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R. Wharton Gaul, 1927-2013 Rufus Wharton Gaul, M.D., beloved father, husband and friend, died November 29th , 2013, after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Ruth Whalen Gaul. Wharton was born in Charlotte, NC, August 21, 1927, to John Stuart Gaul, M.D. and Catherine Small Gaul. He attended Charlotte’s Central High School and graduated from the Virginia Episcopal School in 1945, after which he joined the U.S. Navy as a medical corpsman. In 1946, he entered the pre-med program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and took his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing, like his father and brother, in orthopedic surgery. He married Ruth in 1952 and they lived in Chapel Hill and Gastonia, NC during his internship and residence. They moved to Charlotte in 1957, where he joined his father and brother, Dr. John Stuart Gaul, Jr. to form a practice that grew to become the Gaul Orthopedic Group. Wharton and his brother helped staff a Lenoir, NC clinic for children with orthopedic problems, founded by their father, Dr. J. S. Gaul, Sr. All children were treated regardless of ability to pay. Wharton was active at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry and taught Sunday School. He was also actively involved in St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church. Wharton and Ruth retired to Murrells Inlet in 1986 where they became active in the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, and where Wharton was an ardent advocate of help for troubled children, through his support of Help 4 Kids, and as Chairman of the Board of the Waccamaw Youth Center for three years, and through individual mentoring. He is survived by his children, Ruth Gaul Schliessmann and Larry Schliessmann, Rufus Wharton Gaul, Jr. and Lisa Bowers Gaul; his grandchildren, Jessamine Belle Gaul, Samuel Wharton Gaul, and Matthew Grey Gaul; and his step-grandchildren, Clarissa Schliessmann and Aseia Schliessmann. Services will be held at the Church of the Resurrection, 8901 Hwy 17 Bypass South, Surfside Beach, SC 29575, at 11 AM on Thursday, December 5, 2013. Memorials may be made to The Church of the Resurrection; Help 4 Kids (help4kidssc.org); or the Waccamaw Youth Center (PO Box 329, Conway, SC 29528). Sign an on line guestbook at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com/obituaries Goldfinch Funeral Home, Beach Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

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Dr. R. Wharton Gaul

November 29, 2013