Q. Lambert, Laura Quattlebaum, William Quattlebaum, and Dr. Adair Locke(Chris). He had 13 grandchildren including : Nathan, Katie, Shelby and Meritt Putnam; Douglas, Bradley and Callum Stewart; Mark and Connor Odom; Maxwell Quattlebaum; Erin, Lauren and Abe Locke; and two great-granddaughters: Sara and Freya Putnam, as well as his two sisters: Betsy Q. Piron and Rosemary Q. Sanford (Charles).

Bill was a natural athlete and enjoyed many sports. He was an accomplished water-skier, swimmer and sailor in his youth, and taught many friends to water ski on both Forest Lake and Lake Murray. He earned trophies for his precision and skill in marksmanship, Corvette racing, and ballroom dancing. He especially loved gardening, as he was still very active in his yard even after celebrating his 90th birthday. He loved to be outside in nature identifying birds by their calls and plants by their leaves. He was a true outdoorsman who was always in search of inventing and honing the perfect tool for any task in the yard.

He was a consummate intellectual, with academic interests extending far beyond his expertise in chemistry. He was exceptionally knowledgeable in world history and in etymology, and had interesting and informative input on any topic. He spoke English and German, along with conversational French, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish. He was an enthusiastic collector of many things, especially books, cultivating a massive library.

He was of impeccable character, and his loyalty, dedication, and charity will be sorely missed by all who knew him. He fought the good fight. He finished the race, and he kept the faith.