Alfred Skipper, Jr.

Alfred E. Skipper, Jr., 91, died 1 April 2008 at Silver Bluff Nursing Home. He was born in Wampee, S.C. on 29 March 1917, one of six children of Alfred E. Skipper and Sarah Etta Jones Skipper. He was the last surviving member of his family. He was predeceased by his brothers and sister – Evey Lena S. Cox, Oscar, Spivey, Clacy, who died in combat in WWII, and William Edward. His wife of 56, years, Dorothy Cox Skipper, of Dothan, N.C. also predeceased him in 1998. He was also preceded in death by a grandson, Joshua Nathaniel Garrick, who died at age 9, in 1987. He is survived by his three children, Sarah S. Patton and her husband, Roy H. Patton, Jr. of Canton, N.C., Alfred E. Skipper III and his wife, Bertha Hill Skipper of Clyde, N.C., and Della S. Garrick and her husband Stephen C. Garrick of North Augusta, S.C.; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. At age 17, he began working for Strickland Brother in Loris, S.C., he then worked at P.V. Kapps Co. in Jacksonville, N.C. From there he entered the Army Air Corps on 11 April 1942. He was an airplane and engine mechanic and technician through the war, and was discharged as Staff Sergeant on 30 November 1945. He was always proud of his military service. Following the war, he worked for Prince Brothers Chevrolet in Tabor City, N.C. and Loris, S.C. as a parts manager. He was co-owner of G. & S. Market, a grocery store in Loris, until he moved to Kingstree, S.C., in 1960, where he managed Coastal Feed and Seed. He then started driving for Morgan Drive-Away, and did until his retirement following his move to Clyde, N.C. to be closer to his children in 1975. During his career with Morgan Drive-Away he drove over two million miles in 47 of the 48 Contiguous states, and Canada and Mexico, but had never been out of sight of the U.S. mainland until he took the ferry to Okracoke Island on the Outer Banks in 1999. He was always entertaining with his stories about his army and work experiences, and could repeat every joke he had heard even one time. He was a member of the Kingstree Lodge No. 46, AFM for many years, and regularly attended the Clyde Lodge for as long as his health permitted. His funeral services will be held in Loris, S.C. on Saturday, 5 April 2008, at 11:00 AM in the Chapel of Hardwick Funeral Home with visitation one hour before at the funeral home, and interment will be at Carter Cemetery in Loris. Wells Funeral Home of Canton is in charge of the local arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Attn: Memorial/Honor Program, one St. Jude Place Bldg., P.O. Box 10000, Dept. 300, Memphis, TN 38148 or to the Shriners Children's Hospital, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605.

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