LEROY T. JACKSON Jr.
BARNWELL - Leroy T. Jackson Jr., 68, a retired health physics inspector with Savannah River Site, died Monday at his residence. The funeral will be at 4 p.m. Thursday in Seven Pines Baptist Church in Snelling. Burial, directed by Mole Funeral Home, will be in Barnwell County Memory Gardens.
Mr. Jackson was born in Holly Hill, a son of Leroy T. Jackson and Eliza Brown Jackson. He was a member of Snelling Fire Department and Salkehatchie Coon Hunters Club. He was an active member and deacon of Seven Pines Baptist Church.
Surviving are his wife, Lyvonne W. Jackson; four sons, Stephen L. Jackson of Summerville and Richard A. Jackson, Anthony W. Jackson and Michael E. Jackson, all of Barnwell; a daughter, Suzie J. Elmore of Barnwell; four brothers, Robbie Jackson and Lonnie Jackson, both of Orangeburg, Leon Jackson of Olar and Gary Jackson of Holly Hill; three sisters, Virginia J. Creed, Betty J. Oglesby and Elizabeth J. Wiggins, all of Holly Hill; and 11 grandchildren.
[dated Wednesday, July 8, 1998]
MAJA MUNCH
GEORGETOWN - A memorial service for Maja Munch will be at 2 p.m. Sunday in Herbert Memorial United Methodist Church, according to Graham Funeral Home.
Mrs. Munch, 84, died July 1 in a local hospital.
[dated Wednesday, July 8, 1998]
Harold Koon
Harold Koon, one of Charleston's most dynamic and committed neighborhood leaders, died Monday following a heart attack last week.
Koon, 50, volunteered a seemingly endless amount of time to serve on civic boards, to mow the grass in neighborhood parks and to organize an annual Christmas tour that brought in money for new trees, bushes and benches.
What tied his work together was a love of Charleston in general and the Mazyck-Wraggborough neighborhood in particular, neighbors and others who knew him say.
"He was very friendly and helpful. He was just a good people person, and he was greatly concerned about the neighborhood and making it a very nice place at all times, " said Hermine Stanyard, a neighbor who has known Koon since he moved to the neighborhood about 12 years ago.
"Harold Koon's death is a huge loss for our community. He was the quintessential neighborhood advocate and leader, " Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said.
Koon served as president of the Mazyck-Wraggborough neighborhood, which is bounded by East Bay, Calhoun, Meeting and Mary streets. Originally laid out around 1800 as a spacious suburb north of downtown, the neighborhood of elegant mansions and ordinary working people's homes has seen prosperity come and go.
In recent years, the prosperity returned. With upper King Street resurging and some Mazyck-Wraggborough homes for sale for more than $1 million, its issues often mirror the problems of neighborhoods to the south.
Koon organized its annual Christmas tour, a 10-year-old event that has generated more than $25, 000 for a variety of neighborhood projects.
"I think he was so proud of all the homes that have been renovated. This neighborhood has come back, " said Maria Richardson, a longtime friend.
"He talked about how in the last 12 years in Mazyck-Wraggborough alone, there were 100 projects that were completed."
Koon dealt with city officials on traffic and security problems, sang the praises of the neighborhood's large homes and large lots, helped form bonds between neighborhood residents and even picked up trash.
"He wanted our neighborhood to be a place where people would be delighted to come and to live and to visit, " Stanyard said.
Georgia Smith of the city of Charleston Neighborhood Services Office worked closely with Koon.
"I've never known a more dedicated and unselfish citizen, I can tell you that, " she said. "He was just such a dynamic individual who cared so terribly much about his community."
His death came as a jolt to many.
Just weeks after he joked about his 50th birthday by hanging a funny sign over his piazza, Koon had a heart attack one week ago while jogging on East Bay Street. He was taken off of life support Thursday and died Monday morning.
"The news of his heart attack and the grim prognosis last week was such a shock because Harold was such a physically fit, energetic and youthful person, " Riley said. "I expected Charleston would benefit from his sense of citizenship for a long time to come."
born in Newberry, Koon graduated from Newberry College and was a full-time member of the S.C. National Guard. He moved to Charleston about 12 years ago and lived on Charlotte Street. He later bought and renovated his home at 103 Alexander St.
He was a member of St. Matthews Lutheran Church and more than a dozen arts, civic, preservation and environmental groups. He volunteered for the Spoleto, Piccolo Spoleto and MOJA festivals.
"It wasn't just Mazyck-Wraggborough - it was the city of Charleston as a whole, " Smith said. "He never said no when you asked him to serve on a commission or help in an area or to plan something for the betterment of the community."
Richardson said Koon's address book was "bigger than the Charleston city directory. I do believe it's heavier, and I know it contains more information.
"He was such a major force for good in the city, and I'm just heartbroken that we've lost him, " Richardson said.
Koon is survived by his mother, Sybil Koon. Details on a memorial service and a memorial fund will be announced later.
[dated Tuesday, July 7, 1998]
Jane Gaston Mahler
Jane Gaston Mahler, a professor of art history and author of books on Huguenot history, died Tuesday. She was 95.
Mahler, a native of Dallas, was the daughter of William Henry Gaston and Elizabeth S. Wathen Gaston.
Mahler was named "Woman of the Year" in 1978 by the Charleston Federation of Women's Clubs.
She received her doctorate in Chinese art from Columbia University, the first woman in the country to receive a higher degree in Oriental art history. She taught at Barnard College and Columbia University.
As president of the Charleston's Century Club, she cataloged members' papers to be presented to the Charleston Library Society. She was bicentennial chairman of the the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in South Carolina.
