Carleton Eddy Weatherby

Carleton Eddy Weatherby III was born on April 11, 1946, in Waynesville, North Carolina, to Coach Carleton E. Weatherby II and Mary Emma Massie Weatherby. The mountains and rivers of Appalachia were his lifelong home, and he took his last breaths beneath their protection on the morning of May 8, 2026, surrounded by the loves of his life: his wife, Dorothy “Momo” Weatherby, and daughters, Ingrid Hawkins and Vivian Weatherby.  He is also survived by two darling grandchildren, Kendrix and Kyler Hawkins, sons in law KaReem Hawkins and Wesley Joyner, and loving nieces and nephews. 

Eddy was passionate about sports from an early age, playing football and basketball while attending Waynesville Township High School, where he graduated in 1964 before attending North Carolina State University. In Raleigh, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Textile Chemistry and became a devoted lifelong supporter of the Wolfpack. Eddy fervently supported the Wolfpack Club, held season football tickets for decades, and traveled near and far to cheer on NC State with his beloved “pack.”

A tiny red cabin on Lake Glenville was among the first structures to appear along its shores, and it was there that Eddy spent his summers learning to love the lake and the headwaters of the Tuckasegee River. In time, he decided a ski boat was better suited for zipping from Hurricane Creek to the dam, and before long he was teaching waterskiing to campers at Camp Merrie-Woode in Sapphire, where he devoted many cherished summers. That little red Baja carried more than skiers. It carried friendships, laughter, and memories. Sparkling brightly on the water, it even caught the eye of Dorothy “Anne” Stilwell, beginning a love story that would span 44 years of marriage.

Camp Merrie-Woode introduced another great love into his life: whitewater. The power and beauty of the Chattooga River stirred the same sense of wonder in Eddy that inspired then-Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter to champion its designation as a Wild and Scenic River. Eddy was involved in Carter’s inaugural canoe trip down the free-flowing Section III, and for the next 15 years, as paddlesports surged in popularity, he competed alongside dear friends on rivers across the United States, earning numerous medals and two National Championships.

Protecting the watersheds he loved became central to his legacy. From 2007 to 2013, Eddy served on the Jackson County Planning Board, where he helped shape steep slope and subdivision ordinances during a period of rapid development and real estate growth.

After a 35-year career with BASF, formerly American Enka, Eddy retired in 2004 to High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, North Carolina. Golf, first embraced during his management career as a place where friendships and business relationships naturally unfolded, became one of his great joys. At High Hampton, Eddy played in nearly every Thursday and Sunday scramble and Tuesday dogfight, and he served as President of the Colony Club in 2017. He later found lasting friendship and camaraderie at Tryon Country Club.

When Eddy first saw it in 2020, he knew the quiet rural farm, wrapped in sunset views beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tryon, would be his final resting place. He found peace mowing the rolling meadows, walking among the dogs and horses, and watching his grandchildren grow, play, and learn to love the land around them.

The family invites all who knew and loved him to celebrate Eddy’s life and memory at their home in Tryon on Sunday, May 17, from 4:30-6:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Eddy’s memory by supporting a nonprofit cause that matters to you and your community.

Sanders Funeral Home.

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