Franklin Tarpley Jr. 

Departed this life May 21, 2020.  Franklin Tarpley Jr., age 60, of Richmond, formerly of New York.  He retired from the U.  S.  Navy.  He is survived by his father and mother, Franklin D.  Tarpley Sr and Carolyn Tarpley;  three sisters, Teresa L.  Olson(Don), Debra A.  Tarpley(Charles) and Linda Williams(Ron);  a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins;  and other relatives and friends.  Services rendered by Joseph Jenkins Jr.  Funeral Home, 2011 Grayland Avenue.  Memorial services at a later date.

Phillip M. Odom

HARTSVILLE, S.C. — Phil Odom expected that he wouldn’t survive his stay in the hospital and he didn’t. But he wanted his death to mean something and it did.

He wanted his experience with the coronavirus to help doctors understand the disease and how to treat it.

Phillip M. Odom grew up in Hartsville, graduated from Hartsville High School in 1959 and joined the Navy. He served his country for more than 20 years in submarine and surface fleets around the world.

He retired as a lieutenant in the spring of 1980 and returned to his hometown, where he worked as an engineer for Carolina Power and Light and Progress Energy. He retired from the H.B. Robinson plant near Hartsville in 2003.

For many years, he owned and operated The Plant House in Hartsville, where he was well-known for his annual Christmas tree lot.

On Saturday, April 25, Phil Odom died of the coronavirus.

Phil and Sara Odom were married for nearly 58 years and have four children and 15 grandchildren.

Sara said they enjoyed each other’s company and were each other’s best friend.

Sara chronicled much of Phil’s journey with the coronavirus on Facebook for her friends and prayer warriors. Parts of that narrative are included here.

About three or four weeks ago, the couple went for a walk in the park, social distancing and doing all that was recommended, when, Sara said, Phil turned to her and said he couldn’t continue the walk, that they needed to turn around and go back home. He was out of breath. Thinking it was due to a pre-existing condition, Phil put off going to his doctor for about a week. Once Sara persuaded him to go, he was tested for COVID-19, and the test came back positive.

Sara Odom said her husband was in good physical condition when this virus attacked him.

“He went from being able to breathe to several days later gasping for breath,” she said. “My husband had a cough, ran a low-grade fever (99) and other risk factors included age (79) heart (quadrupled bypass), and pulmonary fibrosis.”

Phil was admitted to the Baptist Hospital in Columbia on Monday, April 13, with a severe case of COVID-19. His health quickly declined and by Friday of that week he was put on life support. His systems were shutting down. Even on life support, he coded but was revived, she said.

“We were pursuing a plasma donor, and he/we needed time,” Sara wrote on her Facebook page as she kept her friends up to date on his condition. “It was/is a risk we were willing to take for someone who under normal circumstances would not choose life support. However, these are not normal times. The coronavirus is not your typical virus. We have much to learn about it. Phil will help us learn. The ventilator would buy Phil time for us/the medical team to ‘try’ the plasma treatment which only recently was being touted as a possible treatment for coronavirus.”

On Saturday afternoon, April 18, he received the first of two plasma treatments.

The donation was from a total stranger, a coronavirus survivor, Sara Odom said.

“The way this donor got in touch with us is a ‘praise God’ story in itself,” she said.

She said her daughter made a Facebook request for donors and that started many others sharing her post.

“This stranger got in touch with Marla after receiving the post,” Odom said. “He gave his blood immediately, designated Phil as the plasma recipient in one of what we think is the earliest such direct to patient plasma donors in South Carolina.”

The plasma treatment wasn’t able to save Phil Odom’s life, but Sara hopes the doctors were able to learn from it.

On April 29, four days after her husband’s death, Odom wrote once again to her friends and prayer warriors — the rest of the story.

