Claudia Lea Phelps
Services Set for Miss Phelps
Funeral service for Miss Claudia Lea Phelps, 90, who died at her home Rose Hill last Friday night, will be held tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Robert Shahan will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Ushers will be Julian B. Sally, Jr. and Thomas F. Maurice. Pallbearers will be Fred Arant, Fred Bevans, Albert Meyers, Converse K. Woolsey, Dr. Robert Lipe and Bruce Hancock.
The family suggested the local Girl Scout organization as an appropriate memorial.
Aiken Standard, September 15, 1984
Miss Claudia Phelps
When Claudia Phelps was a little girl wintering with her family in Aiken, the town was just emerging from Reconstruction. She played with the Ford girls next door and became a staunch Confederate, learning even to say "damnyankee."
...Until the tearful time that her mother had to inform her that the Phelpses were "Yankees" through and through.
Though she was reared with all the advantages of a wealthy young woman of the North, Miss Phelps never lost touch with her Aiken roots. Like her mother before her, she served as a liaison between the Winter Colony and townsfolks. She supported every community-wide cause for the betterment of the town and was at the forefront during two wars in rallying Aikenites behind patriotic endeavors such as Red Cross, care for wounded servicemen and civil defense.
She founded the first Girl Scout troop in Aiken and later gave the site for Camp Cofitachiqui near Eureka. She was for many years a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.
She made her beautiful home, Rose Hill, available countless times for cultural and charity causes. Those invited to an evening of chamber or choral music at "Miss Claudia's" counted themselves fortunate. Her New Year's drop-ins were very special occasions enjoyed by townspeople and Winter Colonists alike.
Built in the early 1900s, Rose Hill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Soon afterward, the stables and outbuildings were made available for Rose Hill Art Center, directed by Miss Phelps' niece, Nancy Wilds. It has provided a much-used studio facility for students at the University of South Carolina Aiken campus.
The Rose Hill grounds -- once an entire block -- abounded with fine camellias, roses and exotic plants, including members of the tea family imported from the Far East. Varieties of camellias are named for both Miss Phelps and her mother.
Miss Phelps was in her younger years an ardent sportswoman, who enjoyed both dogs and horses. She bred fine terriers and entered them in trials around the country.
She was descended from prominent American families on both sides. Her paternal grandfather was U. S. minister to Vienna in the days of Bismark. Her mother's ancestors in the 18th century sailed clipper ships in the China trade and later were engaged in the textile business. Her maternal grandfather was governor of Delaware.
She was widely traveled, having made several trips around the world by steamer. In 1927 she and her mother traveled by car from the Malayan coast to Saigon.
In recent years Miss Phelps' conversation turned more and more to her childhood days. She described a world unknown to most listeners, recalling, for example, a trip the family made by coach-and-four from New Jersey to Aiken, accompanied by a retinue of servants.
On last Friday the great lady -- accompanied by two aides -- went on a "shopping trip" just to look. They stopped at Baskin-Robbins for her favorite cone of ice cream. As night came, she was tucked warmly into bed. It was a happy day, and her last day on earth. She died quietly in her sleep at Rose Hill.
Her passing represents the end of an era for Aiken and the Winter Colony. The city will long remember her and her many acts of generosity.
Aiken Standard, September 15, 1984
