John Carl Elkins Sr. COLUMBIA - Funeral service for John C. Elkins, Sr., 92, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, October 7, 2013, at Bethel United Methodist Church, with burial in Greenlawn Memorial Park with full military honors. The family will receive friends from 3 until 5:00 p.m. Sunday, October 6, 2013, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Col. Elkins died Thursday, October 3, 2013. Born in Swainsboro, Ga., he was a son of the late Charley Samuel and Mary Ella Thigpen Elkins. Col. Elkins retired from the US Air Force with 28 years of distinguished service. During WWII, Col. Elkins received several Distinguish Flying Cross medals along with numerous Campaign Ribbons with clusters. He was instrumental in evacuating wounded soldiers off of Normandy and Omaha Beach and Holocaust survivors. During the Korean conflict, Col. Elkins was a flight instructor that trained pilots for combat missions. During Vietnam he flew reconnaissance and surveillance missions, prior to air strikes and flew over 200 combat missions. After retiring from the military, Col. Elkins was the Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Columbia and was also, an independent custom home contractor. He was a lifelong member of Bethel United Methodist Church and was a member and former teacher for the Joy Sunday school class. Surviving are his son, John Carl Elkins, Jr. and wife, Terri of The Villages, Fla.; daughter, June Elkins Spicer of Columbia; grandchildren, Richard Spicer (Christine), John Carl Elkins III (Sarah), Jean Steig (Perry), James Willis Elkins (Wesley), Jennifer Rasouliyan (Raz), Jamie Bullerman (Tom); and sister-in-law, Lucille Elkins of Atlanta, Ga. He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth Berry Elkins; brothers, Earl Elkins (Britt), Herbert Elkins (Robbie), Wade Elkins and Cecil Elkins (Jeanette). Memorials may be made to Bethel United Methodist Church, 4600 Daniel Drive, Columbia, SC 29206; Wounded Warriors Project, 4899 Belfort Road Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256; or Salvation Army, PO Box 2786, Columbia, SC 29202. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
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1 Entry
Mr. John was one of the nicest men I have ever met. Gentle,, considerate, thoughtful, soft spoken,,,,and the list could go on and on. I never heard or saw him raise his voice. I think I met Mr John at the Lizards Thicket near I-20 . I did some roof repairs on his house,,,then later put a new roof on his house,,, along with other work
including but not limited to a new roof on his office that he built in his Daughter's yard.
I would like to say to his family ( that he loved so much) ,, that I will always treasure his memory and our friendship.
Mark Coleman
Work
September 19, 2023
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