Mrs. Jennie Llew Finlayson Guyton

WEST COLUMBIA -Jennie Llewellyn Finlayson Guyton, widow of Clarence Lee Guyton, M.D., died Monday, December 26, 2011.
Born in Cheraw, March 17, 1914, she was the youngest daughter of Burruss and Jennie Wait Foster Finlayson. Mrs. Guyton was a faithful member of Washington Street United Methodist Church and the Women of the Church.
Mrs. Guyton's enjoyment of classical music began at an early age, having been brought up in a family of musicians. Her mother taught music before her marriage at Columbia College and her oldest sister, Rutha Finlayson Dyal, had done operatic voice study in New York City with Estelle Liebling, one of the outstanding voice coaches of the time. Mrs. Guyton was very fortunate to have had this training passed on to her. At age fourteen, when she had just passed her birthday in March, Mrs. Guyton won first place in the State-wide voice contest for high school girls, winning a scholarship to college. She was a lyric coloratura soprano and received her education at Columbia College where, of course, she majored in voice and was soloist with the Columbia College Chorus.
In 1935, Mrs. Guyton married Dr. Guyton who, at that time, was the surgeon at the Ellen Fitzgerald Hospital in Monroe, N.C. Later, in 1940-1941, they moved to Boston, Mass. for a year while Dr. Guyton studied cancer control at Harvard Medical School. He received a Master of Public Health degree there in order to establish the first Cancer Control Division for the S.C. State Board of Health.
While in Boston, Mrs. Guyton enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music. After a few lessons her teacher sent her for an audition with Dr. Zauck, world-renowned organist at The First Church of Boston and, after being accepted, sang there every Sunday.
Dr. Guyton entered the Army during World War II and at the various places where he was stationed, Mrs. Guyton kept up her music and enjoyed singing in the choirs of different denominations. After the war, in Columbia, Mrs. Guyton again became affiliated with many of the city's music organizations. She was a member of the Afternoon Music Club, the Columbia College Alumnae Afternoon Club, and was, again, a member of the Columbia Choral Society having been one of the earliest members.
Mrs. Guyton was predeceased by two older sisters, Rutha Wait Finlayson (Mrs. Ernest Dyal) and Florence Foster Finlayson; four brothers, B. Wofford Finlayson, James Murdoch Finlayson, Henry Westbrook Finlayson and Patillo Ainsworth Finlayson. She is survived by her niece, Beverly Finlayson Triber of Columbia; two grandnephews, Charles Wofford Triber and family of Asheville, N.C. and Philip A. Triber and family of Columbia; a niece, Dr. Jennie Finlayson Rakestraw of Winthrop University, Rock Hill; sister-in-law, Esther (Mrs. Henry Westbrook Finlayson Sr.); three nieces and two nephews of Gadsden, AL, where her brother practiced law.
A graveside service for Mrs. Guyton will be held in Cheraw's Old St. David's Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 30, 2011. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.
Memorials may be made to Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community Resident Assistance Fund, One Still Hopes Drive, West Columbia, SC 29169 or Washington Street United Methodist Church, 1401 Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201.
Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.