Elsmer Earl Davis

COLUMBIA Services for Elsmer Earl Davis, 76, was held Thursday at 11 am at St. Luke Lutheran Church, with burial in Olympia Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers were James E. Jaco, Doyle J. Jaco Jr., Algie F. Hare, Joby Castine, and George D. Martin Jr. Active pallbearers were William R. Bland, Jr., B.E. Davis, III, Mark Drafts, Larry Lowman, Danny Lowman, and Robert E. Davis. Visitation was be 6–8 pm, Wednesday at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Memorials may be made to St. Luke Lutheran Church, Palmetto Senior Care, Lexington, or Pacific Masonic Lodge # 325.

Mr. Davis died Monday, November 8, 2004. Born in Columbia, he was the son of the late Ernest Earl and Nan Gordon Davis. An Army veteran, he was a 1951 graduate of Newberry College, a 50 year lifetime member of the Masons, and a lifetime member of St. Luke Lutheran Church.

Surviving are his son, Garry E. Davis and his wife, Gretel of West Columbia; daughter, Elizabeth D. Lowman and her husband, David of Columbia; and grandson, Jeremy C. Davis of West Columbia.

Helen Harpe

WEST COLUMBIA Services for Helen Jaco Harpe, 81, were held Thursday at 3 pm at First Baptist Church of West Columbia, with burial in Southland Memorial Gardens. Visitation was Wednesday 6–8 pm at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Memorials may be made to “For Such a Time as This” c/o First Baptist Church of West Columbia.

Mrs. Harpe, wife of the late Monroe Howell Harpe, died Tuesday, November 09, 2004. Born in Columbia, she was a daughter of the late Iveral Lee and Annie Neeley Jaco. She was the retired director of the kindergarten at First Baptist Church of West Columbia, a longtime employee of Dunbar Funeral Home, a member of the Eastern Star, and the West Columbia Planning Commission.

She was a member of First Baptist Church of West Columbia, a former Sunday school teacher, and member of the Joy Sunday School Class and the Women’s Missionary Union.

She was a much–loved wife, mother, grandmother, and great–grandmother.

Surviving are her daughters, Martha Harpe Roland and her husband, Kent of West Columbia; and Julia Harpe Bedell and her husband, Robert of West Columbia; son, Jim Harpe and his wife, Barbara of Lexington; six grandchildren, Amari Paulovic, Brenna Shepherd, Jason Roland, Farrah Orr, Trevor Bedell, and Josh Harpe; she was affectionately known as “Queenie” to six great–grandchildren, Akiva, MacLean, Frida, Jacob, Harper, and Crosson; sisters, Lila Barber of Hilton, Evelyn Brown and Nancy Burnett of West Columbia; Betty Wise, Mary Pearce, Linda Keisler of Cayce; Frances McCurdy and Bobbie McGee of Lexington; JoAnne McKinney of Columbia; and one brother, Jim Jaco of Cayce. She was predeceased by brothers, Buck Jaco and Morris Jaco.

Willie Mae Hoepner

COLUMBIA Mrs. Willie Mae Hoepner, 86, passed away early Tuesday morning, November 9, 2004.

Family visitation was Thursday, November 11, 2004 from 6–8 pm at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Funeral services were 11 am on Friday, November 12, 2004, at Rose Hill Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Craig Wilkes officiating. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park.

Willie Mae was born to Thomas and Mary Peach on December 22, 1917 in Westville, SC, and attended Winthrop College. She was a librarian at the Charleston Free Library during WWII where she met and married Clarence Frank Hoepner who predeceased her. She was also predeceased by a daughter, Angela Riberdy.

Surviving are her children, Linda Hulme and Deanna Livesey; four grandchildren, David and Samantha Riberdy; Debbie and Christina Livesey; and two great–grandchildren, Beth and Renee Riberdy.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great–grandmother, and will be greatly missed by her family.

George Fricks, Sr.

