Mack Gerald Fleming

Mack Gerald Fleming, 80, of Seneca, S.C., husband of Elizabeth “Libby” McClellan Fleming, died Friday, June 8, 2012, at Cottingham Hospice House. Born in Hart County, GA, on May 3, 1932, Mack grew up in Anderson, S.C. He was the son of the late Mack Judson Fleming and Dessie Leola Vickery. As a boy, Mack inserted comics in the Anderson Independent on Saturday nights, and he worked as a printer at the Independent during his senior year at Boy’s High School. With the help of friends and Abney Mill, where his father worked, Mack received a partial scholarship to attend Clemson University, where he majored in Textile Manufacturing. At Clemson, he became a manager with the football team. After earning his degree in 1956, Mack received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Second Armored Division, with the U.S. Army, where he served in Germany for two years. Following service, he worked in the quality control department at Woodside Mills. In 1960, he accepted a job with the U. S. Patent Office, but after only one-and-one-half weeks on the job, he began working as the Administrative Assistant for Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of S.C. While working for Congressman Dorn, Mack met and married his wife, Libby, on March 30, 1963. During his time with the Congressman, Mack entered the Washington College of Law, American University, in Washington, D.C., where he received his law degree in 1966. From 1965 through 1967, Mack served as Director of the Congressional Liaison Service of the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to the White House as an Advance Man for President Lyndon Johnson. He continued his service with the Congressional Liaison Office until President Johnson announced he would not run for a second term. Then for five years, Mack worked in private practice of law in Washington, D.C. In 1974, at the age of 42, Mack became Chief Counsel for the Committee on Veterans Affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. Four years later he became Staff Director and Chief Counsel, where he served a total of twenty-one years with the Committee. During his tenure, the Committee drafted many major legislative acts, including the The Montgomery GI Bill, the establishment of U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals, and the elevation of the Veterans Administration to the Cabinet-level position of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1995, Mack retired, and he and Libby moved back to Seneca S.C. to care for Libby’s father and be near Mack’s family. However, Mack continued to work during his retirement. He was appointed by Congress to the Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Assistance in Washington, D.C.; by President William Clinton to the World War II Memorial Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C.; and by President George W. Bush to the President’s Task Force To Improve Health Care Delivery For Our Nation’s Veterans. Mack also served on the Advisory Committee of the Committee on Legislative Matters for the U. S. Court of Appeals For Veterans Claims in Washington, D.C., and on the Board of Counsel for the Dorn Veterans Affairs Research Institute of the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Columbia, S.C. Mack is survived by his wife, Libby; daughter, Katharine “Katie” Lee Carmona and her husband, Paul David Carmona, of Austin, TX; son John McClellan Fleming and his wife, Candace Danielle Sigmon Fleming, of Washington, D.C.; and five grandchildren: Katherine Layne Carmona, Caleb McClellan Dukes, Joshua David Carmona, Colton Sigmon Fleming, and Cooper Miller Fleming. In addition to his parents, Mack was preceded in death by his brothers, James Homer Fleming and Bobby Meritt Fleming. A graveside service will be held at 12 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012, at M.J. “Dolly” Cooper Veterans Cemetery, 140 Inway Drive, Anderson, S.C. The family will receive family and friends immediately following the service. A celebration of life service will follow at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012, at Saint Mark United Methodist Church, 616 Quincy Road, Seneca, S.C. A reception will follow the service in the Atrium at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the OMC Hospice of the Foothills, Attn: Foundation Office, 298 Memorial Drive, Seneca, SC 29672, http://www.hospiceofthefoothillssc.org/; Saint Mark United Methodist Church, 616 Quincy Road, Seneca, SC 29678-2603; or ARF, the Animal Rescue Fund, in Seneca, S.C., http://arfsc.homestead.com/. The family will be at the residence. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.davenportfuneralhome.com. Davenport Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Mack Gerald Fleming

May 3, 1932 - June 8, 2012