Retired chaplain served God, country

May 28, 2007

By LARRY SINGER
Index-Journal staff writer

McCORMICK — When McCormick County recently chose to honor the armed forces at an appreciation and memorial day, retired Air Force Chaplain Lt. Col. Charles Lewis was asked to give the invocation.
Lewis, 63, was a logical choice because not only has he ministered to the spiritual needs of soldiers and airmen for more than a quarter of a century, but it was a rather short drive from his Savannah Lakes home to the ceremony in downtown McCormick.
Originally from Georgia, Lewis first enlisted in the Air Force in 1963 and left with the rank of E-4 four years later.
“My career was split up,” Lewis said. “I entered the Air Force out of high school. After I left, I never thought I’d wind up in the military again.”
After his departure from the Air Force, he attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in math and statistics.
After graduation, Lewis worked as an industrial engineer for the Savannah River Site, a nuclear materials processing center built during the 1950s to refine nuclear materials for deployment in nuclear weapons.
After working in the field of nuclear weapons, Lewis’ career took a spiritual turn.
“I wound up going to the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary,” he said. “I spent five years there, picking up a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Education degree.”
While Lewis’ job transfer from engineering to preaching the word of the Lord might seem puzzling, to Lewis it was a logical career move.
“In my very early years, my mother made sure I was involved in church,” Lewis said. “And as a result of her influence, my dad became involved in church programs, entered the ministry and served for a number of years. I also served in practically every capacity that the church has to offer, from being a deacon to a Sunday school teacher.”
As time went on, Lewis said he and his wife became convinced that an indefinable spiritual goal was still waiting to be achieved.
“As my wife and I continued to talk about the future, we decided to enter the full-time Christian ministry,” he said.
He became affiliated with the Chaplain Candidate Program and the Air Force Reserve Program. The Air Force balked at his efforts to re-enter the service and forced Lewis to become a chaplain by taking a minor detour.
“Initially, the Air Force said I was too old,” Lewis said. “I was about 36, so the Army picked me up as an Army chaplain candidate, and I spent about two and a half years as an Army reservist in their chaplain candidate program.
“I then transferred into the Air Force Reserve chaplain program, and I was then picked up for active duty in 1984.”
As Lewis’ move from engineering to the ministry was seamless, so was his re-entry into the military as a minister.
“In one of the courses at the seminary, an Air Force reserve chaplain showed up and gave a presentation,” he said. “I was working my way through the seminary as a charter pilot and flight instructor, and he asked me if I had considered the chaplain program.
“If you look at my background, I had a technical background and I had an aviation background with 5,000 hours of flying time. By the time this all came together in 1984, when I entered the active duty Air Force, it was like God took all of the experiences that I had and brought them to bear ministering to people in the United States Air Force.”
During his career as a minister in the military, Lewis had little difficulty recalling his most challenging and his most gratifying experiences.
“The most challenging was when I wound up in one bad situation where the leadership that I worked for was doing some things that were unethical, and I wound up being the primary witness against them,” Lewis said. “That almost cost me my Air Force career, because I had to choose whether to do what was right and take the potential consequences, or should I just go along with what was happening and be part of the problem.”Lewis took the moral high ground and decided not to be a part of the problem.
“And, as it turned out, God protected me,” Lewis said.
The most gratifying experiences he had in the military, Lewis recalled, were gathered when working with people who were undergoing intense personal difficulties.
“There were a number of scenarios where parents had lost young children, and I was involved in that grieving process with them,” he said. “I have no idea how many casualty notification teams or military funerals I participated in. To be there as a source of strength and an ambassador for God was a very fulfilling and rewarding thing to be involved with.”

Obituaries

Lyla Mae Adams

SALUDA — Lyla Mae Adams, 83, of 2144 John Quincy Drive, widow of John Quincy Adams, died on May 25, 2007, in the University Hospital, Augusta, Ga.
The family is at the home.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later.
Butler & Sons Funeral Home is in charge.

Floride Carpenter

Floride Hawkins Carpenter, 93, resident of 1110 Marshall Road, widow of Ernest W. Carpenter, died May 26, 2007, at Hospice House.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Jermaine ‘Kemp’ Carroll

McCORMICK — Jermaine Carroll, of 18 Lillie Loop Road, McCormick, SC, died Saturday, May 26, 2007.
The family is at the home.
Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Parks Funeral Home.

William Dillashaw

McCORMICK — William Oscar Dillashaw, Sr., 80, resident of McCormick and St. Petersburg, FL, husband of June Avery Dillashaw, died May 26, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
Born in St. Petersburg, September 16, 1926, he was a son of the late Richard Grady and Kate Dillashaw Dillashaw. He was a 1944 graduate of St. Petersburg High School and attended St. Petersburg College. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran of WWII. Mr. Dillashaw retired from the City of St. Petersburg Fire Department as District Chief.
Being a 32nd Degree Mason, he was a member of the Nitram Lodge No.188 in St. Petersburg and the Scottish Rite.
Surviving in addition to his wife of the home are a daughter, Karen and husband, David Farnell and a son, William Oscar, Jr. and wife, Donna Dillashaw, all of St. Petersburg; three granddaughters, Jennifer and husband, Michael Grundon, Jodi and husband Stephan Reilly and Jacque Barnes, all of St. Petersburg; two great-grandchildren, Beth Barnes and Abbigale Grundon.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel in Greenwood with Rev. Wade Everette officiating.
Burial will be in the Wideman Cemetery near McCormick.
The body is at the funeral home where the family will receive friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday evening.
Masonic Rites will be conducted immediately following the visitation.
For additional information and online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Dillashaw family.

