H 5176

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5176
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Recalled
May 6, 2026
H. 5176
Introduced
by Rep. Willis
S. Printed 5/6/26--S.
Read the first time March 10, 2026
________
A concurrent RESOLUTION
To Request the Department of Transportation
name the portion of United States Highway 76 (Hillcrest Drive) in the City of
Laurens in Laurens County from the intersection of North Harper Street to
Hillcrest Square "Judge Joseph Wilson McGowan III Memorial Highway" and erect
appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.
Whereas, the
Honorable Joseph W. McGowan III was born on February 4, 1952, in Charleston,
the son of Joseph W. McGowan Jr. and Ellen Virginia Mims McGowan. He attended
Charleston area public schools and graduated from St. Andrew's Parish High
School; and
Whereas, while
in high school, he played keyboards for a number of groups, among them the
Miracle Makers, the Shoresmen, the Dawks, the Malibus, the Testament, and the
Counts at venues in Charleston, Columbia, on Folly Beach, the Isle of Palms, and
as far away as Boston, backing up recording artists that included the Original
Drifters, Major Lance, and the Tams; and
Whereas, Judge
McGowan furthered his education earning a bachelor's degree with honors from
Newberry College in 1974, where he was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order
social fraternity, becoming the chapter's president his senior year. He later
was admitted into the fraternity's Graves Province Court of Honor; and
Whereas, the
judge earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina
School of Law in 1978 and entered private practice with the law firm of
Abercrombie & McGowan in Laurens. He served as a commissioner of public
works for the City of Laurens, and he served on the University of South
Carolina Board of Visitors. He was said to be a proud Gamecock; and
Whereas, he was
elected to the Eighth Judicial Circuit Family Court of South Carolina on
February 10, 1999, to serve Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens, and Newberry
counties. Judge McGowan held this post for nearly two decades before retiring
in 2017 and starting what would become a successful mediation practice; and
Whereas, the
Honorable Judge Joseph Wilson McGowan III passed away on Saturday, May 31,
2025, following a life well lived as a family man and true public servant. It
is only right and fitting that he is remembered with a portion of highway in
the City of Laurens named in his memory. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by
the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members
of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department
of Transportation name
the portion of United States Highway 76 (Hillcrest Drive) in the City of
Laurens in Laurens County from the intersection of North Harper Street to
Hillcrest Square "Judge Joseph Wilson McGowan III Memorial Highway" and erect
appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.
Be it further
resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of
Transportation.
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This web page was last updated on May 06, 2026 at 05:41 PM