Ernie Comar Obituary

Ernie Comar MT. PLEASANT - Ernest Miner Comar, 79, retired Supervising Probation Officer of the Charleston Division of the United States Probation Office, died Monday, May 31, in Mt. Pleasant. He was the son of Emile M. Comar and Florence Miner Comar. Ernie attended local elementary schools and graduated from Bishop England High School, Class of 1948. In 1947 a twelfth grade was added to the school, so his was the first class to graduate in 12 years instead of 11. The group remains close-knit and has held reunions on a regular basis over many years. Ernie studied at St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD, for five years. He received an A.B. in Philosophy and completed First Theology. In 1953 he entered the Air Cadet program of the United States Air Force and was commissioned in 1955. He served as a Radar Observer in F-89's until he discharge in 1958. As Major Comar in the Air Force Reserves he was the Flight Commander with the Sixth Censorship Flight at the Charleston Air Force Base. He remained in the Air Force Reserves until 1983 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Ernie took a number of graduate courses and received an MEd Degree in Counselor Education from the Citadel. After his discharge from active military service in January 1958 he worked for the Charleston County Juvenille Court until he was sworn in as a United States Probation Officer for the US District Court/Charleston Division in June. In August 1979 he was promoted to Supervising Probation Officer and he retired from the Charleston Office in October 1985. He and Joanne Marie Morris were married in 1957 and raised two children, Ernest M Comar, Jr. and Margaret Foster. Ernie and Joanne worked together to help people in need, primarily through St. Vincent de Paul Conference at Christ Our King Catholic Church, Mt. Pleasant, and East Cooper Community Outreach, a helping organization spearheaded by Christ Our King Parish following Hurricane Hugo. He was a courteous, kind-hearted gentleman who listened to problems and tried to help. Ernie served as a training officer for new St. Vincent de Paul Conferences and for new members of the Christ Our King St. Vincent de Paul group. His instruction focused on client interviewing techniques, using interview forms which he developed. In 1965 he was a member of the Catholic Council on Human Relations, chaired by then Monsignor Joseph L. Bernardin, Vicar General of the Diocese of Charleston. Council members met with representatives of the NAACP to help ST. Francis Xavier Hospital to implement fully its policy of nondiscrimination and to explain to the community what steps the hospital had taken and what problems it still faced. The joint efforts were successful. The meetings established lines of communications and clarified what the hospital had been able to accomplish in the field of racial justice. As long as his health allowed it, Ernie was a daily communicant at Christ Our King Parish. For some years he served on a team interviewing and evaluating applicants for tuition scholarships to Christ Our King School. He and Joanne were Eucharistic Ministers at Roper Hospital and later brought the Eucharist to homebound individuals. During his retirement years he has served as a volunteer at the Charleston County and Citadel Libraries, worked as a counselor for the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, counseled first offenders in the County's Pre-Trial Intervention Program, and tutored in the Writing Center at the Citadel. He worked especially with the students for whom English was a second language. He and his long time friend and tennis partner Louie Koester won trophies in junior doubles and for many years played men's doubles in a regular foursome. Ernie also teamed with his friend Charlie Drayton in men's doubles competition and enjoyed mixed doubles with friends Toddy Poore, Angela Williams and Murray Brockman. In addition to his wife, son, and daughter, Ernie is survived by his grandchildren, Bryan Ruth of Mt. Pleasant, Austin Foster, stationed in Cuba with the US Navy and Samantha Foster of Jacksonville, FL; his brother and sister-in-law, Emile and Madeline Comar of Bay St. Louis, MS; nephew and niece, Paul and Ines Comar of James Island; brothers and sisters-in-law Kelly and Karen Morris and John and Jennie Morris, many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and nephews, and a special pet, Little SC. The family will receive friends Sunday, June 6, from 3-5 p.m. The Christian Wake Service will be held at 5 p.m., at MCALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME, MT. PLEASANT CHAPEL, 1520 RIFLE RANGE RD (843) 884-3833. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 12 noon, Monday, June 7, at Christ Our King Catholic Church, 1149 Russell Drive. Honorary pallbearers will include John Boniface, Murray Brockman, Harry L. Darby, H. L. Koester III, Pope L. Lawson, Robert F. Kinter, Robert A. Newton, James R. O'Neill, Richard W. Trent, Rear Admiral William L. Schachte, Clarence G. Westendorff and Marion J. Wilkins. The burial will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made in Ernie's honor to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Christ Our King Church, 1149 Russell Dr., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 or East Cooper Community Outreach, 1145 Six Mile Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464. Online condolences may be sent to Ernie's family via www.mcalister-smith.com. Arrangements by MCALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME, MT. PLEASANT CHAPEL, 1520 RIFLE RANGE RD (843) 884-3833. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/deaths