U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
Charlie Lawson Jr.
Charlie Lawson Jr., age 54, husband of Dr. Etheleen D. Lawson, died Thursday afternoon, June 3, at Hickory Grove in York County.
Son of Mrs. Carrie Lawson of Summerton and the late Charlie Lawson Sr., he was a native of Clarendon County. He was a graduate of Voorhees College with a degree in business administration and earned his master’s in education from S.C. State University. He also attended Winthrop and Converse colleges. He was an assistant principal at Denmark Elementary for two years and taught at B.D. Lee Elementary for 26 years. He was chairman of the deacon board and superintendent at John’s Chapel FBH Church for 28 years. He was a child care director of Bright Beginnings CDC, member of S.C. Beagle Club, The Boys Club and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. Etheleen D. Lawson; mother, Mrs. Carrie Lawson; three daughters, Ms. Stacy Lawson of Hickory Grove, Ms. Brandi Lawson and Ms. Dayna Lawson of the home; one brother, John Lawson (Brenda) of Sumter.
Funeral services were held on June 9, 2004, at John’s Chapel FBH Church in Hickory Grove with Elder H.R. Colcough, Elder G.L. Danner, Elder J.O. Hargrove, Elder Johnny Davis, Elder Keith Smith and Mother D.L. Heard officiating.
Interment followed in John’s Chapel F.B.H. Church Cemetery.
Foster Funeral Home of Gaffney was in charge of arrangements.
Courtesy announcement by King Funeral Home of Summerton.
Titus O. Martin
Titus O. Martin, 55, died Friday evening, June 4, 2004, at Faith Healthcare, Florence.
A son of the late Jeremiah “Bubba” Martin and Alma McBride Martin, he was born May 25, 1949, in Clarendon County. In his youth, he attended Briggs Chapel Baptist Church with his family. He attended the public schools of Clarendon County.
Survivors include a niece whom he reared as a daughter, Melarka Parson of Summerton; one sister, Rosa Garris of Summerton; four additional nieces; two nephews; four aunts; one brother-in-law; and a host of other relatives.
Services for Mr. Martin were held on Tuesday, June 8, 2004, at Briggs Chapel Baptist Church in the Goat Island community of Summerton.
Burial followed in the church cemetery.
The Rev. Bobby McDonald officiated.
Summerton Funeral Service of Summerton was in charge of arrangements.
Lillie Mae Bowman
NEW YORK – Mrs. Lillie Mae Bowman, 70, wife of Mr. Israel Bowman, died June 13, 2004, in 
New York.
Born July 28, 1933, in Pinewood, she was a daughter of Willie Preston and Ida Mae Canty. Mrs. Canty’s education was obtained in the public schools of Clarendon County. She later attended Morris College to further her education. She was a member of First AME Zion Church, where she was a member of the Omega and W.O. Carrington Club.
Survivors include two sons, Israel Bowman Jr. and Wayne Bowman (Yasmine), both of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.; six daughters, Blanche Bowman, Ida Anderson (Thomas), Jacqueline Mayo (Michael) of Lisle, Ill., Carol Patten (Gregory), Kathy Williams (Jonathan) and Sherise Wentt (Colby); three brothers, Willie Preston Canty Jr., Calvin Canty and James Thomas (Linda); brother-in-law, Lionel (Amelia) Bowman of Silver; four sisters, Hattie Lucille Hurd, Mary Ella Duncan (David), Gladys Hulse and Elenor Gerald; and 18 grandchildren.
Funeral services were held on Sunday, June 20, 2004, at First AME Zion Church with the Rev. Dr. James E. McCoy. Burial was in Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, N.Y.
Courtesy announcement by Fleming & DeLaine Funeral Home of Manning.
Melvina C. Fields
Mrs. Melvina Caldwell Fields, 80, widow of Moses Fields Sr., died Tuesday, June 15, 2004, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center of Sumter.
Born Jan. 30, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Frank Caldwell and Emma Richardson Caldwell. She attended public schools in Clarendon County. She was employed as a seamstress and later retired from home nursing.
