They left the Midlands a better place

Among those who passed away in 2016 were people who didn’t make headlines but made a difference in their communities. Here are some of them.

‘A teacher of teachers’

Fannie Phelps Adams graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1934 and then walked daily from her Wheeler Hill home to Allen University.

Adams later was assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School from 1956 until the school was closed in 1974. She then became assistant principal at A. C. Flora High School and held that role until she retired.

She worked in Richland 1 for a total of 41 years.

University of South Carolina professor Bobby Donaldson said Adams was a legendary teacher and educator.

“She believed in teaching the whole child,” Donaldson said, adding “she embraced children.”

“She was also a teacher of teachers,” Donaldson said, noting Adams trained generations of men and women who went on in the teaching profession.

Although her life was restricted by the code of segregation - Adams could not take classes at the University of South Carolina or even step on the nearby campus - Adams did not let that define her life or her teaching.

Realizing that whites of that era had the advantage in the competition for employment, “Our stress to children then was you’ve got to be ‘better than’ if you plan to be successful,” she said at a 2009 reception.

“We taught the whole child at Booker. We were interested in the morals; we were interested in the person’s knowing what society expected of you. We felt like we had to give all of that to the child.”

Adams died in June at 98 years old.

Cassie Cope

‘He pursued his passions’

Andrew “Drew” Jennings Farr filled his 25 years with learning and service.

His love of learning – especially in the field of physics – led him to Africa where, as a Peace Corps volunteer, he taught secondary school physics in the village of Chitima, Tete Province. He was a graduate of Dutch Fork High School and the College of Charleston.

Farr died March 25 in a car accident in Mozambique.

Farr embodied the mission and the character of the Peace Corps “in a way that very few do,” Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said at his funeral in Irmo this April.

“He pursued his passions – music, cooking, gardening, the outdoors – as he did everything else: Thoughtfully. Whole-heartedly. Fearlessly,” Hessler-Radelet said in her eulogy.

After his passing, Farr’s friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Sterling Jarrett wrote to his family:

“Your son was such a genuine guy. He was funny, kind, and so much fun to be around. He was definitely one of the good ones.”

Sarah Ellis

A master of the courtroom

Vance Lee Cowden would not have wanted to be featured in the newspaper.

Strong-willed but modest, the retired University of South Carolina law professor was known for his quick wit, trivia mastery and impact on third-year law students.

“He was really special,” said Mary Jane Cowden, his wife of 46 years.

Well-read and capable of recalling obscure facts at will, Cowden and another professor once won the law school’s annual trivia contest three years in a row. Their team was forced to “retire,” but the trophy was named after them.

Cowden also supervised a program in which USC law students gained courtroom experience by representing juveniles.

“He was a taskmaster,” said fellow professor Lewis Burke. “He really made them work hard. They had to know what they were doing before they stepped into a courtroom.”

Cowden battled cancer for 16 years until his death on March 29 and kept teaching at USC for eight of them. Friends marveled at how he remained active and maintained his sense of humor.

“You saw his strength going through all that we went through,” Mary Jane Cowden said.

Avery G. Wilks

An advocate for crime victims

Betty Jean Stoudemire Slusher suffered the kind of heartache that changes a person’s life.

On July 12, 1977, her husband of 25 years, Ralph, was working alone at his gas station in Lexington County when two men, strung out on drugs, pulled up. Ralph Stoudemire was killed during the robbery over $200.

Slusher, who remarried after her husband’s killing, endured two decades of trials and appeals to ensure Stoudemire’s killers were executed.

Former Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts helped get more than 60 people who supported Slusher to Virginia, when the case went before the Fourth Circuit of Appeals. They held a peaceful demonstration outside of the courthouse, while the judges heard arguments on the appeal.

“We rode all night long,” Knotts said. “to seek justice. She wanted to see that justice was carried out for the father of her children.”

The youngest of her four children, Marion Stoudemire, said his mother did everything she could to fight the legal system when it wasn’t protecting victims. She would become a victim’s advocate, and a countless number of people sought her guidance when they felt the legal system wasn’t on their side.

“Who is his voice,” Marion recalled his mother saying about his father’s murder. “I’m his voice. And his voice is going to be heard.”

He learned from his mother to fight for what your heart tells you is right.

“She was a great person,” Marion Stoudemire said. “She was well-known and well liked.”

She died June 14, at age 82.

Cynthia Roldan

A writer’s writer

Sam Morton left behind plenty of stories when he died April 1.

