Terry Megehee

1937 - 2021

NEWBERRY – Terry Lynn Megehee, 84, of Newberry, South Carolina, died Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at Newberry, South Carolina.

He was born March 15, 1937, the youngest of Jesse Wood Megehee and Wanda Tackett Megehee's three sons, in his parents' rural home near Picayune in Pearl River County, Mississippi.

Following graduation from Picayune High School, he worked as a deck hand on seagoing tugboats and as a roustabout in offshore oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico and served 13 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard.

In 1959, he graduated with honors as a Phi Theta Kappa member at Pearl River Junior College, where he served as student council president. He went on to earn Liberal Arts degrees in history and sociology from the University of Mississippi.

During the 1960s, he was employed as public relations director and magazine editor with a statewide milk marketing cooperative association and later became state magazine editor for a southeastern regional dairy cooperative association. He next edited various publications, including The Mississippi Market Bulletin, produced a daily television program, and coordinated media relations for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. In 1971, he became director of public information with the Jackson Public Schools. He served as president of Mississippi Editors and Information Association (MEDIA) in 1971-72. In 1973, he moved to Columbia, South Carolina, as communications director for the capital city's public school system.

In the mid-1980s, he began a career in law enforcement, starting as a national security clearance investigator. Working under the auspices of U.S. Office of Personnel Management, his investigations carried him throughout much of the Southeast, as well as parts of New England and the Southwest. He then worked several years with the South Carolina Juvenile Justice System. Completing agent training at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, he rounded out his career as an investigator with South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Upon retirement in 1999, he maintained a South Carolina Constable's commission for several years.

He was an active member and former president of the Newberry County Law Enforcement Officers Association and served several terms on the organization's board of directors.

Born a fifth generation Mississippian, he was a founder, incorporator, and first president of Megehee Cemetery, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to maintaining and preserving the historic burial site. Founded circa 1810 in Spanish West Florida, the cemetery is situated in the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge in Pearl River County's Yamacraw community.

Terry is the author of "Flags in the Mist – A Family Odyssey from Alba to Boley," a book blending history and genealogy which was published in 2005.

He was predeceased by his elder brother, Jesse Edwin Megehee of St. Louis, Mo,, and Picayune, Miss. Survivors include his beloved adopted son and stepdaughter, Michael Wayne Megehee (Nancy), of Atlanta, Ga., and Angel Marie Laird of Jackson, Miss.; his brother, Kenneth Rhea (Doris) Megehee of Hattiesburg, Miss.; nieces, Lynda Rhea Megehee Stinson, Jacque Edwin Megehee (Wayne) Traylor and Doris Renee Megehee and nephew, Fred Edwin Megehee.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.whitakerfuneralhome.com.

Whitaker Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the family.