Gaither

Dr. Thomas Walter Gaither, 86, passed away peacefully at his Prospect home on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, at 9:23 a.m., following a prolonged illness.

Dr. Gaither was born in Great Falls, S.C., on Nov. 12, 1938, to Walter Bernard Gaither and Fannie Mae Little. In the segregated South, he attended a one-room schoolhouse for Black children and graduated as valedictorian of Great Falls High School. From there, he continued a lifelong passion for learning, earning degrees from Claflin College in South Carolina, Clark Atlanta University, and a doctor of philosophy from the University of Iowa, before embarking on a 38-year career as a professor at Slippery Rock University. Dr. Gaither was known throughout the Slippery Rock community as a long-standing member of Slippery Rock United Methodist Church.

During his period at Claflin, Dr. Gaither joined in the civil rights struggle as a field secretary for Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), where he counted as contemporaries Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer and Medgar Evers. In 1961, at the age of 22, he helped organize a group of young men to sit at a “white only” McCrory’s lunch counter in Rock Hill, S.C., who were willing to serve prison time rather than follow the traditional path of posting bail. Known as the Friendship Nine, these college-aged students pivoted the movement toward a “jail, no bail” strategy, raising national awareness of the civil rights movement and the many contributors who employed nonviolence to fight for equality for all.

Among his achievements, Dr. Gaither is a member of the National Civil Rights Hall of Fame, received recognition as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show for his visionary leadership, was interviewed by Mike Wallace and received an honorary doctorate degree from Washington & Jefferson College. He was an in-demand speaker for his powerful stories from the civil rights movement, replete with messages of nonviolence and hope, deftly shedding light on other contributors and shifting attention away from himself. The cause, he believed, was greater than any one individual. Dr. Gaither’s speeches, letters, and oral history are chronicled in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian.

At Slippery Rock, Dr. Gaither built a distinguished career as a professor of biology, earning numerous teaching plaudits and educating scores of students, many of whom he maintained friendships with until his death. Despite a lengthy and successful academic career, he was most proud of his 52-year marriage to the former Diane Katherine Jenner, and his two sons, Thomas Kenneth and Edmund Andre, and their families and his five grandchildren.

Among his passions were playing handball, international travel, blues music, spending time in the bountiful woods of Western Pennsylvania collecting wildlife samples for study, and gardening. The Gaither yard was always splashed with vivid colors from Dr. Gaither’s careful cultivation of flower gardens. Friends, neighbors and strangers were often recipients of his flower bouquets featuring award-winning dahlias and freshly grown vegetables. As a follower of the Steelers, Pirates and Slippery Rock University athletics, Dr. Gaither knew his share of victories and heartbreaks, but much like his outlook on life, found promise in tomorrow.

His fortitude, integrity and character resulted in friendships extending across decades and places, and he and the family deeply valued the caregivers who provided company and support in his later years. Great love surrounded him in life and follows him in passing.

Survivors include sons, Drs. T. Kenn Gaither and his wife, Barbara Miller, of Gibsonville, N.C., their daughter, Emmeline, and twin daughters, Sydney and Lila; and son, Edmund Andre Gaither and his wife, Carolyn Kavanagh, and daughter, Kerrigan and son, Clayton of Houston. Also surviving are brother, Herman Gaither (Ramona) of Beaufort, S.C.; sister, Glenda Davis (James) of Atlanta; brother, Barry Gaither (Sandra) of Boston; and sister, Diane Gaither Thompson of Cincinnati; along with several nieces and nephews.

GAITHER — A celebration of life for Dr. Thomas Walter Gaither, who died Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, is planned for spring 2025.

SMITH FUNERAL HOME, Slippery Rock, is handling funeral arrangements.

Memorial donations may be made to the Thomas Gaither Scholarship at Slippery Rock University by calling 724-738-2004 or online at srufoundation.org/give, designated to the Thomas Gaither Scholarship.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.