Heyward Clarkson was a compleat lawyer and scholar who enjoyed the convivial affairs of life and at the same time was a deep and adept expert in unraveling the intricacies of the law. His family roots were in Richland County but his family is represented by distinguished persons through the history of South Carolina. He attended the University of South Carolina and was awarded his law degree in 1935.
Upon the onset of World War II, he was granted two commissions in the Navy and had to decide which he would accept. Upon entering the Navy as a Lieutenant he served at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida and later at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
Heyward Clarkson was a brilliant, but modest person. His interests were many and varied. He was a devoted churchman and a kind and gentle husband and father to his three children. He was the truest of friends.
The decline in Heyward Clarkson’s health did not suppress his indomitable spirit and he was ready and prepared when he was called assay on August 25, 1995. Surviving are Mrs. Margaret Westmoreland Clarkson, his wife; two lawyer sons, N. Heyward Clarkson III and R. Westmoreland Clarkson, and his daughter, Eugenia C. Brabham (Mrs. A. McKay, Jr.) and eight grandchildren. This finest of men was our friend, and we shall all miss him greatly.