James Shirer Obituary

James Howard Shirer ELLOREE, SC - James Howard Shirer, 90, of Elloree, SC, died Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at Calhoun Convalescent Center, St. Matthews, SC after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 12 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Elloree, with the Rev. Randy Mosteller officiating. Burial will be at the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, December 11 at Fogle-Hungerpiller Funeral Home in Elloree. Friends may also call at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Shirer, 3222 Foxfire Lane, Orangeburg. Pallbearers will be his grandson, James Calder Shirer; nephews James Vernon Shirer, Keister Mack Shirer, Jr., James David Shirer, Richard Brian Jenkins and Jay Robin Jenkins. Born in Lone Star, SC on July 25, 1924, Mr. Shirer was the son of Felder James Shirer and Mable Mack Shirer. He attended Clemson College from 1941 until called to active military service in 1943 in the United States Army Air Corps, where he fought in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns in France, Belgium and Germany, flying twenty-five missions on a B-26 Marauder. He received a European Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars and an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He returned to Clemson College in 1946 and graduated in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering. Mr. Shirer was a row crop, small grains and Angus beef cattle farmer and was manager of Community Gin Company. He served in a number of agricultural organizations, including Farm Bureau, Orangeburg Area Cattlemen's Association, and he represented District 5 on the South Carolina Beef Board. Active in the Elloree community, Mr. Shirer served for 27 years on the Orangeburg County School District 7 School Board of Trustees, 25 as chairman. He was Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop No. 83 for 18 years and was a Silver Beaver. He was a charter member and the first president of the Elloree Jaycees and was a member of both the Elloree Lions Club and the AFM Charity Lodge #62 for over 60 years. He was also active in the American Legion. A long-time member of Trinity Lutheran Church, he taught Sunday School, served on church council, and was the Sunday School Superintendent for many years. Mr. Shirer was married to the late Betty Lou Lasley and is survived by five children: James Howard (Barbara) Shirer, Jr. of Orangeburg, SC, John William Shirer of Elloree, SC, Louis Lasley Shirer of Cayce, SC, Richard Luther (Alyson) Shirer of Lexington, SC, Elizabeth "Sug" Shirer (Paul) Williamson of Frisco, TX; seven grandchildren: Rebecca Lasley Shirer and Susan Warren Shirer of Mount Pleasant, SC, Emily Rutledge Shirer of Orangeburg, SC; Catherine Ellis Shirer, James Calder Shirer, William Richard Shirer and Caroline Elizabeth Shirer all of Lexington, SC; and two step-grandchildren Joseph Williamson of Blythe, GA and Nathan Williamson of Fawn Glen, CA. He is survived by a sister, Emily Shirer Jenkins of Elloree, SC and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Mr. Shirer was predeceased by brothers, Keister Mack Shirer and Robert Vernon Shirer. Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, PO Box 487, Elloree, SC 29047 or the Elloree Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, PO Box 54, Elloree, SC 29047. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston