John McIntosh (Missoula ’60)
Posted: June 24, 2026
John passed away on June 11, 2026, at age 87. Over the course of a dazzling legal career that spanned a half century, he worked at the local, state, and federal levels and advised many prominent officials, including South Carolina governor, Henry McMaster.
In 1961, John graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, with a degree in European history. A later donation to the school resulted in a campus building being named for him. The John McIntosh Athletic Center stands today as a monument to John’s generosity.
John rookied at Missoula in 1960, going on to jump for three more seasons. One story he frequently told recounted the time he landed in a tree and attempted to let himself down with a rope. When the rope’s length proved insufficient, he fell hard to the ground, breaking his wrists and his back. As one friend recalled, “it took a long time, but he finally got better.”
In 1965, he earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina. After a year in private practice and three more as a public defender in Columbia, SC, John worked for nine years in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. This was followed by three years in the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office and more than a decade in the US Attorney’s Office. In February 1998, he became Chief Deputy Attorney General for South Carolina, a post he held for 21 years.
As a top prosecutor, John oversaw prosecutions in some of South Carolina’s biggest drug and white collar cases. Tall and silver-haired, he commanded attention in the courtroom. Over his career, he tried more than 300 criminal cases, including six death-penalty cases. He was also a valuable mentor to countless young attorneys.
After retiring in 2016, John spent much of his time at his farm in Blythewood, SC, where he enjoyed riding his John Deere mower, socializing with friends, and spending time with his rescue dogs.
He remained proud of his smokejumper experience, once telling Smokejumper magazine: “I am proud to be a member of the NSA.…Many of the lessons I learned in the jumpers served me well in my courtroom work and legal practice.”
