Rebecca Morgan McMaster

Rebecca Morgan “Becky” McMaster, 95, died March 13 at National Healthcare Parklane, Columbia, where she had been a resident for several years.   Ann Rebecca Morgan was born August 1, 1921 in Union, S.C., the only daughter of Nathaniel Benjamin Morgan and Anna Lucile Sanders. She attended the public schools of Union and graduated from Winthrop College in 1942 with a degree in English.  After college, she moved to New York and made nitroglycerin fuses for the war effort.  She subsequently moved to Winnsboro to teach English, French, and Art at Mount Zion Institute.

She married Capt. (USMC) Robert Gooding “Bob” McMaster, of Winnsboro, on August 26, 1945 in Union, SC after he returned from the War in the Pacific.  They were married for 56 years, until his death in 2002.  To their union were born five sons, four of whom now survive: Robert Gooding, Jr. and wife Sarah; Kemper Morgan and wife Dorothy Dean of Vancouver, WA; Steven Elliott and husband John Harman of Washington, DC; and Brian Cooper and wife Kathleen Strouse, also of Washington, DC.  One son, Nat Morgan, died in infancy. Four grandchildren, Kemper Morgan, Jr. and husband Iain Fulton, Anna Rebecca, Nathaniel Thomas, and Elliott Ramsay, also survive. 

Mrs. McMaster was a dedicated Marine Corps wife, and moved her family to her husband’s many postings, including Bagdad, Iraq and San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Perhaps due to this, she developed a love of travel, and she and her husband traveled to Europe, China, New Zealand, and South America.

She was an accomplished painter and pianist. Although unwilling to sell her arts works, she gave many away to friends and family, and many more lovely paintings graced the walls of their home.  She enjoyed playing bridge, gin rummy, Chinese checkers, and ping pong and enjoyed giving her sons regular lessons in the sport.  

A christened Presbyterian, Mrs. McMaster was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Winnsboro, SC. In 2000, Bob and Becky established the Robert and Rebecca McMaster Book Endowment at the Fairfield County Library to provide books for local children.

A memorial service will be held on March 31 at 1:00 at First United Methodist Church, with a reception to follow.  Memorial donations may be made to the Robert and Rebecca McMaster Book Endowment, c/o Fairfield County Library, 300 W. Washington St., Winnsboro, SC  29180 or First United Methodist Church, 109 College St., Winnsboro, SC  29180. 

Pope Funeral Home is assisting the McMaster family.