John Diggs Spragins

John Diggs Spragins, 82, died on December 24, 2016 after a brief illness. He was born August 18, 1934 in Little Rock, AR to Rev. John D. Spragins, PhD and Mary Fitzhugh Spragins.

John graduated from Batesville High School in Batesville, AR, attended Arkansas College (now Lyon College) and completed his B.S. degree at Oklahoma A & M in 1952. John then received his M.S. and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Stanford University in 1964.

John dedicated his career to higher education, teaching at Arizona State University, Duke University and North Carolina State University, Oregon State University, and then joining the faculty at Clemson University in 1980 as a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. John taught at Clemson University until 2000, achieving Professor Emeritus in 1996.

During his distinguished career, John worked a sabbatical position for Hewlett Packard in Bristol, England as well as summer research positions in Boston, MA, Rüschlikon, Switzerland, and Christ Church, New Zealand.

John was a member of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society and a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

John's textbook, Telecommunications, Protocol and Design, co-authored by Joe Hammond and Krys Pawlikowski, was adopted by over eighty universities around the world.

John was a faithful member of Fort Hill Presbyterian Church – serving as a deacon, elder, Sunday School teacher, and a member of the Christian Action Committee. John served on a dozen medical mission trips abroad. He was a quiet, avid supporter of those in poverty and helped organize Water Mission Walks for Water raising money to bring clean, safe drinking water to those in need. John was passionate about the environment and conservation efforts. John was a sixty-year member of the Sierra Club and hiked many mountains around the world over the years.

John was married for fifty-two years to Catherine (Cathy) Lucy Rogers of Hamilton, NY. John has three children, Katrina Spragins Allen (Robert) of Jericho, VT, Jennifer Spragins Burnett (Karl) of Anderson, SC, and Matthew Jonathan Spragins of Greenville, SC. John has six grandchildren William, Margaret, Patrick, and Charlotte of Jericho, VT, and Maxfield and Mary Fitzhugh of Anderson, SC. John was a devoted husband, father, and Grandpoppa to his family.

John is survived by a sister, Mary Maxfield Spragins Kuykendall (Louis) and a brother, Joel Fred Spragins, M.D. (Jeanne). John was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Rev. C. Fitzhugh Spragins, PhD and his wife, Hope.

A Memorial Service celebrating John's life will be held at Fort Hill Presbyterian Church in Clemson, SC on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 11:00 AM.

If you would like to make a memorial gift, please join our family in donating to Water Mission to build a Living Water Treatment System in Haiti in John's memory. Gifts can be given online at watermission.org/donate or mailed to Water Mission at PO Box 71489, N. Charleston, SC 29415. Please note the John D. Spragins Memorial LWTS on the gift.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com. Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home, Central, is assisting the family.