“One puzzle piece you were missing is that about a year ago my husband found out that he had pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal illness. Phil immediately began to put his affairs in order. The attic was cleaned out; drawers were emptied; old files were discarded. Throughout the year he continued to put affairs in order. In the fall his diagnosis was reaffirmed, and it was slowly progressing. He did not want to share this with anyone because he wanted to live as normal a life as possible as long as he could. This was how he was, and he really was physically doing seemingly well. When the virus hit our country, his pulmonologist told us that this diagnosis coupled with his other at-risk factors placed him squarely at the mercy of the coronavirus if he contracted the disease. The virus would be fatal for him. Well, he did contract it, and the rest has been recorded in our journey together.

”On Friday night before his passing on Saturday morning, a second plasma treatment was infused to see if Phil’s vital signs would reverse themselves. The plasma did reverse them for a brief period, but his organs were already in a shutdown phase. In the course of the evening, our son, Billy, who is a medical doctor, relayed to Phil’s medical team that it was the family’s desire that they continue to try every possible experimental technique on Phil in order to learn as much as possible about the Coronavirus until he passed. Doctors need to see and get firsthand knowledge on how each treatment impacts certain individual risk factors. Who knows how a miracle occurs? On Saturday morning, a week and a day after being placed on the ventilator, we received word that Phil was leaving this world. Within minutes he did just that.”

Odom said to receive the plasma they had to sign for Phil to be a part of a clinical trial. She said her husband signed the form himself.

”I think we were on the cutting edge of giving plasma,” Odom said. We felt like it would benefit other people. In his case we waited too long. I think he would like that the doctors said they have learned from his case.”

The family was joined by their church congregation in celebrating Phil’s life on a live stream funeral service on Facebook and YouTube as the interment was taking place in the Fort Jackson National Cemetery.

“It was a novel experience for us all, and the labor of love that our church ministry team provided to bring this to pass was incredible,” Odom wrote on Facebook. “To our family it was amazingly perfect in every Godly way. As individual families living in different places, we were not able to hug, or embrace in any way during this time. As our dear church staff and Pastor Carl were conducting this service from Hartsville, the family were listening in and watching the burial of our husband, father, and Pop in Columbia. The congregation were singing ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ and we were singing along as a family at the grave site. It was a moving experience for us.”

Odom said they were the last scheduled funeral of the day, and the director allowed 10 of them to socially distance themselves from each other, a requirement for even within family units, and they were able to stand closer to the site than they had thought would be allowed.

Odom said each of us is going through our own personal journeys of uncertainty at this time. Many have lost their jobs and don’t know how they are going to make ends meet. Many are struggling with terminal illnesses. Some are struggling with mental issues. Many are struggling with the isolation we find ourselves in.

Odom said so many people took the time to engage in their journey.

“We had so many friend requests from people we didn’t even know,” Odom said. “My daughter had over a 100 requests. Certainly, this has been an overwhelming response.”

Odom said her daughter said so many people are suffering and are looking for a miracle. They were hoping the Odoms would get their miracle.

“We want people to know in our minds and hearts a miracle did exist.”

While God’s plan did not include a recovery from the coronavirus for Phil Odom, Sara said, they did experience a miracle — at least three miracles.

She said through the power and grace of God, Phil was greeted “by our Lord and Savior.” He was spared the suffering and painful ordeal of the slow progression of pulmonary fibrosis over the next two or three years; and “doctors tell us that they learned valuable information about the coronavirus through their treatments on Phil which will help future patients.”

Odom said it has been difficult. She said from the day she loaded Phil in the car to go to the hospital, he knew. As they left the house, her husband said, “This is goodbye.”

She said Phil has been taking care of her since she was 19 years old and even after his death he continues to do so.

“I think as I am going through these days after his death, I am so appreciative that he had the forethought to plan for these days,” Odom said.

On his desk, she said, he had laid out folders, taking care of business, and labeling each one, telling her what to do first.

“I’ll be 77 on my birthday and my husband is still taking care of me,” Odom said.

Odom also took the test for COVID-19 at the same time as her husband, and she, too, tested positive.

“I am waiting until the 28th day (after her diagnosis) to volunteer to give blood plasma,” Odom said.

