Hannah C. Meadors

ANDERSON | Hannah Campbell Meadors, 68, wife of Bishop Marshall L. Meadors Jr., of Midlake Heights and formerly of Edisto Beach, died Wednesday, April 9, 2003, at home.

She was born in Florence, a daughter of the late James Weatherly and Eutha Carmichael Campbell.

She was an educator and early childhood consultant. She worked with schools, churches, universities and community groups in the area of public policy, interagency collaboration, curriculum, parenting and guidance. She attended Columbia College, received her undergraduate degree from Coker College and received a master of education in elementary guidance from Clemson University. Her postgraduate work focused on early childhood and family literacy.

She was awarded the Columbia College Medallion for service to children and the college. She taught in the first public school kindergarten classes in South Carolina in 1968. She was elected to the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School Board of Trustees and was the first chairwoman of the Board. She was director of Early Childhood Development in the Education Division of the Office of Gov. Richard W. Riley. She served as coordinator of Early Childhood Education in the Greenville County Schools Office. Gov. Riley conferred upon her the state's highest award, The Order of the Palmetto.

While living in Mississippi, she continued her work with children through the Mississippi State Department of Education, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, the Mississippi Association for the Education of Young Children and the Mississippi Legislature. She served as chairwoman of the Legislative Committee and was mandated by the state Senate to develop a state plan for the education of young children. The plan was adopted by the Legislature. Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss., awarded her an honorary doctorate in humanities.

She participated in the development of a study document entitled Education: the Gift of Hope, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. She served on the Task Force for the Bishops Initiative on Children and Poverty and was a strong supporter of the Campaign for Children.

She traveled to Russia, Estonia, Angola, Mozambique, Mexico and a Palestinian refugee camp to assess the needs of children and propose responses. She visited refugee camps in Macedonia and villages in Kosovo to study the needs of children. She led a team sponsored by the United Methodist Committee on Relief to open schools in Kosovo.

She served as president of the Board of Trustees of the International Foundation of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, where a scholarship was established in her name.

Survivors include her husband, Bishop Marshall L. ''Jack'' Meadors Jr., of Anderson and Edisto Beach; a daughter, teacher Jane M. Cromley and her husband, George, of Pawleys Island; three sons, Dr. Marshall L. Meadors III of Anderson, James Campbell Meadors, of Meadors Construction, and his wife, Anne, of Charleston, and attorney John Paschal Meadors and his wife, Tricia, of Columbia; grandchildren Hannah Ann Cromley, Mary Florence Cromley and George Parker Cromley Jr., all of Pawleys Island, Weatherly Anne Meadors, James Campbell Meadors Jr. and John Deering Meadors, all of Charleston, and Sarah Blakely Meadors, Margaret Ann Meadors, John Paschal Meadors Jr. and Perry Elizabeth Meadors, all of Columbia; and a sister, Mary Lou Campbell of Florence.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Johns United Methodist Church in Anderson.

Visitation will be after the service in the fellowship hall of the church.

Burial will be at 3 p.m. Sunday in Mount Hope Cemetery in Florence.

Sign the guest book at http:
//www.myrtlebeachonline.com.

Memorials may be made to the Hannah Campbell Meadors Scholarship, Columbia College, 1301 Columbia College Drive, Columbia, SC 29203; or to the International Foundation for Ewha Womans University, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1359, New York, NY 10115, designated for the Hannah Campbell Meadors scholarship.

McDougald Funeral Home in Anderson is in charge.