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Joseph Leland Gerrald
1947 - 2025
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Joseph Gerrald Obituary
May 17, 1947 - October 30, 2025
Chester, South Carolina - Joseph Leland Gerrald, 78, passed away Thursday, October 30, 2025.
Joe was born May 17, 1947 in Horry County, South Carolina to parents, Mack Leland Gerrald and Minnie Lewis Gerrald. He graduated from Dreher High School, Columbia, SC and Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC. After a long and successful career in sales, he published the North Carolina Fish and Game Finder magazine for the state of North Carolina and later became Vice President and manager of Dallas Reporting, Inc. until he retired in 2015. He was a former Deacon at First Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, SC, former board member of the Davis Island, NC Fishing Foundation and a former board member of Keystone in Rock Hill, SC. He moved from Rock Hill, SC to Lowry's, SC in 2012 to enjoy the quiet and peace of their farm. He loved anything and everything outdoors from fishing on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, camping and canoeing in the mountains, Arkansas and Canada. He loved gardening, Gamecock sports and his precious wife, Shirley.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Polk Dallas-Gerrald, daughters, Ashley Stephens (Mt. Pleasant, SC), Shay Lansche (Columbia, SC), Yorke Gale (Atlanta, Ga), Leland Thornburg (Philadelphia, PA) and grandchildren, Alex Stephens, Ally Stephens, Drew Lansche, and Emily Lansche.
In addition to his parents, Joe was preceded in death by his sister, Edna Gerrald and his brother, Carl Gerrald
Graveside services were held Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM at Zion Presbyterian Cemetery, Elm Road, Chester (Lowry's) SC.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfuneralhome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Joseph Gerrald
1 Entry
Danny Deas
Yesterday
On Sunday Nov 2, Joe Gerrald was laid to rest in a beautiful ceremony in Lowry, SC. Joe and I were really good friends for many years, but rarely saw each other after he and Shirley moved out of Rock Hill. Their move left a huge void in our lives.
Joe was a man's man. He loved taking annual fishing trips with buddies to the Outer Banks where he was treated like a local. Joe was sadly raised in an orphanage after his parents were killed in an accident. Eventually he and his brother Carl, were able to move in with their older sister in Rock Hill. Joe finished school, got married and raised 2 beautiful daughters. Sadly, the marriage did not last, and several years passed before he met Shirley and truly found his Rock in the world. With Shirley, came 2 more beautiful daughters whom he loved as his own. Alast...he had found the family he had missed for so long. Joe had a huge heart, especially when it involved other orphans (man and animal) and kids in need of adult leadership. I was there when Joe took a leadership role in Keystone, rescued a and adopted an abandoned puppy, and took a small fatherless boy and helped fill that void in his world.
Joe had that special ability to navigate this world and make friends with everyone he met. I'm sure these skills will serve him in Heaven well. Here's a Toast to a Life Well Lived. We'll miss you Buddy.
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