William J Armfield IV

ARMFIELD, William Johnston IV, 81, a native North Carolinian and a resident of Richmond, died at home on Monday, July 11, 2016, after a brief illness. Mr. Armfield, known throughout his life as "Billy," was born on November 3, 1934 in Asheboro, North Carolina, the son of William Johnston Armfield III and Elizabeth Allen Armfield. He is survived by his wife, Jane Hall Armfield; and his children and stepchildren, Walker Armfield Wilson and her husband, Christopher Senter Wilson, of Raleigh, N.C., William Claiborne Hancock and his wife, Jessica Case Hancock, of New York City, James Cole Braxton Hancock of New York City; Caroline Carter Hancock Johnston and her husband, Francis Claiborne Johnston III of Richmond, Alston Armfield Daigh and her husband, Kevin Alexander Daigh Jr., of New York City; William Spotswood Armfield and his wife, Sarah Neikirk Armfield, of New York City; Nicholas Cabell Armfield and Olivia Corbin Armfield both of Richmond. He is also survived by his grandchildren; and a sister, Sallie Armfield McMillion of Greensboro, N.C. Mr. Armfield was predeceased by a son, William Johnston Armfield V; and a daughter, Adelaide Allen Armfield. Mr. Armfield graduated from Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, Virginia, in 1952. He was a 1956 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Subsequent to graduation from UNC, he served two years in the United States Army. He received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1962. Mr. Armfield began his career in the textile industry at Madison Throwing Company, Madison, North Carolina. In 1970, he co-founded Macfield, Inc., a textile company in Madison, North Carolina, and served as president and director from 1970 until 1991, when Macfield merged with Unifi, Inc. He served as an executive officer and director of Unifi from 1991 to 1995, and as a director again since 2001. He served on the boards of numerous textile industry associations and other professional groups. He founded Spotswood Capital LLC, a private investment company, in 1995 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and served as its president until his death. He and his wife had been generous benefactors of numerous educational and charitable institutions, including especially Woodberry Forest School, St. Catherine's School in Richmond, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Armfield served on the board of trustees of Woodberry Forest School from 1978 to 2001. Mr. Armfield served in multiple leadership capacities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including service on the board of trustees, which he chaired from 1995 to 1996, the Kenan-Flagler Business School, and the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation, among others. He was national co-chair of the Bicentennial Campaign for the University of North Carolina (1990 to 1995), the university's largest fund raising effort up to that time. He was a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Richmond. Mr. Armfield was a member of the Commonwealth Club, the Country Club of Virginia, and the Richmond German in Richmond, the Everglades Club and the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Greensboro Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Armfield was also a member of the Seminole Golf Club, Jupiter, Florida, a founder of the Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina and a member of the Oakland Club in Pineville, South Carolina.