A longtime Chattooga County educator, civic leader and businessman who spent decades working to expand opportunities for local students has died. William Benjamin “Will” Hair Jr., 94, was born March 23, 1932, in Summerville, the son of Dr. William Benjamin Hair Sr. and Emma Holbrook Sydelman. Although he later moved to South Carolina, Summerville and Chattooga County remained central to much of his life. Hair graduated from Darlington School for Boys in Rome in 1950 and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia in 1954. While at UGA, he participated in ROTC and was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. Following college, Hair served in the U.S. Army, including assignments at Fort Knox and in Mainz, Germany. He later continued serving in the Army Reserve and retired with the rank of Captain. Hair returned to Summerville following the death of his father to help care for his mother. His entry into education came somewhat unexpectedly. After initially seeking work at the local bank, he learned that the junior high school needed a seventh-grade teacher. He took the position, beginning what became a 38-year career in education. In 1969, Hair became Vocational Supervisor at Chattooga County Comprehensive High School, a position he held for 25 years. His family said those years were among the proudest of his professional career. Hair earned a master’s degree in vocational education and worked extensively to obtain federal funding for…
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