Odom said if you are a coronavirus survivor, donate. She said that “all over the state doctors are begging for plasma to use as an option for their critically ill coronavirus patients. The process takes time, but it may very well save a life. The medical teams are learning daily how to treat this virus. Fill the blood banks so they have a supply on hand when needed. Time is of the essence.”

Hannah R Williams‎ to USS Von Steuben (SSBN 632) Alumni

April 14 at 8:15 PM ·

Though I did not serve with you all this amazing man did he is my uncle lieutenant Thomas E. O'Connor Jr. & our family just recently lost him on April the 6th. So any of you all who remember him, please feel free to post any stories you might have. My family would greatly appreciate hearing them no matter how raunchy they may be.

Joseph B. McCracken Ridgeville, SC - Joseph B. McCracken, 79, of Ridgeville, husband of the late Cary Jane, passed away on Monday, July 1, 2019. Born Clearfield, PA, March 31, 1940. Son of Earl and Blanche McCracken. Survived by sister Nancy Wilenzik of Doylestown, PA and Roger Winter, grandson of the late Jane McCracken. Preceded in death by one brother David of Mahaffey, PA. Also survived by numerous nephews and nieces. Graduated from Curwensville, PA high school, attended Penn State University; Served in U.S. Navy, Atomic Submarine Service; Retired from General Electric. Funeral services will be private. A memorial may be written to the family by visiting our website at www.jamesadyal.com. ARRANGEMENTS BY JAMES A. DYAL FUNERAL HOME, 303 SOUTH MAIN STREET, SUMMERVILLE, SC 29483 (843)873-4040. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston

Michael Arthur Connor – Formerly of Hookstown

Michael Arthur Connor, formerly of Hookstown, Pennsylvania, passed away at his residence in Goose Creek, S.C., on July 6, 2017.

He was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, on July 24, 1954, to Arthur “Red” Connor and the late Regina Theil Sluka. Michael attended and graduated from South Side Schools in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, he joined the United States Navy in 1973, where he served for 24 years. During his Naval Career, he served on several submarines including the Nathan Hale, James Monroe, James K Polk, Von Steuben, and the Newport News as well as a year of recruiting duty in Findlay, Ohio, and 4 years at MEPS in Lansing, Michigan. At the time of retirement in 1998, he was a Machinist Mate (Chief).

After his military service, he worked in Public Safety at the Citadel until his retirement in July 2016. He was always proud of how many tickets he issued as well as how many boots he put on. Michael enjoyed his model trains (various scales), his collection of Monopoly games from all over the world, and watching movies from his private library. He loved the quiet times at home with Janice and spending time with his children when they would come home for visits. A visit home for them was never complete without a visit to the Citadel.

His family meant the world to him. He truly loved his wife and deeply loved and was extremely proud of his children as he spoke about them regularly to those he knew.

Michael was preceded in death by his mother, Regina; his step-father, Frank Sluka, and all four grandparents.

He is survived by his wife, Janice of 9 years; his children, Stephanie and her husband Steven Greenwalt of Missouri, Stephen and his wife Mara Connor of Ohio, Sarah Connor of South Carolina, and Matthew Carrico of Pennsylvania; his grandchildren, Chuck and his wife Ana Wheeler of California, Sierra Wheeler and Kevin Wheeler of Ohio, DJ Wilbanks of South Carolina, and Hunter, Forest, and Wyatt Greenwalt of Missouri; his father, Arthur Connor; his brothers and sisters, Bob and his wife Deb Connor, Tom Connor, Betsy Connor, Donna and her husband Danny Halstead, Frank Sluka, Dawn Flinn, and Mikki and her husband Brad Gilson; several nieces and nephews; his former wife and lifelong friend, Linda Connor and her parents, Marlene and Randy Snoke and his close friend, Leonard Gibbs.

Family and friends are welcome to call at the MCCONNELL FUNERAL HOME, 447 Pine St., Hookstown, PA 15050, Friday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. where services will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Eric Edwards officiating.

He will be laid to rest with military honors in the Mill Creek Hill Cemetery.

DONALD E. OLDHAM, Sr.