Willie Scheper, Beaufort visionary and character, dies

F.W. “Willie” Scheper III, a beloved Beaufort figure remembered for sparking the idea of Bay Street redevelopment more than 50 years ago, died at his home Thursday. He was 87.

Scheper was a third-generation business and civic leader who served as mayor from 1963 to 1967. As mayor, and previously mayor pro-tem under Angus Fordham, he helped promote the revival of a rundown waterfront. That blossomed under subsequent mayor and lifelong friend, Henry C. Chambers, for whom the Waterfront Park is named.

Scheper was president of the People’s Bank at the corner of Bay and Carteret streets that was founded by his family in 1903. He loaned the money to Pat Conroy to publish his first book, “The Boo.”

He was a member of the S.C. State Ports Authority, chairman of the Board of Blake & Johnson Co., and president of Blue Channel Corporation.

Scheper was the grandson of Frederick W. Scheper, a German immigrant and ship chandler who built Scheper’s Store in the heart of Port Royal in 1885.

Mayor Billy Keyserling said, “He was one of the most loveable, caring, kind, funny and humble people I think I’ve ever known. He always had a sense of humor and always saw the glass as half full, not half empty.”

His loves were faith, family, Beaufort and The Citadel, friends say.

At one point, his faith in people caused him to run afoul of banking regulators and he was punished for it.

Keyserling said, “He ran the bank like a local, small-town bank — in a very, very customer friendly way — when it was something he could no longer do. For example, when I was in boarding school, he would cover my bounced checks until he could call my father and get them covered. I think it was all part of his optimism on life.”

His bank also showed optimism in the fledgling Fripp Island development under the late Jack Kilgore.

When Kilgore died in 2015, Scheper said, “He had imagination and that led to determination. If you’ve got imagination, you can fill in the blanks.”

Scheper said some banking rules may have been bent to help Fripp Island, but its success was achieved by hard work.

“I admired (Kilgore) for his courage and his desire for change,” Scheper said. “They came through tough times, but worked through them. They did it with very little money. We could all learn a lot from that.”

The first thing people recall about Scheper was his quick wit and old Beaufort accent.

“Willie had an accent like a Charlestonian drinking cane syrup,” Tommy Baysden said. “His stories could spellbind you, and his amazing mind never left him.”

As an example of Scheper’s mischievous humor, friends say, he would skip wedding ceremonies and go straight to the reception, where he would talk about how lovely the service was, when everyone knew he wasn’t there.

He was a forward on Beaufort High School’s 1945 state championship basketball team, and was from a family of devoted yachtsmen and sailors.

He played the piano, and had been a violin student of Miss Marguerite “Rita” Crofut.

He enjoyed the Beaufort Yacht Club, and was a dogged supporter of his alma mater, The Citadel.

He was a past president of the Trustees of the College of Beaufort.

In 2015, he and Bob Hartzog were cited as the oldest living acolytes at the Parish Church of St. Helena.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the Parish Church of St. Helena with a reception to follow.

Anderson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Willie Scheper, Beaufort visionary and character, dies."