Bobby Dean Farmer

Graveside services for Bobby Farmer will be held 2 p.m. Monday at Greenwood Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends following the service at the cemetery.
Bobby Dean Farmer, 42, of 207 Alabama Ave., died Saturday, May 26, 2007, at his home. Born in Augusta, Ga., he was a son of Jeanette Smith Farmer and the late Bruce William Farmer. He was formerly a store clerk with the Food Barn and was of the Holiness faith.
Harley Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the Farmer family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Fred Panasiuk

Fred Panasiuk, 80, resident of 105 Epworth Court at Wesley Park, husband of Joan B. Panasiuk died Sunday May 27, 2007, at the Hospice House of Greenwood.
Born June 3, 1926 in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, he was a son of the late Fred Panasiuk, Sr. and Kathryn Sadowa Panasiuk. An Electrical Engineering graduate of Lehigh University, he received his MBA degree from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania. He worked for the General Electric Company for a number of years and concluded his working career as President of a charitable foundation in California. A US Navy Veteran having served during World War II, he fought in the Pacific Theatre. Mr. Panasiuk was a member of Main Street United Methodist Church.
Surviving is his wife of the home.
Graveside funeral services will be conducted Monday at 11 a.m. at Oakbrook Memorial Park with Reverend Carol Peppers-Wray officiating.
The family is at the home in Wesley Commons and will receive friends immediately following the service at the graveside.
Those desiring may make memorials to Wesley Commons, 1110 Marshall Road, Greenwood, SC 29646, Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 West Alexander Avenue, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to a charity of choice in memory of Mr. Panasiuk.
For additional information and online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Panasiuk family.

Maggie Elizabeth Rhodes

CLINTON — Maggie Elizabeth Rhodes, age 91, of Tallwood Homes, and the widow of R.V. Rhodes died Saturday, May 26, 2007, at the Self Regional Medical Center.
She was born in Bridgeport, TN and was a daughter of the late Joe and Matilda Ellison Finney.
Mrs. Rhodes was a charter member of the Grace Baptist Church in Whitmire where she was a Sunday School teacher and church pianist for many years.
Surviving are her sons, Bill Rhodes and wife Judy of Clinton, Don Rhodes and wife Sonya of Greenwood; one brother, Earl Finney of Whitmire; five grandchildren, Lawrence Sharp, Richard Rhodes, Rhonda Cantrell, Charles Rhodes, Kelly Jordan; and four great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be conducted Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at 11 a.m. in the Gray Funeral Home Chapel of Clinton. Interment of ashes will follow the memorial service at 12 noon in the Whitmire Cemetery.
The family will receive friends one hour before the service from 10 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home.
The family will be at their respective homes.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made the Eastside Baptist Church, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.grayfuneralhome.com.
Gray Funeral Home of Clinton is in charge.

L.C. Smith

ABBEVILLE — L.C. Smith, 80, resident of 900 South Main St., husband of Lula Busby Smith died Saturday, May 26, 2007, at Abbeville Area Medical Center.
Born in Townville, SC, he was a son of the late Lawson Alex and Mattie Vaughn Smith.
He was a United States Army veteran of World War II. He was a retired self-employed brick mason and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors are his beloved wife of 58 years, Lula Busby Smith, of the home; one daughter, Joyce Purdy Clark and her husband Eddie of Abbeville, SC; three sons Jesse Ray Purdy and his wife Diane of Abbeville, SC, Jimmy Smith of Abbeville, SC and Ronny Smith and his wife Pattie of McCormick, SC; one sister, Merl Drake of Fair Play, SC; ten grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday May 28, 2007, at 3 p.m. at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. James Blackwell officiating. The burial will follow in Forest Lawn Memory Gardens with Military Honors.
The body is at The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 1 until 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon prior to services. The family is at the home 900 South Main St. Abbeville, SC.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, c/o Mrs. Conway Shirley, P.O. Box 56, Due West, SC 29639.
Online condolences may be sent to the Smith family by visiting www.chandlerjacksonfh.com.
Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home in Abbeville is in charge of the arrangements.

Opinion

Special time to remember special things and people

May 28, 2007

Today, Memorial Day, 2007, is a special time to remember. It is a special time to remember special things and the special people who have helped to make those things possible.
It is time set aside to pay tribute to the thousands of Americans who have lost their lives in the defense of the freedoms that make this a special nation, a nation that attracts people from all corners of the earth. They are people who aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy the gift of freedom that most of us seem to take for granted.
Because of their unflagging sense of duty and honor, these men and women have given us all the things that we are privileged to have as a birthright. Most of all, they have helped preserve the Constitution of the United States and the rights that each of us inherited.

ON THE OPPOSITE PAGE TODAY, Rep. Bobby Harrell, Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives notes something said by our late President Ronald Reagan that should ring throughout eternity. The “Great Communicator” observed that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
That may be the most important “wisdom of the ages” that Americans will ever hear, especially in an era when the values that make us what we have been and what we are come under assault from every direction ..... even from within.
History tells the story of America in cemeteries all around Greenwood and the Lakelands area, from the past to the present. There are names from Revolutionary War days (Star Fort), as there are from most wars and conflicts on down. Some names have been lost to the weather and the ages, perhaps, but they are forever in the book of time.

MANY WHO FOUGHT IN THE WAR Between the States, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and Vietnam lie at peace in the hills and valleys of home they knew so well as youngsters.
Others are buried all around the world ..... unfamiliar places where they died for what they believed in ..... for themselves and for people they didn’t even know.
Then there are those who gave their all in Panama, Grenada, the Balkans, the Middle East and other faraway places with strange-sounding names.
What they gave us is beyond human value. The least we can do is to share a moment of silence today and lift a prayer for the legions of veterans who did not shrink from the obligations they felt to liberty itself ..... and all the smiling and loving faces they never saw again.