Couple killed in bank robbery were former county residents

By Rose Hooper

James Elbert "Eb" Barnes, 61, and his wife of 38 years, Margaret "Maggie" McAdory Melton Barnes, 58, lived here from 1975-79 when he taught physics at Western Carolina University.

The couple, the only customers present at Blue Ridge Savings Bank during the robbery, were shot to death, along with a teller, Sylvia Holtzclaw, according to Greer Police Chief Dean Crisp.

Although he described the weapon as a "large-caliber handgun," Crisp would not say what type of gun was used or how the victims were shot. Their bodies were discovered in a small room in the bank when police responded to the bank's panic alarm, which went off at 1:30 p.m.

Law enforcement officers have been handing out fliers along Highway 14 as they continue to search for the robber or robbers. The bank, a branch of Asheville's Blue Ridge Savings Bank, which is owned by Congressman Charles Taylor, is located near the Greenville-Spartanburg county line.

Livingston and Linda Kelley, owners of Livingston's Photo in downtown Sylva, remember "Eb and Maggie," as they called them.

"They were a fine couple and were in our Sunday school class at church (First Presbyterian Church of Sylva)," said the Kelleys.

Eb met Maggie at King College in Bristol, Tenn., when he was a senior and she was a freshman, the Kelleys said.

Eb Barnes received a master of teaching arts degree from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in physics from Clemson University. He taught physics at the University of South Carolina in Spartanburg for 28 years. He also served twice as interim dean. Recently he headed the Academic Programs Office at the University Center of Greenville, S.C.

In addition to King College, Maggie Barnes attended Katherine Gibbs School in New York. In her career as a spinner and weaver she sold spun and woven goods at craft fairs throughout the southeast. She gave demonstrations in various schools and worked for 10 years with the National Beta Club of Spartanburg.

The two were members of First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg, where services were held May 21.

They are survived by one son, James Richard Barnes of Spartanburg; two daughters, Katherine May of New Bern and Elizabeth Davis of Wilmington; and six grandchildren.

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