Charles P. "Chief" Pruitt 79 of 1241 Clarkson Ave. Newberry died Thursday January 22 2004 at his residence. Mr. Pruitt was a native of Williamston he was born on February 26 1924 but a resident of Newberry since the age of one. He was the son of the late Jack S. and Caroline Elizabeth Koon Pruitt. He was an Army Air Corp veteran of WW II. He was a member of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer where he participated in the church choir. Mr. Pruitt graduated from Newberry College in 1950. He taught at York High School from 1950 until 1956. In 1956 he returned to Newberry to establish the wind and percussion division of the Newberry College Music Department. He directed the concert and marching bands. The Newberry College Jazz Ensemble originally called the College "N" Orchestra was organized in 1957 one of the first of its kind in the Southeast. He also established the first South Carolina All-State High School Jazz Festival which convenes annually. While serving as President of the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Jazz Educators he established the All-State High School Jazz Ensemble made up of high school students who audition for a chair in the ensemble. Mr. Pruitt was named one of the Outstanding Jazz Educators in the nations in 1975 by the National Association of Jazz Educators and in 1986 was named the Outstanding Jazz Educator of South Carolina by the South Carolina Jazz Educators Association. In the summer of 1975 he established the first Jazz Workshop in South Carolina supported by the National Endowment for the Arts the South Carolina Arts Commission and Newberry College. Mr. Pruitt established the Summer Marching Band Camp program at Newberry College with four to five hundred band students participating from high schools over the state. He was awarded the Professor of the Year Award in 1972 by the Newberry College Alumni Association. Mr. Pruitt was a full-time member of the faculty of Newberry College for 32 years and served as Chairman of the Music Department from 1984-1988. In 1988 the bandroom was named The Charles P. Pruitt Rehearsal Hall. Mr. Pruitt was an honorary member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America and before retiring was the advisor for the local chapter of Phi Mu Alpha. His personal performing experiences have been primarily in the jazz field playing with the bands of Billy Butterfield Johnny Long and Les Elgert and recording with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra. For 35 years Mr. Pruitt was Bandmaster of the 246th Army Band of the South Carolina National Guard reaching the rank of Chief Warrant Officer before his retirement in1984. In 1988 the newly constructed 246th Army Band Facility at the National Guard Headquarters in Columbia was named in his honor. He was a charter member of the 519th and 520th Army Air Force Bands the National Guard Associations the National Association of College Band Directors and the National Association of Jazz Educators. He is listed in Who's Who in Music in the South and Southeast. He is survived by a niece Jennifer Hass of Raleigh; two nephews Kenneth Pruitt Jr. of Seneca and Lee McHugh of Tallahassee FL; one great niece Erin Pruitt; and three great nephews Glenn Hass Kenneth Pruitt III and Landrum Pruitt. He was predeceased by a sister Sybil Pruitt and a brother-in-law Carl McHugh. Funeral services for Charles P. Pruitt will be conducted at 2:00 P. M. Sunday at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer by the Rev. Steven Counts. The family will go to the Newberry College Music Building to receive friends following the funeral service.Memorial may be made to Newberry College Music Department 2100 College St. Newberry SC 29108..Messages to the family may be sent via email at notes@whitakerfuneralhome.com.Whitaker Funeral Home 1704 College Street Newberry SC is assisting the family.