Coble: Rainey left a very tangible mark on Columbia

The passing of John Rainey is a loss to all South Carolinians, especially to those in Columbia, Camden and Pawley’s Island, where he and Anne Rainey made their homes.

Before I was elected mayor of Columbia in 1990, John had played a central role in the raising of funds for the Vietnam War Monument in Memorial Park, a chief project of my predecessor, Patton Adams, another Vietnam veteran.

Next came the donation of 90 palmetto trees on Gervais Street to honor each of the Doolittle Raiders who were convening in Columbia. Then John and Anne noticed that the many historical markers in the city had aged and become illegible. So they funded the repainting of all of them, followed by Anne’s leadership of Columbia Green, which planted magnolia trees along the main highways into the city and flowers in the medians of our major intersections and installed huge pots of shrubbery and flowers around City Hall. Add to that the African-American History Monument of the State House grounds in 2000 and a World War I Doughboy Monument in Memorial Park in 2002.

John and Anne Rainey have to be counted among the finest citizens in the history of their native state. They leave a lasting legacy in every community they knew. Congressman Jim Clyburn, a close friend of both, said it best: “John Rainey was one of the finest people God ever put on this earth.”

Columbia

This story was originally published March 29, 2015 at 8:00 PM.