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David Moffatt McConnell
 June
12, 1912 —
December 23, 1999
U.S. Ambassador Dave
McConnell, 87, whose career
in public service brought
him into contact with some
of the century's leading
politicians, died December
23. One of those figures was
Davidson College classmate
Secretary of State Dean
Rusk, and that friendship
led to his appointment as an
Ambassador to the United
Nations for two years in the
late 60s. Dave had been a
member of Charlotte Rotary
since 1949 and an honorary
member since 1996.
Born in Chester, S.C., he
received his Bachelor of
Science Degree from
David-son College where he
was graduated Summa Cum
Laude in 1933. He attended
Harvard Graduate Business
School from 1933-1934 and
Harvard Law School 1934-1935
where he received his Juris
Doctorate Degree. Dave also
received an LL.M and an LL.D
from Georgetown University.
Early in his career, he
served as secretary to
powerful U.S. Senator James
F. Byrnes of South Carolina.
He was counsel for the U.S.
Senate Committee on
Government Reorganization
and for several years before
World War II he was a tax
attorney in the Office of
the Chief Counsel of the
Internal Revenue Service.
He was ordered into active
service in 1940 and
immediately after Pearl
Harbor went overseas with
the Stilwell Group in the
U.S. Military Mission to the
Republic of China. He served
as legal adviser and Provost
Marshal for the First
Chinese Army in India and
Burma. He was awarded the
Legion of Merit by General
Joseph Stilwell and the
Order of the Cloud Banner by
General Chiang-Kai-Shek.
Later during the war Dave
served as a member of the
War Department General Staff
in the office of U.S. Army
Chief of Staff General
George C. Marshall. He
received the Legion of Merit
Award with oak leaf cluster
for his General Staff
services and ended his
military service as a
colonel- His public service
also included legal work
with the Nuremberg Trials,
the Marshall Plan and the
post-war treaty with the
Philippines.
In 1968, he was appointed by
President Lyndon Johnson as
a representative to the
United National Economic and
Social Council for two
years. In that capacity he
served as one of six U.S.
Ambassadors to the United
Nations. A lifelong
Democrat, he was active at
the local, state and
national levels. He served
for 12 years as chairman of
the State Board of Elections
and at one time ran
unsuccessfully for
Lieutenant Governor.
Dave and his family moved to
Charlotte in 1946 when he
became the first General
Counsel for the Belk
Department Stores, a
position he held until his
retirement in 1975. Dave was
active in the work of the
National Retail Merchants
Association and also served
as a member of the Board of
Directors of the Billy
Graham Evangelistic
Association and the YMCA. He
was a member of Trinity
Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include his wife,
Ona, two sons, a daughter
and five grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to
YMCA of Greater Charlotte,
500 East Morehead Street,
Charlotte, NC 28202.
The Club will make a
contribution to our Student
Scholarship Fund in Dave's
memory. |
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