William “Roy” Eargle Jr. passed away on the morning of July 1, 2018.

He was born Aug. 6, 1931, in Columbia, South Carolina, to William Roy Eargle Sr. and Agnes Cobb Eargle. He was an only child.

His father passed away shortly after Roy was born and he was raised by his mother and aunts in Richland County, South Carolina.

He married Dorothy Moffat in 1952, and together they raised a son and a daughter while living in Atlanta, Europe and Alexandria, Virginia.

In 1983, he took early retirement from the Pentagon and moved to Saluda permanently where he had owned a home since 1977. He saw a need for a real estate brokerage firm and founded Saluda Realty in 1984.

Roy always possessed a keen interest in historic preservation and began buying and restoring commercial and residential properties in Saluda.

Among scores of historic projects he was involved in, he was most proud of purchasing the Saluda Depot from the town of Saluda. He moved the structure three blocks to its current location on Main Street and restored it; paying particular attention to the historical and architectural significance of the building.

In 1988, he began building residential single family homes in Polk and Henderson counties. He continued to build right up into 2018 before his declining health prevented him from working any longer. He and his son built nearly 200 custom homes and developed dozens of communities as well as undertaking many commercial projects in the area.

There are few places in Saluda where evidence of his work that he loved so much cannot be seen.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Dorothy Moffat Eargle of Saluda; his son, William Grier Eargle and his wife, Faith Ann Eargle of Tryon; and his daughter Ruchia Lee Moran and her husband Timothy Moran of Gladewater, Texas. Also surviving are grandchildren, Mary Shannon Eargle of Greer, South Carolina, Anneliese Erin Eargle and William Grier Eargle II., both of Saluda and Tryon; Eliot Moran and his wife Amanda Moran of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Kaethe Powell and her husband Mathew Powell of Longview, Texas; and two great-grandchildren, Micah and Piper of North Richland Hills.

He was also especially fond of his Brittany Spaniel, Hudson.

Plans for services will be announced at a later date.

An online guest register is available at mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com.

McFarland Funeral Chapel & Crematory

Tryon