Grigsby Wotten
Bob Hammond remembers: “While surfing this evening, I came across this profile submitted by Grigsby Wotton that appeared on www.couchsurfing.com, a free hospitality website. He apparently wrote this when he returned from teaching in China and moved to Asheville.”
WOTTON, Jr. Grigsby Hart Grigsby (“Grig”) Hart Wotton, Jr. died peacefully on August 26 in Asheville, North Carolina after a brief illness. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 8, 1943 to Grigsby Hart Wotton and Ann Virginia Wotton. He graduated from The Westminster Schools, attended Yale University on a Merit Scholarship and following graduation in 1965 with a degree in American Studies, earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in American History from Johns Hopkins University in 1970. He wrote his dissertation on the Reconstruction of Atlanta following the Civil War. He subsequently taught history at the University of South Carolina and then embarked on numerous endeavors while living in California and Northern Virginia. From 2007-2012 he taught English writing and Western culture at Zhejiang Normal University in China. After returning to the United States, he settled in Asheville, North Carolina where he lived for the past five years. After retirement from teaching, he continued his avid lifelong pursuit of knowledge in a wide range of areas. He was an extensive worldwide traveler, with a keen curiosity to explore and understand other cultures. Beginning in 2004, he developed a strong interest in English Country Dancing. While teaching in China, he established a program for university students to learn this dance form that gave him and his students much enjoyment and satisfaction. He made significant contributions to the English Country Dance community in Asheville, where he taught the monthly class for experienced dancers and organized workshops. He is survived by his brother, Jack A. Wotton (Ethel), his niece, Ann Hart Wotton Hunter (Steve), his nephew, Dr. Gordon M. Wotton (Molly), and six great nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind his loving companion, Anne deBuys of Asheville, North Carolina. He was a kind and thoughtful person and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Sept. 16 to Sept. 17, 2017