Category Archives: Obituaries
Courier Obituaries 4-20-22
BETTY LEE BARRETT AUSTIN
EASLEY — Betty Lee Barrett Austin, 89, wife for 66 precious years to the late Donald G. Austin, passed away on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, with her sons by 
her side.
Mrs. Austin was the daughter of the late William Chapman and Fannie Lee Adams Barrett of Heath Springs. She was a lifetime nurse, loving wife and mother and devoted Christian and adored her family. She was a member of Pickens First Baptist Church and past member of the choir. Always busy, she loved gardening and caring for the
Courier Obituaries 4-6-22
JANICE RUTH SKELTON
EASLEY — Mrs. Janice Ruth Skelton, 80, went to be with her Lord and Savior on March 28, 2022.
Mrs. Skelton was born in Greenville County and was the daughter of the late Lewis Rochester and Louvenia Medlin Rochester and wife for 62 years to her handsome man, Lawrence “Lonnie” Skelton.
Mrs. Skelton loved her Lord and her family. She wanted nothing more than to be with her grandchildren and spend time with family. That was her greatest joy. She did not meet a stranger. She loved making friends, and people loved her beautiful smile. She enjoyed dancing. She was employed for a total of 38 years with Cornell Dubilier and was most often sought after for her knowledge of the job. She had many talents, including advising her husband Lonnie what to do. Mrs. Skelton was loved by all and will be missed dearly by her family.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include a son, Danny Skelton (Kim) of Purcell, Okla.; a daughter, Rhonda Burton (Mark) of Easley; and six loving grandchildren, Daniel Skelton (Nancy) of Simpsonville, Autumn Sosebee (Chris) of Travelers Rest, Joshua Starnes (Shea) of Norman, Okla., Cody McClain of Pickens, Ryan Burton of Easley
Courier Obituaries 3-30-22
FREDDY DODSON
CENTRAL — Mr. Freddy Dodson, 64, passed away on Monday, March 28, 2022, at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
Freddy was born on Oct. 4, 1957, to Fred Dodson and the late Phala McKnight Dodson. Freddy was a loving father, devoted husband and a friend to many. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle, could answer any trivia question asked and always had an entertaining story to tell. He touched the lives of countless coworkers and strangers throughout his life. He is truly missed.
In addition to his father, Freddy is survived by his loving wife of 19 years, Pamela Dodson; five sons, Curtis Dodson of Tennessee, Ben Cherami of Seneca, Elijah Dodson of Central, Israel Dodson of Central and Malachi Dodson of Central; two daughters, Zoe Dodson of Central and Rebekah Dodson of Central; and one sister, Sue Wood (Mark) of Pickens.
In addition to his mother, Freddy was preceded in death by one sister, Mary Gayle Dodson; and his stepmother, Vivanee “Boots” Dodson.
A graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Park at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022.
Online condolences may be expressed by visiting dillardfunearls.com. Dillard Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
JAMES RAY ALLEN
PICKENS — Dr. James Ray Allen, 87, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
He was born on March 19, 1935, in Ellaville, Ga., to the late Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Allen. He was married to his devoted wife, Marilyn Scott Allen,
for 65 years.
He and his wife served as a ministry team touching untold numbers of lives in their 20 churches in the Carolinas and Georgia. He also invested his life in his students as a professor at Berry Academy in Rome, Ga., and Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton. He truly exemplified the greatest commandment, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). His life was one of loving and serving God and the many people he came in contact with, whether it was a church member, a student or a bag boy at the grocery store.
He received his associate’s degree from Norman Park Junior College, bachelor’s degree from Lagrange College, master’s
Courier Obituaries 3-23-22
TED ARNOLD ‘PA’ GILLESPIE
EASLEY — Ted Arnold “Pa” Gillespie, 77, passed away on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at Greenville Memorial Hospital.
A native of Pickens County, Ted was born on May 30, 1944, the only child of the late Joe Gillespie and Helen Adcox Gillespie. He enjoyed spending time with his family and watching the Atlanta Braves and Clemson football. Mr. Gillespie was of the Baptist faith and was a member of Blue Ridge View Baptist Church in Pickens.
Survivors include his children, Randy Gillespie (Heidi), Joey Gillespie (April) and Lori Chandler (Richard), all of Easley; stepsons, James Moore and John Moore, both of Liberty; grandchildren, Dena Gillespie, Allison Kiser
Shining a light on government
Sunshine Week has arrived and is our annual reminder that if governmental transparency is not achieved, our 
democracy will also never be fully realized. Rejoice, though — the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (SCFOIA) exists and sets minimum duties of transparency on entities who use public funds here. Use it or we may well lose it.
SCFOIA provides (for example) deadlines upon how fast public bodies must respond to open records requests, how fast they must provide those records, and even what records and information must be provided without making a written request. The law also requires the public bodies to give the public notice of their date, time and location of public meetings, as well as the agenda for items to be addressed at the meeting.
A school board during a public meeting wants to add a vote to provide a contract for all vending machine sales to benefit a board member’s brother’s company. SCFOIA provides the minimum duties for how this self-dealing vote can happen. See S.C. Code 30-4-80(A).