Some of them were on paper, like the four novels he published and the six analogies he co-authored. But even more of them were in the memories of all the family and friends he left behind. Morton succumbed to heart disease and diabetes at age 52, but not before living out quite a story himself.

A Richland County sheriff’s investigator, a corporate communications director and a professional wrestler on top of his writing exploits, Morton left behind his wife of 19 years Myra Morton and two children.

A native of Rock Hill and a 1985 graduate of The Citadel, Morton decided he wanted to write as a young man and made that dream a reality by taking a writing workshop with Tom Poland at Midlands Tech.

When Morton died, Poland wrote: “We will remember Sam forever. Sam was one of those people who enter a room and immediately brighten it.”

Janet Jones Kendall

Making their marks in the arts

Local stages lost three players this year who delighted audiences for years.

Each had different roles not only in theater, but in dance, music and opera as well:

▪ Former Rockette Naomi Calvert was co-owner of a studio well-known for developing dancers and character for nearly four decades.

“Miss Naomi” also choreographed and performed in theaters well beyond what’s considered retirement age.

She was a mentor to former students who dance professionally while others teach. Some are as fond of cheese puffs as a snack as she was.

Her legacy lives on in her family. Daughter Stacey is a former ballerina who teaches at the University of South Carolina and elsewhere, while granddaughter Aylacq is studying to do the same.

Calvert died Oct. 30 at 90, although she long referred to herself as “39 and holding.”

▪ The final role for Margaret Elks was a grumpy pianist in the play “Stepping Out.”

That character was the opposite of Elks, a musician known for patience and gentility even with those who were tone-deaf.

It was a rare appearance onstage for Elks during four decades directing music and singing at plays, churches and concerts.

Music was her avocation – she worked in insurance – until a lengthy illness silenced her.

Elks died March 11 at 82.

▪ Sidney Palmer’s career and interests spanned radio, television, classical music, opera, photography and technology.

He began solo performances as a pianist while a youngster, later entertaining soldiers during World War II followed by stints as a symphony conductor.

Palmer oversaw award-winning televised productions of opera, dance and music. He was artistic director of the former Columbia Lyric Opera Theatre and artist-in-residence at Columbia College.

In 2015, the University of South Carolina Symphony saluted him with a concert of his compositions.

Palmer died Aug. 19 at 87.

Tim Flach

‘He loved this town’

Every year, William E. “Billy” Raines could be found dressed as Santa Claus in the Blythewood Christmas parade.

Raines founded the parade with his wife, Carolyn. Instead of reindeer, Raines rode through the parade on a mule, which was one of the animals he raised at his Brass Ass Mule Farm. He and Carolyn took great pleasure in taking their mules to churches and festivals.

“He loved his mules. He loved his family. And he loved this town,” friend and co-worker Lee Riley said.

Riley and Raines did maintenance work for the town of Blythewood together for nearly 10 years.

Raines died Jan. 31 at age 73.

In 2012, the town’s mayor presented Raines with a framed proclamation stating that August 16 is now known as “Billy Raines’ Day” in Blythewood.

Erin Shaw

‘The grandmother I never had’

When Rosemary Jones found out that Nancy Glenn was retiring, Jones quickly recruited her as another volunteer from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral at the Washington Street United Methodist Church Soup Cellar.

They drove together for more than 10 years from the Irmo area to downtown every Thursday, driving on the “scenic route” to avoid traffic on Malfunction Junction and talking along the way.

Jones also had a quiet demeanor, but when she spoke, people would listen, Glenn said.

For example, when making sandwiches for the Soup Cellar, the volunteers would sometimes get too loud and Jones would remind everyone “that we were there to work and not talk,” Glenn recalled, adding: “We knew she was teasing.”

During the commutes, volunteering and shopping together a friendship grew.

“She was the grandmother I never had, the sister I never had, she took the place of my mother after my mother died … and she was my best friend,” Glenn said.

Jones, the granddaughter of a Confederate brigadier general and his black housekeeper and a longtime teacher, passed away in August at 104 years old. Now, Glenn’s Thursday commutes are quiet.

“I miss her dreadfully,” she said, “especially on the ride in.”

Cassie Cope

A champion archer

A world-renowned archer and bowyer, Owen Edward Jeffery shared his passion with his community through 40 years of business at his own archery retail store.

Jeffery was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in World War II in the South Pacific.

His global influence spread to Europe, where he was a guest instructor for the French Institute of Sports, teaching advanced archery techniques to the instructors of the French National Archery team.

The master bowyer, who held multiple archery tournament championship titles, opened his Jeffery Archery manufacturing and retail business in Columbia in 1976.

