Obituary of Hereward M. Wimborne

AIKEN, SC—Hereward M. Wimborne passed away peacefully at home in Aiken, SC on Wednesday, 26 September 2018 with his wife by his side after a bravely borne illness.

Hereward was born in Durban Natal, Republic of South Africa to the late Hereward A. Wimborne and the late Kathleen Meek Wimborne. As a teenager, he traveled to Great Britain to complete an internship with Rolls-Royce. He later pursued a career in mining and worked on some of South Africa’s great gold and coal mines. He also spent time in Namibia and Botswana where he developed diamond mines.

In 1978, he achieved what he considered one of his greatest accomplishments – bringing his family to North America, immigrating to Canada and then settling in the United States. In the Yukon Territory in Canada, he worked the Faro Mine, the largest open pit zinc-lead mine in the world. After moving to the United States, he worked at Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company in Miami, Arizona, before moving to Utah to work at the Kennecott Copper Mine, the world’s largest excavation and open-pit copper mine. He also helped develop the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island, Alaska, before becoming a private mining consultant. His occupation as a consulting electrical and mechanical engineer took him all around the world.

In 1988, Hereward became a U.S. Citizen, fulfilling one of his dreams. He loved this country, all its opportunities and the idea that anything is possible here. He drove thousands of miles crisscrossing the U.S. enjoying its wide open spaces and its grandeur. He also loved World War II history, reading, cricket, soccer, American football, and the outdoors life. Hereward had made Aiken, SC his home for the past twenty-three years, having previously lived in Utah.

In addition to his parents, Hereward was preceded in death by his first wife, Ailsa Margaret Wimborne.

He is survived by his beloved wife & local physician, Dr. Maree-Rose Wimborne; a daughter, Margaret Jane Wimborne (Rob Thornberry), Idaho Falls, ID; three sons, Ross Steven Wimborne (Teri) of New Mexico, Hereward John Clifford Wimborne (Layla), Charleston, SC, and Powell-Wesley Russell Wimborne (fiancée Heather), Aiken, SC; five grandchildren, Claire Margaret Wimborne, Morgan Margaret Thornberry, Thomas Jacob Ryan Thornberry, Alia Amelia Wimborne, and Jenna Caroline Wimborne.

Funeral services will be held privately at the old historic St. Mary’s Help of Christians Catholic Church in Aiken, SC.

The Historic George Funeral Home, 211 Park Ave., SW, Aiken, SC 29801 (803.649.6234), has charge of arrangements.

Expressions of sympathy for the Wimborne family may be left by visiting www.georgefuneralhomes.com