Franklin Lord Partridge III

Mr. Franklin Lord Partridge III of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, passed away on Sunday, October 18, 2026. He was born on November 9, 1938, in Maplewood, New Jersey, to the late Franklin Lord Partridge II and Emily Lucile Ozias Partridge.

A lifelong musician and lover of the arts, Franklin devoted his life to music and church ministry. He graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood in 1956, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and English from Westminster College in Pennsylvania in 1960, and went on to receive a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1963 and a Master of Theology in Sacred Music in 1964.

Franklin served as a church organist and minister of music in New Jersey before moving to North Carolina in 1975 to serve as Minister of Music and Education at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in High Point. In 1980, he joined the staff of the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he served as a staff accompanist for nearly four decades, until 2019. He also served as organist at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem from 1982 to 2006. Throughout his career, he composed a wide variety of choral, vocal, organ, and piano music.

Music was not simply his profession but a lifelong passion. Franklin loved both playing and listening to classical music, and it remained a central part of his life. Beyond music, he enjoyed a lifelong love of tennis, a sport that brought him pleasure throughout the years.

He is survived by his daughter, Alison Sweeney of Winston-Salem; his son, Greg Partridge, and daughter-in-law, Sarah, of Atlanta, Georgia; his granddaughters, Emma and Lily Sweeney, and their father, Mike Sweeney; and his sister, Emily Trautmann. He is also survived by his nephews Jim Trautmann, his wife, Gail, and their daughters, Claire and Abby; John Trautmann and his wife, Grace; and David Hunter, his wife, Vanessa, and their daughter, Phoebe; and his niece, Kristin Bedford. He was preceded in death by his sister, Sally Berman, and his brother-in-law, Larry Trautmann, husband of his sister Emily.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at Hayworth-Miller Lewisville Chapel, officiated by Jon Gaska. The family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Crisis Control Ministry.

Online condolences may be shared at www.hayworth-miller.com (https://www.hayworth-miller.com/).