IN MEMORIAM: William Babcock Fitch ’69

The Rev. William Babcock Fitch, Class of 1969, (Chaplain USN, Ret.) died on All Saints' Day, November 1st, 2022, in Columbia, SC. Born September 4th, 1943, to Augustus Fitch, Jr., and Vida Babcock Fitch in Charlotte, NC. Babcock served people throughout his life as an active-duty chaplain, parish minister, and mission priest in the Episcopal Church.

A memorial service was held on November 9th, 2022, at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, where he was raised, married, and ordained. Babcock was known for his beautiful smile, boisterous laugh, and love of all things intellectual, philosophical, and theological.

Babcock is survived by his wife of 54 years, Margaret Clarkson Fitch; his son, Simeon Hyde Kirsch Fitch (Alice Shell Fitch); his daughter, Anna Fitch Courie (Lieutenant Colonel Albert G. "Treb" Courie III, USA); his grandchildren: Margaret Shell Fitch, Rebecca Cushing Fitch, Patton Drawdy Courie, and Merryn Babcock Courie; his brother, Colonel Augustus Fitch III (USMC, Ret.) (Margaret Anderson Fitch) and many nieces and nephews.

The family asks that the best way to remember Babcock is to serve others. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Episcopal Relief and Development; Harvest Hope Food Bank; or the Free Medical Clinic of Columbia.

From an obituary published by The State, South Carolina on Nov. 4, 2022.