Jeffery was nominated to the Archery Hall of Fame shortly before his death March 18 at age 91.

Sarah Ellis

‘A rock behind the bar’

Gene Aimone was “a rock behind the bar and a friend to everyone on the staff” at Rosso Trattoria Italia, according to a social media posting announcing his death. His welcoming attitude made guests feel at home at the Forest Acres restaurant.

In addition to his great skill behind the bar, Aimone was also an accomplished actor — a member of the SC Shakespeare Company and alumni of Trustus and Workshop theatres.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Aimone died after a massive stroke May 11 at age 50.

Susan Ardis

‘Everywhere she went … she knew somebody’

The students of Lower Richland High School half-jokingly called her “Killer Tiller.” But her grandchildren and great-grandchildren knew her as “Betty Doll.”

Betty Long Tiller spent 30 years at the local high school, teaching science and physical education, coaching basketball and sponsoring the cheerleading squad.

As vice principal, she patrolled its halls with a walkie talkie, whistle and plenty of tough love. Just a hair over 5 feet tall, she never hesitated to crack down on troublemakers.

“It did not matter how big and bad looking they were, momma would snatch them up and take them to the principal,” said Celeste Jones, one of her daughters.

Retirement did not slow her down. The Winthrop graduate embraced a second career as a full-time grandmother, ferrying grandchildren to school and practices.

Tiller frequently caught up with old friends at grocery stores, restaurants and church. “Everywhere we went after momma retired, she knew somebody,” Jones said.

And she kept her “open-door policy” on her weekly Sunday lunches. She fed a full house of family and friends even until the week of her death on March 17.

Avery G. Wilks

Keeping the streets safe

Thomas Wayne “Tom” Lyons died Feb. 27, 2016, at age 52 after an extensive battle with cancer.

A Navy veteran who also drove trucks for various companies, Lyons found his passion as a lawman, working for law enforcement agencies in the Lowcountry and the Midlands, including the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the University of South Carolina Police Department and the Columbia Police Department.

“Tom came to the Sheriff’s Department shortly after I was elected,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. “He played a significant role in us establishing the foundation of today’s RCSD. He was a good cop.”

Lyons became a patrolman for Columbia police in July 2012, a position he held until his death.

“Tom was well-respected by the downtown merchants, where he was assigned as a patrol officer,” Capt. James Auld said.

When not out on patrol, Lyons enjoyed hunting, camping and riding motorcycles with his wife and high-school sweetheart, Lyn.

In addition to his wife, Lyons left behind two sisters, two children and five grandchildren.

Teddy Kulmala

‘He was one of the good guys’

John Meade Coleman once stopped a 19-game losing streak that haunted the University of South Carolina’s baseball team, hurling a two-hitter and striking out eight batters in a 3-1 win over Washington and Lee.

“Coleman’s pitching and the Gamecock defense muzzled’’ a Washington and Lee rally late in the game, according to an April 6, 1962 story in The Gamecock, USC’s student newspaper.

The 1962 effort was just part of his legacy at Carolina. He was a stalwart long before the university’s baseball program rose to national prominence. Coleman led the Gamecocks in strikeouts from 1962-64, and in innings pitched in 1962-63, according to Carolina baseball records.

After college, Coleman spent a few years teaching and coaching at Columbia’s Dreher High School, his alma mater, then launched a career in real estate. During his business career, Coleman became a member of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Board of Realtors.

Lucy McLain Coleman, who married her high school sweetheart, said he loved baseball, coaching American Legion teams and teams in Columbia youth sports leagues. But she said he didn’t like to brag.

“When you would ask him about something like playing ball, the main thing he’d tell you is something funny, like he never beat Clemson,’’ she said. “He just didn’t want the glory.’’

“He was one of the good guys.’’

He died March 15 after a lengthy illness at age 73.

Sammy Fretwell

An avid bowler

Shirley Braswell Wessinger was, in short, a ballsy woman. An avid bowler, Wessinger was a three-time vice president of the S.C. Women’s Bowling Association Board of Directors and also secretary of the Greater Columbia Bowling Association. She was inducted into the S.C. Bowling Hall of Fame in 1988.

“I met Shirley through bowling and enjoyed working many bowling tournaments with her,” said Carol Byars via a virtual guest book to commemorate her passing. “I was so sorry to hear of her passing.”

In her “spare” time Wessinger was employed by Fidelity Insurance Company, USC Printing, and S.C. Surplus Property. She passed away February 25, 2016. She was 81.

Dwaun Sellers

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 2:06 PM with the headline "They left the Midlands a better place."