Retired principal Martin L. Abel, 94, of Bamberg, died Monday, May 21, 2012, at Agape Senior Residential Care, Columbia. Services will be announced at a later date.

A memorial service for Scott Allan Cecil, 41, of Nashville, Tenn., was held Sunday, May 20, 2012 in Orangeburg. He was born December 10, 1970, in Wichita Falls, Texas, the son of Wayne Cecil and Vicky Hamilton.

The funeral for Collis Harold “Tom” Davis Sr., 79, of Bamberg, was held Wednesday, May 16, 2012, at First Baptist Church of Bamberg. He was born September 24, 1932, in Norway to the late Arthur Wells Davis and the late Lou Ella Davis and was married to Daisy Blume Davis for 55 years. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Bamberg. He has an associate degree in industrial engineering. He retired from Delevan with 27 years of service and worked for Bamberg Textile for 10 years. He enjoyed fishing, gunsmithing and spending time with his family. He was a past master of Ornan Lodge #38, Bamberg. He was a volunteer firefighter and served on the rescue squad. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955 and was stationed in Germany. He also served in the S.C. Army National Guard.

Margie Emma Crum Dean, 86, of Florence, a resident of United Methodist Manor of the Pee Dee, passed away on Monday, May 14, 2012. Graveside services were held Thursday, May 17,2012 in Memorial Park Cemetery in Orangeburg. Mrs. Dean was born in Rowesville, a daughter of the late Benjamin Cleveland and Nealie Coleman Crum. She was a loving mother with a strong Christian faith, a long-time member of Pamplico United Methodist Church and a current member of Central United Methodist Church. She was a teacher for 35 years, having taught in Branchville High School, Brookland-Cayce Junior High, York Junior High, and Hannah-Pamplico Middle School from which she retired.

A celebration of life service for Ethel Dewitt, 78, of Orangeburg, was held Saturday May 19, 2012, at Williams Chapel AME Church, Orangeburg. Mrs. Dewitt died Monday, May 14, 2012 as the result of an auto accident. Ethel Dewitt, the daughter of the late Charles Sanders and Mary Gillens, was born in Berkeley County and was educated in Berkeley County School District. She attended Claflin University and later graduated from Voorhees College in Denmark. Upon graduating, Ethel moved to New York where she met and married James Dewitt. Ethel retired and relocated to Orangeburg with her husband in 1991 after working 25 years as a fraud investigator for the Attorney General’s office of the state of New York.

Mr. Jacob Marshall Gibson, affectionately known to all as “Mutt”, 66, of Ehrhardt, entered into eternal rest Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg. He was the husband of the late Etheline Jarrell Gibson. Funeral services were held Friday, May 18, 2012 at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. Mr. Gibson was born July 19, 1945 in Colleton County and was a son of the late Jacob Laz Gibson and Irene Kinard Gibson. He served his country faithfully, having retired from the South Carolina National Guard and also retired from NEVAMAR in Hampton. He was a dedicated member of Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church and was also a member of Oak Grove Hunting Club. An avid outdoorsman, he loved hunting, farming and logging, but most of all he loved his family and loved helping others.

Joseph Glen Hart, 80, of Bowman, husband of Claudia Ann Hart, entered into eternal rest after a courageous battle with heart disease and cancer on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at his residence, surrounded by his family. Funeral services were held Friday, May 18, 2012 at Duncan Chapel United Methodist Church. Glen was born January 15, 1932, in Clearwater, Fla., a son of the late William Pinckney Hart Jr. and Catherine Sidell Kizer Hart. He was a 1939 graduate of St. George High school and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. In 1984, he retired as a master carpenter with the Charleston Naval Shipyard. He was a member of American Legion Post 503 and Duncan Chapel United Methodist Church. He served on numerous boards, but mostly he enjoyed taking care of the church and cemetery grounds until his illness in 2008. He enjoyed fishing, coon hunting, spending time with his family and friends and putting puzzles together at home.

Thomas Malcolm Kittrell, 85, of Cope, died Friday, May 18, 2012, at his residence after an extended illness. The funeral was held Monday, May 21, 2012 in Orangeburg. He was born November 14, 1926, in Orangeburg County, the son of the late Hallie W. Kittrell and the late Lilly Victoria Etheridge Kittrell. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a veteran of World War II. He retired in 1985 from DuPont in Aiken. He was a member of Bamberg Masonic Lodge.

A memorial service for Genny Martin Nguyen, 37, of Denmark, was held Saturday, May 19, 2012 in Orangeburg. She died Monday, May 14, 2012 at her residence. She was born September 4, 1974, in Orangeburg, the daughter of Linda Gleaton Martin and the late William J. Martin. She was married to Tuan Nguyen, her first and only love, after 10 years of dating. On March 2, 1996 they were blessed with a daughter, MaKayla Nguyen, during their first year of marriage. She was more than a loving mother. Words can’t express the bond between her an MaKayla. They were a unique pair of soul mates. Everyone who knew her was graced with one of the most sensitive, generous and caring souls that shined from the inside out. She was someone who never gave up. Although she is now gone, it’s not because she quit. God said to her, “I’ve let everyone borrow you, my Angel, long enough, it’s time to come Home.”

Viewing for Lula Summers, of Brooklyn, N.Y., formerly of Bowman, was held Saturday, May 19, 2012 in Branchville. Interment was in Sandy Run Cemetery, Bowman. Lula “Inell” Summers was the second eldest of nine children of the late Nora Martino and the late Sam McCord, born on August 23, 1920, in Bowman. Lula was granted her angel wings on Sunday, May 6, 2012, when God dispatched His Angel to pick up His property whom He purchased with His blood. Lula’s final day was spent surrounded by family that was touched in some way throughout her very memorable life. Lula went to school in Bowman. On February 20, 1943, she married the late Malachi Boy Summers in Bowman, and from that union, the late Jeanette Pearl Blackwell and the late Wallce were born. In 1974, she married the late William “Slim” Thompson. For many years, she worked as a domestic worker and factory worker in Brooklyn. In 1969, she purchased her “soul food” restaurant in Brooklyn on Atlantic Avenue and New York Avenue. She was an active member of New Covenant Methodist Church in Bowman until her return to New York City in April 2011 due to sickness. She was also a member of Knight Baptist Church in Brooklyn until the death of her pastor. She then joined Ocean-Hill Brownsville Baptist Church, where she was the “mother of the church” until her return to Bowman in 1986. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star under Sarah Chapter #5 in Brooklyn.

Mary Nell Faust Thomas, of Cope passed away in her home Friday, May 18th, surrounded by her family, following a long illness. A memorial service was held Sunday, May 20th, at Union United Methodist Church in Cope. Born on October 29, 1931 in Williston, SC, she was the daughter of the late Henry Klugh Faust and Myrtle Woodward Faust, who later married W. G. “Dub” Kirkland. She was also predeceased by her brothers, Klugh Faust, Jr. and John Faust, survived by wife, Betty Faust. Mrs. Thomas was a loving and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. She was an active member of Union United Methodist Church. She also reached out and touched many lives with her cards and letters.