Hal Kohn, born on November 9, 1920 in Newberry, South Carolina, died peacefully at Laurel Crest Retirement Center in West Columbia on December 25, 2016. After graduating from Newberry High School, Mr. Kohn received a BS degree in Geography from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1942. Upon graduation, he was hired by the United States Geological Survey to work in Washington, D.C. He then served four years in the Army Air Force. Following basic training in Boca Raton, Florida, Mr. Kohn received specialized military training at Yale University in order to study Trimetrogon Photography. Following his service, Mr. Kohn returned with his family to Newberry where he owned and operated the "Verna & Hal Kohn Gifts and Flowers" shop with his mother for seven years. In 1953, Mr. Kohn moved to Columbia and changed careers in order to join Carolina Life Insurance Company. With a specialty in Medical Underwriting and Home Office Administration, he also worked for Southland Life Insurance, Palmetto State Life, and concluded his career working for the South Carolina State Department of Insurance. Hal Kohn loved music and sang in college, community, and church choirs for 67 years (53 of these were as a devoted member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Columbia). In addition, he was an avid patron of classical music and jazz. For 70 years, Mr. Kohn enjoyed playing tennis, which he endeavored to do 5 times a week until he was 80, and then he continued to play 3 times a week until he was 85! In addition to serving as President of the Newberry Rotary Club (40 members) and as President of the Columbia Rotary Club (300 members), Mr. Kohn served as a member of the Newberry College Board and served for 18 years on the board of Lutheridge, the Lutheran Conference Center and Camp for the Southeastern USA. A renowned winemaker for some fifty years, Mr. Kohn was instrumental in founding the S.C. Bacchus Wine Society, the Columbia chapter of The American Wine Society, the Columbia Grand Cru Society, as well as The Midlands Wine Society. He planned wine conventions and events nationally and locally and won multiple national and local awards for his winemaking. Other lifelong passionate interests were cooking, the art of bonsai, landscaping and plant propagation, floral arranging, and especially foreign travel. Hal Kohn was married to the late Charlotte Schroeder Kohn for 67 years. He is survived by: daughter Carol Kohn Montgomery (Bob) of Newberry; (son Alan Spence Kohn-killed in action in Vietnam in 1968); daughter Melanie Kohn Day (Roland Karnatz) of Richmond, VA; Michael Summer Kohn (Jane) of Columbia; grandchildren Sean Montgomery (Kathy), Heather Montgomery Kaikini (Shyam), Joel Lovro Kohn (Jennifer), Marta [Kohn] Harding (Josh), Jocelyn Kohn (Oliver Harris), Morgen Kohn; and great-grandchildren Jake Montgomery, Jackson Montgomery, Bose Kaikini, Reid Kaikini, Asha Kaikini and Parker Kohn; and sisters, Verna Kohn Cavanaugh of Newberry and Mary Kohn Hicks of Charlton, MA. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, December 29, 2016 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1715 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201 with burial following in Prosperity Cemetery, SC at 3:00 PM Memorials are suggested to the Newberry Animal Shelter, 240 Public Works Dr., Newberry, SC 29108; the Newberry Hal Kohn Memorial Library, 1100 Friend St., Newberry, SC 29108; or to the Rotary International Scholars Program, Columbia Rotary Club, 1715 Betsy Drive, Columbia, SC 29210. Memories and condolences may be sent to the family at www.whitakerfuneralhome.com. Whitaker Funeral Home of Newberry is assisting the family.