James S. Grant Sr.

ANDREWS | James Shadrach Grant Sr., 87, died Thursday, February 14, 2008.

Born June 29, 1920 in Andrews, South Carolina, Mr. Grant was the son of the late John Bynum Grant Sr., a lumberman from Northampton County, North Carolina, and the late Clara Gibson Grant, a school teacher from Prosperity, South Carolina. He attended the Andrews public schools, completed Porter Military Academy of Charleston, and attended The Citadel and Wofford College.

Mr. Grant was a veteran of World War II, having served as a First Lieutenant in the 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery of the 69th Division which was attached to the XII Corps, the spearhead for the U.S. Third Army. He earned five battle stars during the invasion at Normandy, the Battle of the Arnhem, the Battle of the Bulge, the Race Across Europe, and the Occupation of Belgium.

Following the war, Mr. Grant returned to Andrews working in the lumber industry. In 1954 he joined Andrews Bank & Trust Company as a teller, rising to head cashier and eventually was promoted to vice president. In 1970, he went to work for Oneita Knitting Mills of Andrews as Comptroller, retiring in 1983 as treasurer for the Corporation.

Mr. Grant joined Trinity United Methodist Church at the age of 9, and remained a member there for his lifetime. He served on various church boards and committees, taught the Young Adult and the Garris Adult Bible Classes, and was a member of the Board of Trustees at the time of his death. He also attended Belin Memorial United Methodist Church of Murrells Inlet where he served as a teacher for the Belin Adult Bible Class.

An advocate of public education, Mr. Grant served on the local school board and the Georgetown County school board. He served on the South Carolina State Board of Education from 1976 to 1979. He was an adult volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, working on committees for the local troops and packs, the Black River District, and Coastal Carolina Council. In 1983, he was awarded the Silver Beaver by the Boy Scouts of America for his service. He was also a member and leader of the Andrews Rotary Club, the Andrews Playground Association, the Andrews Historical Society, and the Andrews Industrial Development Corporation.

In 2005 prior to his 85th birthday, Mr. Grant wrote a history of Andrews entitled, ''Memories of My Life in Andrews.'' The book relates the forming of the town of Andrews and its development through the 1940's, recounting the lumber boom that spurred the growth of the town and the Depression through World War II. The book includes a personal insight into his family's ties to the town and his personal reflections for his home.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Martha Davis Inabnit Grant; and brothers, John Bynum Grant Jr., William Thomas Grant, Henry Meador Grant and William Clark Grant.

He is survived by his wife, Martha Sandra Blakeley Grant of Andrews; three daughters, Anne Gibson Grant Gilmer of Pawleys Island, Martha Inabnit Grant Tindall of Spartanburg and Nancy Carolyn Grant Hellams of Lexington; two sons, James Shadrach Grant Jr. of Summerville and William Byrd Grant of Pawleys Island; two stepsons, W. Thomas Rabon of Moncks Corner and Ronald Melvin Rabon of Tallahasee, Florida; one sister, Clara Gibson Grant Moise of Sumter; twelve grandchildren, Stuart Gordon Gilmer Jr., James Davis Gilmer, John James Scurry IV, Grant Leggett Scurry, Robert Coleman Hellams, Carolyn Keels Hellams, Andrew Teague Hellams, Sara Inabnit Grant, James Shadrach Grant III, John Bynum Grant, Brenna Christiana Grant and Eliza Cantey Grant; and two great-grandchildren, Ellison Ann Gilmer and Conner Prichard Scurry.

Funeral services will be held 3 p.m. Sunday, February 17, 2008 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Andrews, South Carolina. Interment will follow in the Andrews Memorial Cemetery. Officiating will be The Rev. Sandra Stevens Poirel and the Rev. James Hyatt. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, February 16, 2008 at Mayer Funeral Home in Andrews.

Please sign the guestbook at www.mayerfuneralhome.com and at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.

The family requests that memorials be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 205 South Rosemary Avenue, Andrews, South Carolina 29510.