A descendant of Huguenots, she wrote several books about the Huguenot influence in South Carolina, including "Huguenots Adventuring in the Orient: Two Manigaults in China." Mahler edited biographies on colonial and pioneer women that were presented to the Library of Congress. She cataloged the Oriental section of the Charleston Museum.
She was a member of the Historical Society of South Carolina, Huguenot Society of South Carolina, Asian Society, Society of 1776, Preservation Society of South Carolina and The Huguenot Church.
The funeral will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at The Huguenot Church.
[dated Thursday, May 3, 2001]
Benjamin F. Boddie, of Tulsa, Okla., a former vice president with the Williams Companies, a multi-billion dollar Tulsa-based company, and a former reporter with The News and Courier, died Friday in Midland, Texas. He was 75.
The funeral, directed by Moore's Southlawn Chapel of Tulsa, will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, in the funeral home chapel.
Boddie was born in Kingstree, S.C., a son of William W. Boddie and Helen Scott Boddie. He attended the College of Charleston, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.
He started his career as a reporter for The News and Courier and later joined McCann-Erickson Inc., an international advertising agency.
Boddie worked on a number of worldwide advertising accounts, including Nestle, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Coca-Cola and General Motors, and the initiation of Exxon's "Tiger in the Tank."
From 1966-70, he was operating manager of McCann-Erickson-Hakuhodo in Tokyo, one of Japan's largest advertising agencies.
He retired from the Williams Companies in 1982 and opened his own company, Ben Boddie Advertising/Public Relations.
He was a member of the Carolina Yacht Club and the Hibernian Society.
He was a former president and board member of the Tulsa Press Club and served on the boards or executive committees of the Tulsa Philharmonic, Tulsa Ballet, Theatre Tulsa, Performing Arts Program Committee, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Tulsa Charity Horse Show, and other organizations. He was vice chairman of the Tulsa Parking Authority.
Surviving are his wife, Alberta Brandon Boddie; two sons, Benjamin C. Boddie of Tulsa and David T. Boddie of Vienna, Va.; two daughters, Julie Nielson of Broomfield, Colo., and Sally Raybourn of Big Spring, Texas; and four grandchildren.
[dated Monday, January 22, 2001]
CHARLES A. CONKLIN
SUMMERVILLE - Charles Andrew Conklin, 51, died Monday in a local hospital. The funeral will be at 3 p.m. Friday in Parks Funeral Home. Burial will be private.
Mr. Conklin was born in New Jersey, a son of George W. Conklin and Bertha A. Wood Conklin. He was Protestant.
Surviving are his wife, Joyce Claycomb Conklin; three sons, Charles Conklin Jr. of Summerville and Lewis E. Conklin and Joseph M. Conklin, both of New Jersey; two stepsons, Cleveland Robertson and Seth Robertson, both of Summerville; a daughter, Michelle A. Conklin of New Jersey; seven sisters, all of New Jersey; two brothers, both of New Jersey; and five grandchildren.
[dated Wednesday, August 9, 2000]
LEON MUHAMMAD
MONCKS CORNER - Leon Muhammad, 65, a retired television repairman, died Monday at his residence. The funeral will be at 3 p.m. Thursday in Gethers Funeral Home. Burial will be in Westview cemetery.
Mr. Muhammad was born in New York, a son of Leon Williams and Lucy Edwards Williams. He attended New York schools.
Surviving are his wife, Louise Muhammad; a daughter, Edith Williams of New York; a stepdaughter, Raecine Wilson of Fort Hood, Texas; three stepsons, David Whaley of Pineville, Gilbert Whaley of Moncks Corner and Jimmie Whaley of South Carolina; a sister, Janet Spratt of Bronx, N.Y.; and two brothers, William Spencer of Bronx and Richard Spencer of Hempstead, N.Y.
[dated Wednesday, August 9, 2000]
DAVID LAMBRIGHT
ST. STEPHEN - David Lambright, 78, a retired farmer, died Sunday in a Charleston hospital. The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday in Mount Carmel AME Church in Moncks Corner. Burial, directed by Gethers Funeral Home of Moncks Corner, will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Lambright was born in Bonneau, a son of Julius Lambright and Dollie Barfield Lambright. He attended Berkeley County schools and was a member of Mount Carmel AME Church.
Surviving are two sisters, Fannie Blount of Columbia and Evelyn Gethers of Moncks Corner; and a brother, Caesar Lambright of Columbia.
[dated Wednesday, August 9, 2000]
DOROTHY G. LEBLANC
SUMMERVILLE - Dorothy May Gordon LeBlanc, 72, a homemaker, died Monday in a local nursing home. All services will be private, according to Parks Funeral Home.
Mrs. LeBlanc was born in Charleston, a daughter of William Gordon and Ada Belle Sheppard Gordon. She was Baptist.
Surviving are a son, Jimmie L. Danna of Summerville; two daughters, Sugarleina Park of Nashville, Tenn., and Janice M. Crawford of St. George; a brother, O'Dell L. Welch of Charleston; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
[dated Wednesday, August 9, 2000]
PHILLIP D. RATLEY
GOOSE CREEK - Phillip David Ratley, 43, died Tuesday in a North Charleston hospital. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Carolina Memorial Funeral Home in North Charleston. Burial will be in Carolina Memorial Gardens in North Charleston.
Mr. Ratley was born in Jacksonville, Fla., a son of Alexander Ratley Jr. and Virginia Owens Ratley. He was Baptist.
Surviving are his mother of Goose Creek; and a sister, Linda Ratley of Goose Creek.
[dated Wednesday, August 9, 2000]
