FLORENCE, S.C. — Wilbur O. Billy Powers, a Florence businessman whose companies and charity stretched far beyond the Pee Dee, died at 90 at his Florence home on Monday, Nov. 2.
Powers was raised on a family farm in nearby Timmonsville. After a stint at Clemson and work for the state highway department, he set up shop as a land surveyor, then grew a construction company that became one of the biggest commercial builders in the Southeast. With his wife, Ann, he later moved into real estate, aviation and manufacturing in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Much of the couple’s giving stayed close to home. The couple’s W.O. and Ann Powers Foundation, formed in 2016, backs groups that serve families, support education and strengthen the Florence area. A licensed pilot, Powers also used his charter service to fly organ transplant patients and others who needed medical care.
For years he gave to Clemson without putting his name on it. That changed in 2020, when the couple pledged $60 million to the university’s business school, which became the first named college at Clemson. Part of the building honors their grandson Chandler Burns, a 2015 graduate who died in 2016.
He and Ann were married 44 years. A service celebrating his life is set for Thursday at 2 p.m. at Central Methodist Church.
Section: More Florence SC business news
Florence business profiles
Filed under: Florence SC Business News
