Gail Player

1940 - 2023

Gail

Player

Gail Kennedy Player, the widow of Dale William Player, died January 24, 2023. She was born September 20, 1940, in Sumter, SC, the daughter of the late John Wesley Kennedy and Emily Hatfield Kennedy.

A funeral service to honor her life will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, January 28, at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Bishopville, SC, with The Rev. Denise Seymour officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 until 6 p.m., Friday, January 27, at the Player's Farm, 250 Stoney Run Rd., Bishopville, SC. A private family burial will be held at St. Luke Cemetery, in Elliott, SC. The Directors of Hancock-Elmore-Hill Funeral Home are caring for the family.

Memorials may be made in her honor to Bethlehem United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 167, Bishopville, SC 29010, or St. Luke United Methodist Church Cemetery, c/o Mrs. Susie Chavis, 324 Elk St., Bishopille, SC 29010.

Mrs. Player graduated from Bishopville High School and attended Limestone College. She loved her community and enjoyed a long life of community service, having served on Bishopville City Council for 28 years, with six of those years as Mayor Pro Tempore.

Mrs. Player was a former board member of the Lee County Arts Council, the South Carolina Cotton Museum, Greater Bishopville Inc., Lee County Economic Development Alliance, Opera House Foundation, Friends of Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden, the Bishopville branch of NBSC (Synovus) Bank, and Progress Energy Advisory Board of the Pee Dee. She was a past Regent of the Henry DuRant Chapter, NSDAR, and for years volunteered with the Lee County Cooperative Ministry Care Center. She was actively involved with Lee County's Social Peace Initiative while participating in Citizens for Progress and Understanding and helping organize and administer Christian Unity Week.

Mrs. Player was an active member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church, where she had formerly served as chairman of the Administrative Council, was a member of United Methodist Women, the Eva Woodham Circle, and was a teacher of the Joe Fanning Sunday school class.

Always athletic and enjoying outdoor activities, she had been a ranked South Carolina tennis player and made sure that her children played a good tennis game as well. She and her late husband, Dale ran 10k races, hiked South Carolina trails, and enjoyed dancing the Shag and kayaking with friends. She loved to garden, reading, and spending time with friends at the lake and at the beach. Like her mother, she was a fun-loving person for whom laughter came easily.

"Nana" delighted in spending as much time as possible with her children and their spouses and her ten grandchildren anywhere, but especially at Lake Wateree. One grandchild came up with the expression "This joy cannot be duplicated," which was made into a sign and hung in the lake house.

Mrs. Player is survived by her daughter, Jennie Player Lambe (Scott); sons, John Whitworth Player (Beth), William Weber Player (Molly), Thomas Kennedy Player (Ashley); grandchildren, Kennedy Lambe, Elizabeth Lambe, Joseph-Caine Player, Worth Player, Wesley Player, Lylli Player, Avery Player, Wilson Player, Blain Player, and Sarah Player; sister-in-law, Maxine Player Blakely (Ed); a niece and three nephews.

In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, John Wesley Kennedy, Jr. and Loretta Bennett Kennedy, and their son, John Bennett Kennedy.

The family would like to especially thank her church, friends, Dr. John Pate, Dr. Sreenivas Rao, Dr. Virginia Clyburn-Ipock and their staff, and McLeod Hospice House for their love and care.

Brown-Pennington-Atkins - Hartsville,SC (2609)