ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University lost one of its "best and brightest"
students in a tragic car accident this weekend.
Caleb Whiteleather, a freshman business student from Bluffton, South Carolina, passed away on Jan. 6.
While only at Winthrop for one semester, Vice President for Student Life Frank Ardaiolo
said Whiteleather was already involved on campus and had made many friends in his
residence hall and on campus.
"His mother told me he loved everything about Winthrop and was so happy he chose to
come to Winthrop," Ardaiolo wrote in a campus-wide e-mail. "He completed his first
semester with a 4.0 grade point average."
"Caleb was truly among our best and brightest who enriched our campus just within
the short time he was with us," Ardaiolo added.
In addition to his new campus activities, Whiteleather was active in his community
church: he went on mission trips to Alaska and Jamaica, participated in the church
youth group and served in the children's program at the church.
Funeral services for Whiteleather will be on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. at the
LowCountry Community Church, located at 801 Buckwalter Parkway, Bluffton, S.C., 29910. A visitation will follow.