Charles Fant

Charles would have been 73 years old on November 29, later this month.

Born in Kingstree, SC in 1952 as the only son of Charles W. Fant and Betty Byrd Fant, Charles grew up in Anderson, SC attending TL Hanna High and later Clemson University. While at Clemson, he became actively involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. That led him to enroll in Southwestern Seminary in Dallas where he obtained Masters degrees in both Theology and Christian Education.

His first calling was to Memphis Tennessee where he met his wife of 45 years, Jill. Soon after their marriage, they accepted a call to First Baptist Atlanta where he served as a youth minister. His next call was to Miami as Education pastor at Wayside. Then God called them to Raleigh to help grow a new church, Providence Baptist, and serve as the minister of Christian Education. At that time, their young children were 3 and 5.

In 1999, Charles and Jill moved to Columbia SC and after several years of service, at Gateway Baptist, he went back to CIU to study clinical Christian counseling. They then moved back to Raleigh to work at a counseling center, then back to Atlanta to First Baptist as a Christian Educator. After retirement, Charles and Jill moved back to Anderson to look after his aging parents and served as a counselor at Concord Baptist Church.

Jill and Charles returned to Columbia, and their house on Lake Murray and loved their days on the water and sunsets where they witnessed God’s amazing beauty. They took a fabulous trip to Italy, but soon after his return his health began to decline. One of the highlights of his retirement years were their frequent trips to the family’s Kiawah Island house and their walks and bike trips all over the Island.

Charles is survived by his wife, Jill; children, Chas (Amy) and Bethany (Nate); their four grandchildren, Grace, Clara, Birdie,and Rhys; and his sister, Betsy Jones (Greg).

A graveside burial will be in Anderson, SC in Old Silverbrook Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, November 13, 2025, followed by a Celebration of Life on Friday November 14, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Riverland Hills Church in Columbia. The family will receive friends at the church starting at 1:00 p.m. prior to the service.

Memorials may be made in memory of Charles to a charity of ones choosing.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, is assisting the family.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.