The school board approves the sweetheart contract anyway but refuses to show you the proposed terms that all board members reviewed. SCFOIA says you only must ask at the end of the meeting and that contract is all yours. See S.C. Code 30-4-30(D)(4).
The school board scenarios above are only two of many SCFOIA can address. Too often, though, they are ignored by public bodies around the state. Whether due to ignorance, incompetence or a desire to maintain a status quo of operational secrecy, too often sunshine is not achieved in this state.
If holding public officials to account for their actions while in office is a core function of democracy, the public (and particularly the press) must be transparent about their problems with getting governmental transparency. The people must know (hopefully, from the press) when the government is breaking the law, avoiding public scrutiny.
Go to the S.C. Press Association website (scpress.org) and under the “FOIA” tab, go to the Public Official’s Guide to Compliance with SCFOIA. Put this PDF on your smartphone and use it to look up the above code sections, read the law and (eventually) cite to it when your public official tries to break the law. Finally, report your local problems with transparency and help SCPA staff when they are traveling to the S.C. Statehouse to battle forces of darkness in the legislature.
If you can do that, we won’t lose SCFOIA and democracy just might prevail.
Taylor M. Smith IV is a media lawyer who represents the S.C. Press Association and its newspapers. Smith is a partner at Harrison, Radeker & Smith, P.A. in Columbia. The Press Association is an advocate for open government in South Carolina.
Courier Obituaries 3-16-22
JOHN MICHAEL BURGESS
LIBERTY — Mr. John Michael Burgess, 51, loving husband of Tabitha Burgess, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 19, 
2022, at Prisma Health Baptist Easley Hospital.
Michael was born on July 11, 1970, in Pickens County to Shelby Joan Gossett (Thomas Rhodes) and the late William Singleton Burgess.
In addition to his loving wife, Michael is survived by his four children, Gina Norris (Tyler Moore), Tia Prewitt (Devin), Patricia Jordan (Matthew)
Courier Obituaries 3-9-22
AARON WALLACE COUCH
PICKENS — Mr. Aaron Wallace Couch, 85, went to be with his Lord and Savior on March 1, 2022.
Mr. Couch was born in Pickens County and was the son of the late James Crawford Couch and Edna L. Stone Couch 
and husband of Hazel Owen Couch.
Mr. Couch was a member of New Hope Baptist Church and had many friends. He never met a stranger, having volunteered for many years for the Pickens Rescue Squad. Mr. Couch was a dedicated bear hunter and was a lifetime member of the North American Hunting Club. Mr. Couch spent 40-plus years involved in the Pumpkin Festival in Pumpkintown, getting the pumpkins to the festival and as a greeter. He loved his bluegrass music and was well known for his rattlesnakes at Farm Days. His favorite saying was: “The least said is the easiest mended!”
Along with his loving wife of 67 years, survivors include his three sons, James Aaron, Jerry Wallace (Beth) and Jeffery Dean Couch (Sandy), all of Pickens; and eight precious grandchildren, Suzanne Couch
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Courier letters to the editor
Saitta speaks on Hwy. 11 development
Dear Editor,
I want to explain why I proposed and voted for a short-term moratorium on most land development on Highway 11. The moratorium is on new manufacturing plants, new commercial development, new signage and new large residential subdivisions. It does not affect single residential lots or proposed subdivisions of less than 10 homes.
For starters, “Scenic” is only in the name “Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway” and it means next to nothing under
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Courier Obituaries 3-2-22
JOANN MEECE HAYES
PICKENS — Mrs. Joann Meece Hayes, beloved wife of retired Pastor Tommy Lewis Hayes, passed peacefully on 
Feb. 21, 2022, after a lengthy illness.
Mrs. Hayes was born in Pickens County to the late Claude Jefferson Meece and Bertha Aiken Meece. She was a member of Cannon Mountain Baptist Church. Mrs. Hayes was a faithful pastor’s wife for 28 years and loved to sing, teach Sunday school and along with her husband, help those with spiritual needs. She also loved gardening, growing flowers, traveling, trips to Edisto State Park, going to thrift stores, taking photos and feeding the birds.
Mrs. Hayes and Pastor Hayes have three children, Cindy Burgess (Curtis), missionary and pastor to Montana Randy Hayes (Joan), and Amanda Wood (Jon). She is survived also by a sister, Mrs. Bernice Bowen, and was a loving
Courier Obituaries 2-23-22
KATHLEEN G. HOXIT
PICKENS — Mrs. Kathleen G. Hoxit, 85, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Manna Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, surrounded by her loving family.
Kathleen was born June 25, 1936, in Jackson County, N.C., daughter of the late Cos and Bessie Galloway. She married Rev. Wayne Hoxit in Sept. of 1954. Kathleen worked as a seamstress for Sir Shirt Makers in Pickens for 20 years. She assisted her husband with his ministries at local churches and volunteered at the Salvation Army. Kathleen enjoyed camping with her family, sewing, tending to her garden and cooking for loved ones. Kathleen was a member of Rocky Bottom Baptist Church.
Survivors include her four children, Belva Jean Fleming (Christopher) of Ocala, Fla., Chester Hoxit (Cecilia) of
