Obituaries

Rigba Conner Wolfe, 81, of Columbia, died Aug. 18, 2017. Born June 5, 1936, he served in the U.S. Air Force for four years. He was ordained to the ministry in 1967 and served as a pastor of Beaver... Continue Reading »

David Franklin White Jr., of Anderson, died July 12, 2017. He grew up in Richmond, Va., and earned degrees from the University of Richmond, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Johns Hopkins University. From 1957-1966, he served as a professor... Continue Reading »

Robert Eugene Ott, 40, of Florence, died July 14, 2017. A native of North Charleston, he was a graduate Charleston Southern University. During college, he surrendered his life to full-time ministry and was ordained on July 7, 1998, and... Continue Reading »

W. James Rivers, 88, of Morehead City, N.C., died July 13, 2017. A native of Hampton, S.C., he graduated from the University of South Carolina and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He received an honorary doctor of theology degree from... Continue Reading »

Benjamin “Ben” Francis Rogers Jr., 81, of Easley, died Aug. 3, 2017. Born in Travelers Rest, he was a graduate of Mars Hill College and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ordained in 1966, he served churches in North Carolina, Virginia... Continue Reading »

Ray Ridgeway Jr., 73, of Anderson, died July 23, 2017. He was a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. For 35 years, he pastored churches in Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina. He served... Continue Reading »

E. Faye Garrett, of Cayce, and widow of the late Lawrence Garrett, who served as pastor in South Carolina, died July 3, 2017. Born in Piedmont, she attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. In addition to... Continue Reading »

Marion H. Hare, 87, of Greenville, died July 10, 2017. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., he was a graduate of Stetson University in Deland, Fla., and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Furman University awarded him an honorary... Continue Reading »

Vernon L. Fash, 86, of Wilmington, N.C., died June 29, 2017. He grew up in Charleston and joined the U.S. Coast Guard at age 17. He was a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Southwestern Baptist Theological... Continue Reading »

William Lloyd Birch, 87, of Florence, a retired college professor and ordained Baptist minister who served more than 45 South Carolina churches as interim pastor, died May 29, 2017. A Louisville, Ky., native, Birch earned degrees from Georgetown College... Continue Reading »

Robert “Bob” Edward Burks, 86, of Clemson, a retired religion professor at Anderson College (now Anderson University), died May 28, 2017. He graduated from Mercer University and earned a doctoral degree in New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.... Continue Reading »

William J. “Bill” Lockaby Jr., 91, of Pickens, died June 5, 2017. Born in Greenville, he pastored churches in South Carolina and North Carolina for more than 50 years. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II... Continue Reading »