Everette Cothran Obituary

Everette Wendell Cothran WALTERBORO - Mr. Everette Wendell Cothran, 84, of Walterboro, passed away Monday, April 11, 2011, at Colleton Medical Center. He was the husband of the late Sarah Elizabeth "Lib" Keller Cothran. Funeral services will be conducted 3 o'clock, Thursday afternoon, April 14, 2011, from The Brice W. Herndon and Sons Funeral Home Chapel, Walterboro with the Rev. Eric Bjork officiating. Interment with full military honors and Masonic Rites will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, Hendersonville Highway, Walterboro. Mr. Cothran was born April 12, 1926, in Greenville County and was a son of the late John T. Cothran and the late Corrie Ridgeway Cothran. He was a member of Bedon Baptist Church and was a member of Unity Masonic Lodge No. 55. He served his country in the United States Navy, joining immediately after having turned 18. He served aboard the USS DuPage during World War II. This ship received six battle stars, the most for its type of ship in the Pacific Fleet. The ship was instrumental in delivering armory and Marine personnel for assaults/beach landings on Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau Islands, Peleliu Island, Leyte, Lingayan Gulf, and San Antonio Bay (only unopposed landing). The ship was attacked by a Japanese kamikaze (suicide plane) that killed 35 and wounded 157. Surviving are: his children, Terry Eugene O'Dell and his wife Faye of Anderson, Tommy Lamar Cothran and his wife Fran of Bonneau Beach, Deborah Kaye Carmickle and her husband Bobby of Columbus, Georgia and Carole Paige Kelly of Columbus, Georgia; sisters, Betty Thompson of Greenville, Annie Holliday of Anderson and Mary Cothran of Pelzer; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. For those that wish, memorial messages and thoughts of condolence as well as memories of Wendell may be shared with the Cothran family by visiting: www.briceherndonfuneralhome.com. Family and friends are invited to call Thursday afternoon from 2:00 p.m. until the hour of the service. THE BRICE W. HERNDON AND SONS FUNERAL HOMES, WALTERBORO CHAPEL, 1193 Bells Highway, Walterboro, 843.538.5408. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/ deaths