LOUISBURG - Charles Hill Yarborough, Jr, died on May 26, 2017. Charles was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 20, 1933, and raised in Louisburg, North Carolina, his ancestral hometown. He was the only child of Charles Hill Yarborough of Louisburg and Alice McLean Yarborough of Lumberton, North Carolina.

Charles attended W.R. Mills School in Louisburg and graduated in 1952 from Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was elected president of his senior class and from which he graduated in 1955 with a degree in political science. A recipient of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship, he earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1958, which was followed by two years of service in the United States Army. In 1964, he earned a master's degree from Duke University, the focus of which was government and political science.

Throughout his academic career, he excelled athletically in track and field. While a member of the UNC track team, for which he served as co-captain, Charles was a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion, winning for his team the pole vault title in 1954 and 1955, and the long jump competition in 1956.

Professionally, Charles was an attorney for 50 years, practicing for most of his career at the law firm Yarborough and Yarborough in Louisburg.

A passionate genealogist, Charles was an active member of several genealogical societies, including the Jamestowne Society, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of North Carolina, for which he served as Governor from 1982-1985. An avid golfer, he was also a member of the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh.

Known for his love of travel and adventure, Charles visited more than 100 countries around the world. He was also a motorcycle and sports car enthusiast, amateur skydiver, and mountaineer whose alpine ascents included Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Throughout his life, Charles was active in the communities of Louisburg and Franklin County. He served as president of the Louisburg Rotary Club, chairman of the Franklin County Planning Board, and taught history at Louisburg College. He was a lifelong member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Louisburg where he served as Senior Warden and as a member of the Vestry.

Among the loving friends and family who survive him are two children, Charles Hill Yarborough, III, of Louisburg, and Elizabeth Fleming Yarborough of Los Angeles, California; their mother Mary Ann Yarborough of Raleigh; and two granddaughters, Mary Temperance Yarborough Hagist and Catherine Yarborough Hagist, both of Los Angeles.

The family will receive friends on Sunday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at Strickland Funeral Home in Louisburg. Private funeral services will be held Monday, followed by interment at Oakwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to St Paul's Episcopal Church.

Arrangements are by Strickland Funeral Home & Crematory, Louisburg, www.stricklandfuneralhome.net.

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