Virginia Dantzler Lovelace

COLUMBIA Memorial service for Virginia Dantzler Lovelace, 85, will be held at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 24, 2015, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, with the Rev. Dr. Tony A. Metze officiating. The family will receive friends at the church following the service. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Mrs. Lovelace died Friday, November 20, 2015. Born April 3, 1930, in Atlanta, Ga., she was the daughter of the late Lewis Marshall and Martha Virginia Eakin Dantzler. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Rose Ann Dantzler and Ruth Olive Dantzler. Virginia grew up in Abbeville, played basketball for Abbeville High School, and was named Miss Abbeville prior to graduating from Winthrop College in 1951. She reared her children and begin teaching science at Keenan Junior High School when her youngest child entered first grade. She went on to become a teacher of home economics at Keenan High School. She was selected as Teacher of the Year for Richland County School District One. She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Virginia met her husband, Fred, on a blind date - cheering for opposing teams - on Big Thursday at the 1950 Clemson-Carolina game which ended in a tied score - 14 to 14. She married Fred, a Clemson graduate, on December 23,1951, and remained committed to him for 63 years. Together they provided for all three of their children through college education and all three graduated from Clemson. Surviving are her husband; daughters, Lynn Willis (Marsh) of Columbia, Karen Lovelace (Richard Beck) of Folly Beach; son, Dr. Oscar Lovelace Jr. (Mary) of Chapin; grandchildren, Carter McElveen (Andy), Hayden Willis, Virginia Shealy (Aaron), Sarah King (Chris), Lee Hyatt, Ben Lovelace, Spencer Lovelace (Brittany), Erin Lovelace (Josh DeGraff), Luke Lovelace; great-grandchildren, Nora Lynn McElveen, Alden and Evelyn Shealy, Kaylee, Kylie and Christopher King, Mazie and Elijah Lovelace. She was predeceased by a great-grandchild and angel, Ashley Shealy. Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1715 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201 or The Living Water Foundation Educational Center, PO Box 1019, Prosperity, SC 29127.