COLUMBIA Services for George W. Fricks Sr., 88, were held Saturday at 12 noon at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with entombment in Greenlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum. Visitation was 11 am–12 prior to the service at the funeral home. Honorary pallbearers were former Gov. James B. Edwards and Col. George D. Patterson, US Army (Ret.). Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association or a charity of one’s choice.

Mr. Fricks died Tuesday, November 9, 2004. Born in Rossville, Ga., he was the son of the late George Alex and May Roberts McFarland Fricks. He was a graduate of Berry College in Rome, Ga., and received his Masters degree from Peabody College in Nashville, TN. He worked with the Civilian Conservation Corp (C.C.C.), and was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy during WWII. Former Governor Strom Thurmond bestowed upon him the title, “Honorary Colonel.”

Mr. Fricks was the first principal at Columbia Area Trade School, now Midlands Technical College. He retired from the Charleston County School District as principal of Stall High School. He was a lifetime member of Sinclair Masonic Lodge #154, West Columbia, and was a member of Omar Shrine Temple in Charleston. He was a member of Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church.

An avid gardener, he had a keen interest in plants and wildlife. A loving husband, father, grandfather, great–grandfather, and friend, he will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Surviving are his wife of 49 years, Ruby McLeod Fricks; son, George W. Fricks Jr. and his wife, Gail of Chapin; grandchildren, Tammy Wilson Barnes and her husband Andy of Lexington, and Jessica Wilson of Philadelphia, PA.; and great–grandchildren, Kaylee and Riley Barnes. He was predeceased by a sister, Mary Kathryn Bradley, and half–sister, Jewel Rudicil.

Madeline Stokes

WEST COLUMBIA Services for Madeline Tuten Stokes, 87, were held Saturday at 11 am at Dunbar Funeral Home, Gervais Street Chapel, with burial in Southland Memorial Gardens. Visitation was 6–8 pm Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Mrs. Stokes, wife of the late David E. Stokes, died Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Born in Blackshear, Ga., she was a daughter of the late James Lewis and Bertha Davis Tuten. She was a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.

Surviving are her son, Ronald L. Stokes and his wife, Lari H. Stokes of Eastover; sister, Susie V. Hammond of Keystone Heights, Fla.; brother, Rudolph Tuten of Melbourne, Fla.; and grandson, Ronald L. Stokes, II of West Columbia.

Kathleen Poole

COLUMBIA The Mass of Christian Burial for Kathleen Walsh Poole, 71, was celebrated Saturday at 10 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church, with Final Commendation and Farewell Prayers in St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery. Msgr. Thomas F.X. Hofmann officiated. The Wake and Rosary was recited Friday at 6 pm at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, visitation followed until 8 pm.

Mrs. Poole, wife of Deacon Charles P. Poole Jr., died Wednesday, November 10, 2004 after an heroic battle with cancer. Born on November 12, 1932 in Manhattan, New York, she was the daughter of the late Edward Joseph Walsh Sr. and Mary Ellen Mulvihill Walsh, both of whom had been born in Ireland. After her marriage in 1953, she lived in College Park, Md. for five years and then in Verona, Pa. for six years, before settling in Columbia in 1964, where she lived the remainder of her life and raised five children: Kathleen, Charles III, Michael, Mary Ellen Jackson, and Elizabeth Loeffler. She served as the administrative assistant of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at the University of South Carolina from 1964 to 1976, and for several years during the 1990’s, and she organized the first pro–life student group, USC Students for Life, which remains active today. During her late teens and early twenties she was active in the Legion of Mary and in the Campaigners for Christ, which devoted its time to proclaiming the Gospel and advancing social causes through street preaching at Union Square and elsewhere in lower Manhattan.

