COLUMBIA — Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals’ Heritage Society inducted four new members recently.
John C.B. Smith Jr., the late Mr. William W. Bruner, and the late Mr. and Mrs. James B. Younginer were inducted into the society, which was established by Providence in 2003 to recognize its most committed supporters who have generously given their time, talent and knowledge over the years to further the mission of the hospitals.
John C.B. Smith Jr. serves on the board of trustees of the Sisters of Charity Foundation, where he has been active since 1996. Born at Providence Hospital in 1944, Smith has supported the mission of the sisters and worked to help alleviate poverty in South Carolina. He is director of The South Financial Group and Carolina First Bank and has worked with Nexsen Pruet, LLC since 1978.
William Bruner served as chairman of the board of Providence for two terms, during which time the hospital developed its strategic plan for the Heart Institute. Bruner was committed to establishing a facility to accommodate out-of-town Providence patients and their families. In 1993, the hospital named its family-friendly housing unit the Bruner House in his honor.
Mr. and Mrs. James Younginer were instrumental in the decision to build Providence Hospital in the 1930s. On a trip to California, Mrs. Younginer became ill and was treated in a Catholic hospital. The couple was so impressed with the care she received that they decided Columbia needed a faith-based hospital. In 1935, the Younginers made the initial down payment on the property on which the hospital was built.
Other Heritage Society members include Norman Jerome Arnold; Sister Mary Patricia Barrett, CSA; William D. Foiles; Jack S. Graybill; William B. Harley; Julian Hennig Jr.; Walter McNeel Keenan; James M. Maloney; Elizabeth M. McKay; Thomas N. McLean; Ben Rankin Morris; Julian J. Nexsen; William Lynan Otis Jr.; R. Roy Pearce; John Matthews Stover; George Cameron Todd; and Sister Mary Jacob Yelcho, CSA.