Survivors include two sons, Moses Fields Jr. and Franklin Fields, both of Manning; one daughter, Deloris Cook of Manning; two sisters, Sarah Johns of Manning and Ida Watson of St. Stephens; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Doc Caldwell, James Buster Caldwell and Fred Caldwell.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, June 19, 2004, at Taw Caw Missionary Baptist Church, Summerton, with the pastor, the Rev. Dr. William T. Johnson. Burial was in Taw Caw Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery.
Dyson’s Home for Funerals was in charge of arrangements.
Willie James Harris
Mr. Willie James Harris, well known as “W.J.” to his family and friends, died June 16, 2004, at the Medical University of South Carolina.
W.J. was born on August 1, 1938, to Mr. and Mrs. Willie J. Harris in Sumter, South Carolina.
W.J. graduated from Lincoln High School in 1957 and had courses in supervisory training. After taking those courses, he entered the postal service in June 1966 as a substitute clerk in the Sumter Post Office, receiving promotions to career clerk and regular clerk in due course of time.
When area mail processing came into effect, he was transferred to Manning in February 1972 where he has worked as a regular clerk, window distributor and handled the daily financial reports.
He went to the Manning Post Office in 1972 from Sumter Postal Service and he was named postmaster at Mayesville on August 1.
From March to August of 1977, he was the officer in charge at the Oswego Post Office.
In 1974-75, he was selected for “Who’s Who” in South Carolina.
His professions included being a barber and owner of Star Barber and Beauty Shop, Harris Quick Release Bail Bonding Company, Lafayette Quick Shop, and Harris Enterprise.
He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce.
He leaves to mourn his passing his wife of the home, Mrs. Gloria M. Harris; his sons, James V., Carlton W. and Vernell W. Harris, all of Sumter and Treymaine S. Miller of Manning; two daughters, Mrs. Jackie (Archie) Plowden and Mrs. Shanora Harris, both of Sumter; one brother, Mr. Roland Harris of Sumter; one sister, Ms. Cynthia Major of Sumter; one uncle, Mr. Warren Ramsey Jr. of Sumter; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; his mother-in-law, Mrs. Martha B. Miller of Manning; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Mary (the Rev. Barney) Dozier of Manning and Ms. Mildred Miller Smith of Charleston; and a host of nieces, nephews and friends. He will also be sadly and deeply missed by Mr. Albert Funchess, Mr. David Hasty Jr. and Ms. Jacqueline Hawk, all of Sumter.
Funeral services for Mr. Harris were held on Monday, June 21, 2004, at Union Station AME Church, where the Rev. Friendly J. Gadson is the pastor, with the eulogy delivered by the Rev. M.G. Walters, assisted by the Rev. Telley L. Gadson, the Rev. Daniel McGhaney Jr., the Rev. James Stukes and the Rev. Hezekiah Ellis. Burial followed in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.
Sumter Funeral Service Inc. was in charge of the arrangements.
Louis J. Jodoin Jr.
Louis J. “Chip” Jodoin Jr., 47, died Friday, June 11, 2004, at Clarendon Memorial Hospital in Manning.
Born October 13, 1956, in Manchester, Conn., he ws a son of Louis J. Jodoin Sr. and Joan Griswold Collins. He was a carpenter and attended Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter. He was formerly the youngest president of the Youth Group of the National Rifle Association, an accomplished guitarist, former leader of the band “American Free,” and was known for his unbelievably quick wit.
Surviving besides his father of Ft. Myers, Fla., and mother of Manning are his wife, Carrie Jones Jodoin of Sumter; a son, Joseph Ryan Jodoin of Sumter; a brother, Mark G. Jodoin of Burbank, Calif.; an uncle and many cousins in Connecticut.
Funeral services were held on Wednesday, June 23, 2004, in the chapel of Stephens Funeral Home in Manning, with the Rev. Thomas Mellette officiating.
Stephens Funeral Home and Crematory of Manning was in charge of the arrangements.
Evelyn Ray Jones
Evelyn Ray Jones, 72, died Friday, June 18, 2004, in Lake Marion Nursing Facility in Summerton.