Mrs. Poole devoted the last 30 years of her life to pro–life work, and was the longest serving member of the South Carolina Citizens of Life Board of Directors. She was chairman of the board at the time of her death. Mrs. Poole organized the first March for Life in South Carolina on January 22, 1974. Seven people marched from USC to the State House to bring to elected officials the message of the intrinsic value of human life, and to call for an end to abortion. The March for Life has been an annual event ever since, chaired by Mrs. Poole until recently, and now it attracts thousands of pro–life marchers each year. Mrs. Poole also established the pro–life booth at the State Fair in 1974, reaching many thousands of people each year with right–to–life educational material. Most recently the South Carolina Citizens for Life Board of Directors honored Mrs. Poole as Defender of Life in a resolution expressing deep and abiding appreciation for her exemplary life, and her witness to the pro–life movement.

She received music education at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, and sang professionally prior to her marriage in 1953. During the late 1960’s she sang in the Choir at St. Peter’s Church in Columbia.

Mrs. Poole has been a member of St. Joseph Catholic parish since 1964. She and her husband were affiliated with the First Order of Friars Minor of Holy Name Province on February 17, 1976, for the volunteer service work that she performed for the Franciscans at the USC Newman Center. She also spent several years helping the Dominicans at St. Martin de Porres school. Over the years she has encouraged and nurtured many vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Her family and friends knew her for her rich Irish heritage. She sang ballads in the Irish Language, and was well known for her gala celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Poole is survived by her brother, Kevin Walsh, her five children, and her fifteen grandchildren. She was pre–deceased by her brother, Edward Joseph Jr., and her sisters, Mary Reilly and Anne. Memorials may be made to the South Carolina Citizens for Life, 1411 Barnwell Street, Suite 3, Columbia, S.C. 29201.

Ben Ehrhardt

COLUMBIA Services for Benedict Groseclose Ehrhardt, 82, were held at 11 am Monday at Redeemer Lutheran Church with burial at the Ehrhardt Cemetery, in Ehrhardt, SC at 2 pm. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, was in charge. Memorials may be made to Newberry College, 2100 College Street, Newberry, S.C. 29108.

Mr. Ehrhardt, husband of the late Margaret Wright Ehrhardt, died Thursday, November 11, 2004. Born in the small South Carolina town of Ehrhardt, founded by his great–grandfather Conrad Ehrhardt, he was the son of the late Ruth Ehrhardt Copeland.

An early career choice took Mr. Ehrhardt to Orangeburg and a position at Orangeburg High School. Though he was there only two years, his stay in Orangeburg affected his professional career and his personal life. It was in Orangeburg that he met Margaret, who became his wife of 52 years. She was working as a librarian with the Orangeburg Public Schools at the time. Ehrhardt’s subsequent marriage to Margaret convinced him that a teacher’s salary was simply too low to allow them to live comfortably, so he resigned his teaching job and accepted a position with Southern Bell Telephone Company, but not before teaching an English composition and an advanced typing course during a summer school session at Lenoir Rhyne College in North Carolina.

Leaving Southern Bell in 1965, Mr. Ehrhardt’s aspirations to return to teaching coincided with personnel needs of the USC’s College of General Studies, the direct predecessor of the College of Applied Professional Sciences. He taught, but he also was an administrator on a 12–month contract until heart problems forced him to relinquish his administrative responsibilities and concentrate solely on being a teaching faculty member on a 10 1/2 month contract.

From 1969–1977, Mr. Ehrhardt was a board member for the S.C. Business Education Association; from 1970–1972 he was first vice president and then president of that organization. In 1982–1983 he was treasurer and a board member of the Administrative Management Society. He also took 18 hours of course work beyond his master’s degree with most of these hours in marketing or education at USC-Columbia. In May 1972 he published an article entitled “Evaluating Business Education in South Carolina” that was published in the S.C. Business Education Association Newsletter.

Mr. Ehrhardt devoted considerable time to his and Mrs. Ehrhardt’s cattery, which is registered with Cat Fanciers’ Association. He judged cats worldwide, but his favorite cats were Persians and he showed many cats nationally. Cats were his passion.

Ben is survived by his sister, Ruth Jane Holly of Charleston; his son and daughter–in–law, Glen and Deborah Ehrhardt and his grandchildren, Nicholas & Emily Ehrhardt all of Longbranch, Wash.