John

  My brother is named John Kemp Durst IV, but he would rather be known as John Durst, Jr.  I know that might seem confusing, but he was named for my father.  John was born on December 10, 1945 in Atlanta, GA.  He was my parents' first-born.  Between 1945 and 1953, he was their only child.  My parents decided they wanted to have another child.  They tried, but my mother had a miscarriage.  It would have been a girl.  My brother was adamant that their next child could not be a girl.  He said that if it was, that he would run away from home.  Thankfully, their next child was a boy (me), so John stayed home.  He was very proud of me and even took me to his class for show and tell.  He said he won first prize.  I was a cute baby.

 Because there was an age difference between us, we lived separate lives.  About the only time we were together growing up was on vacations or at suppertime.  We liked to say our parents had two only children.  When we were in New Orleans, he had braces.  My mother would put him on a bus to ride across town to his orthodontist.  One day, his doctor wanted to talk with mother, so they rode together on the bus.  She didn't know that the bus went through the French Quarter, and John was seeing the strip joints.  After that ride, John changed orthodontists.

 When we moved to Columbia, John was in junior high, and I was in kindergarten.  He was in the first full class at A. C. Flora High School and graduated in 1963.  He went on to Furman University and majored in Political Science.  He graduated in 1967.  He worked for a while and then decided to go to Law School at the University of South Carolina, but he left school to work in politics.  He wrote speeches for Senator Fritz Hollings and Governor John West.  He moved to Atlanta and worked at a bank there.  He came back to Columbia to work at a public relations firm, and ran some political campaigns. Through his contacts, he was instrumental in getting several countries to train in SC ahead of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.  Governor Hodges offered him the job as the Director for Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the State of South Carolina.  He was reluctant to take the job, as it would have been less money, but I told him that he could play golf for free anywhere in South Carolina.  John is an avid golfer.  He took the job and had to convince tourists to come to South Carolina after 9/11.  He also worked with the Premier of Queensland in Australia to get koalas for Riverbanks Zoo.  He later became the President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association in Columbia, as a lobbyist to the SC Legislature.

 John is now retired.  He lives in Columbia with his wife Martha. I am very proud to have him as my brother.  Despite our age-difference, it is amazing how much we have in common.  DNA keeps us together. And, never call him "Johnny"!