Born March 20, 1932, in Pulaski, Tenn., she was a daughter of the late William Oscar and Cora Lee Tungett Ray. She was a retired registered nurse, a member of Fellowship Freewill Baptist Church, and a graduate of Midstate Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn.
Surviving are two daughters, Deborah Hupp of Milton, Pa., and Angela VanVeckhoven of Washington, D.C.; three brothers, Everette Ray, Henry Ray and Cecil Ray, all of Shelbyville, Tenn.; and one grandchild.
A graveside service was held on Tuesday, June 22, 2004, in the Clarendon Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Bennie Turner officiating.
Stephens Funeral Home and Crematory of Manning was in charge of the arrangements.
Thomas Wells Jr.
Thomas Wells Jr., 75, husband of the late Mary Louise Holt-Wells, died June 14, 2004, at Seaford Hospital in Seaford, Delaware.
Born June 22, 1924, in Sumter, Wells was the son of the late Thomas Wells and Melissa Fortune Wells.
He attended Westminster School in Clarendon County. In his youth, he attended Mt. Mirah Church in Alcolu. He later moved to New York, where he met and married the late Mary Louise Hole-Wells of North Carolina. To this union, nine children were born.
Surviving are nine children, Jeannette Wells, Daniel Wells, Betty Wells, Elaine Wells and Barbara Wells, all of New York, Catherine Brown of Georgia, Randolph (Thelma) Wells of New Jersey, Marvin Wells of California, Alice (David) DeCosta of New Mexico; an additional daughter, Ivory (John Sr.) McCoy of Alcolu; two brothers, Henry (Maggie) Wells Sr. of Alcolu and Sam Wells of South Carolina; ten grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
The deceased was preceded in death by four sisters, Eva Williams, Lillie Tomlin, Chestene Billie, and Mammie Nelson.
Funeral services were held on Monday, June 21, 2004, at the John Wesley Williams Sr. Memorial Chapel, Williams Funeral Home Inc., in Sumter, with the Rev. William Jones Jr. officiating.
Burial was in Wells Cemetery in Alcolu.
Williams Funeral Home Inc. of Sumter was in charge of arrangements.
Carolyn Baggette White
Carolyn Baggette White, 82, widow of Jasper Theodore White, formerly of Manning, died Sunday, June 20, 2004, in Mongomery General Hospital in Olney, Maryland.
Born Nov. 4, 1921, in Manning, she was a daughter of the late Robert Clarence and Hannah Elizabeth Ridgeway Baggette. She was a retired school teacher, a graduate of Manning High School and Atlantic Christian College (now Barton) in Wilson, N.C., and was of the Baptist faith.
Surviving are a sister, Lois B. Turner of Silver Spring, Md.; a nephew, Joseph B. Turner of Nashville, Tenn.; a great niece; two great nephews and two great-great nephews.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m., today in Manning Cemetery with Rev. Carey McElveen officiating.
The family will receive friends from 9:30-10:30 a.m., today at Stephens Funeral Home in Manning.
Stephens Funeral Home and Crematory of Manning is in charge of the arrangements.
Elizabeth Allen
Sarah Elizabeth “Lib” Nelson Allen, 83, widow of Herbert Richard Allen, died Friday, July 30, 2004, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center.
Born in Clarendon County, she was a daughter of the late Samuel Edgar Nelson and the late Floride Oliver Plowden. Mrs. Allen was a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church.
Surviving are two sons, Dr. Herbert Richard (Jill) Allen Jr. of Clarkesville, Va., and Robert Steven (Mary) Allen of Greenville; a daughter, Elizabeth “Libby” (Bill) Newton of Tampa, Fla.; and six grandchildren, Aaron Newton, Emily Newton, Richard Allen, Sarah Allen, Daniel Allen and Katharine Allen.
Graveside services were held on Sunday, August 1, 2004, at Sumter Cemetery with the Rev. Dr. Louis D. Jamison officiating.
Memorials may be made to Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 211 Alice Drive, Sumter, S.C. 29150 or to a charity of one’s choice.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home and Crematory was in charge of the arrangements.
