Alden Thomas Hood

Alden Thomas Hood, 74, of Charleston, SC, and husband of Bonnie Duncan Hood, entered into eternal rest on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday, February 5, 2021 at 11:00 am, in the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 712 Wappoo Rd, Charleston, SC 29407. The family will receive friends at the church, one hour prior to the service. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. West Ashley Chapel, 3360 Glenn McConnell Parkway, Charleston, SC 29414. Tom was born June 11, 1946 in Lowell, Massachusetts, to the late Iver Alden Hood and Lillian Watson Hood. After serving in the Navy for four years, Tom graduated from The Citadel, Class of 1972 and became licensed as a certified public accountant. Beginning with First Federal (now South State) in 1975, Hood was elected to the board of directors in 1987 and became president and CEO of First Federal in 1995 and president and CEO of First Financial Holdings in July 1996. Hood was very generous with his time and was actively involved in numerous professional and community organizations. Providing access to quality early childhood education and improving public schools were among the causes he passionately supported. He served on the board of the Charleston Education Network, a public education advocacy organization. He was also a member of the Focus Partners, a group focused on funding new initiatives in public education. He was a member of the Executive Committee and past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Trident United Way. Through First Federal, Hood had served as a volunteer mentor and tutor for the Help One Student to Succeed program at Sanders-Clyde Elementary School, Midland Park Elementary School and Mary Ford Elementary School. Hood was past chairman of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and continued to serve on the board and as member of the executive committee. He also served on the Chamber's Education Foundation Board. Most recently, Hood had provided the financial support for the Charleston County School District's TOPS program, honoring district teachers whose students performed better than expected on reliable end of year assessments. Included among his many other accomplishments were his service on the Thrift Industry Advisory Committee, an advisory group to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Hood was a member and ordained elder at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Rebecca (Brad) Molina, A. Paige Tyner, Erica (Doug) Sheets, and his grandchildren, Clayton and Cameron Molina, Joshua Clarke, Alden and Justin Merchant, Jack Tyner, Patrick, Preston, and Paige Sheets. Also surviving him are his brother, Robert (Barbara) Hood, his sisters, Patricia (Donald) McBride, Linda (Phil) Gavreaux, and Cheryl (Bill) Winter. Memorials may be made to the BrightFocus Foundation at . The BrightFocus Foundation funds innovative scientific research worldwide to defeat Alzheimer's.