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Bertha C. <I>Lawrimore</I> Cole

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Bertha C. Lawrimore Cole

Birth
Pleasant Hill, Georgetown County, South Carolina, USA
Death
25 Sep 2020 (aged 101)
Georgetown, Georgetown County, South Carolina, USA
Burial
Georgetown, Georgetown County, South Carolina, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Georgetown:

Bertha C. Lawrimore Uptegrove Cole, 101 years of age, went home to be with our Lord on Friday morning, September 25, 2020, at Morningside Assisted Living in Georgetown, SC.

She was born in upper Georgetown County near Pleasant Hill on March 19, 1919, a daughter of the late John Russell Lawrimore, Sr. and his wife, the former Annie Jane Brown. She was next to the youngest of six children who have all predeceased her.

Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church became the church home for Bertha and her first husband, the late John Raymond Uptegrove when they were newlyweds in 1939. Duncan remained “home” following her second marriage to the late Albert Harman Cole in 1995, where they were active members until health issues prevented further attendance.

Bertha was a member of the Susanna Wesley Sunday School class and the Methodist Women’s Circle at Duncan. She was also active in the Winyah Chapter #148, Order of the Eastern Star, the Women’s Home Demonstration Club, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Her hobbies included sewing, cross-stitching, quilting, gardening reading, cooking, and spending time with her family. Bertha enjoyed being a homemaker and she also worked as a nurse’s aide in Georgetown Memorial Hospital, clerked at The Grab Bag fabric shop, and altered garments at Fogel’s Department Store and in her home. Her positive work ethic made it apparent that “in whatever she did, she did it as unto the Lord”

Bertha started her early schooling in Pleasant Hill. By the time she was ten years old, the “Great Depression” turned prosperity into poverty for millions of Americans; and her family was no exception. Their financial situation worsened a few years later when their home and everything in it burned to the ground. Her family then moved near relatives in Bucksport in Horry County as they sought better employment opportunities. It was then that she transferred to and later graduated from Conway High School. Bertha’s deepest desire was to go into nurses’ training following graduation but due to their still-depressed financial circumstances, she was not able to pursue her dream.

Bertha was able, however, to satisfy her passion for nursing as she accepted the calling of caring for family members with health problems. For example she skillfully tended to the needs of her mother-in-law, Annie Uptegrove during her extended illnesses and later nursed her own invalid mother. Bertha sustained and encouraged her first husband during his long struggle with various health issues; and she ministered to her second husband as his health declined. Putting the need of others before her own needs was a blessing to many people simply because she had the gift of a caregiver’s heart.

Bertha’s refreshing sense of humor, extremely quick with, and her Christian spirit endeared her to everyone. She frequently wore pink, which coincidentally accentuated the joy in her beautiful smile. The saying, “to know her was to love her” was an appropriate tribute to her captivating personality.

The trials and sorrows inherent to living in this world did not seem to diminish her spirit or restrain her hopes for the future. She patiently adapted and endured as she stood firm with the promise of God’s Word; and her inner peace was strengthened by this powerful message of the Sernity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In addition to her parents, husbands, siblings and some of her nieces and nephews, Bertha was predeceased by her infant daughter, Frances Ann Uptegrove.

Surviving are: her son, Raymond R. Uptegrove (Kay); two daughters, Jane Uptegrove Owens and Susan Uptegrove Leedecke (Wayne); a step-son, Edward R. Cole (Gayle); two step-daughter, Patricia Cole Springer (David) and Susan Cole Swails (John Marshall, Sr.; six grandchildren, Dr. Russell L. Uptegrove, Ellen U. Trumbore (Mike), Angela O. Suiter (Wayne), Amy O. Sanchez (Frank), Alicia M. Owens, and George J. Leedecke; six step-grandchildren, Edward L. Cole, Alexandra S. Cole, Erin Swails Lubash (Mike), John Marshall Swails, Jr. (Elizabeth), Agee Springer (BriAnna) and Chapman Springer; seven great-grandchildren, Laurin B. Uptegrove, Katherine A. Uptegrove, Charles Bradley Allen, Meredith R. Allen, Kyle A Milner, Katie J. Sanchez, and Abbigayle N. Leedecke, and one step-great-grandchild John Swails, III. Also surviving are her nieces, Miriam Lawrimore Allen (Roddy), Ann Lawrimore Bashor (Bill), and nephews, Jeffrey Humphries, Larry Moore (Betty) and David Hemstrought (Mrs. Billie).

A graveside service for Bertha C. Lawrimore Uptegrove Cole will be eleven o’clock Monday, September 28, 2020, in Elmwood cemetery, 1601 Highmarket Street, Georgetown, SC. Officiating will be the Rev. Dr. Dora Gafford, former pastor of Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church.
In case of inclement weather, the service will be held in the Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home at 222 Saint James St. in Georgetown.

Due to Covid-19, the family asks that everyone please practice social distancing and facemasks as required.

The family would like to thank the staff of Morningside Assisted Living for their genuinely loving and tender care. Appreciation is also extended to the member of Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church for their many visits, cards, gifts and especially for their prayerful support through the years.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, 901 Highmarket Street, Georgetown, SC 29440

The Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Georgetown:

Bertha C. Lawrimore Uptegrove Cole, 101 years of age, went home to be with our Lord on Friday morning, September 25, 2020, at Morningside Assisted Living in Georgetown, SC.

She was born in upper Georgetown County near Pleasant Hill on March 19, 1919, a daughter of the late John Russell Lawrimore, Sr. and his wife, the former Annie Jane Brown. She was next to the youngest of six children who have all predeceased her.

Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church became the church home for Bertha and her first husband, the late John Raymond Uptegrove when they were newlyweds in 1939. Duncan remained “home” following her second marriage to the late Albert Harman Cole in 1995, where they were active members until health issues prevented further attendance.

Bertha was a member of the Susanna Wesley Sunday School class and the Methodist Women’s Circle at Duncan. She was also active in the Winyah Chapter #148, Order of the Eastern Star, the Women’s Home Demonstration Club, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Her hobbies included sewing, cross-stitching, quilting, gardening reading, cooking, and spending time with her family. Bertha enjoyed being a homemaker and she also worked as a nurse’s aide in Georgetown Memorial Hospital, clerked at The Grab Bag fabric shop, and altered garments at Fogel’s Department Store and in her home. Her positive work ethic made it apparent that “in whatever she did, she did it as unto the Lord”

Bertha started her early schooling in Pleasant Hill. By the time she was ten years old, the “Great Depression” turned prosperity into poverty for millions of Americans; and her family was no exception. Their financial situation worsened a few years later when their home and everything in it burned to the ground. Her family then moved near relatives in Bucksport in Horry County as they sought better employment opportunities. It was then that she transferred to and later graduated from Conway High School. Bertha’s deepest desire was to go into nurses’ training following graduation but due to their still-depressed financial circumstances, she was not able to pursue her dream.

Bertha was able, however, to satisfy her passion for nursing as she accepted the calling of caring for family members with health problems. For example she skillfully tended to the needs of her mother-in-law, Annie Uptegrove during her extended illnesses and later nursed her own invalid mother. Bertha sustained and encouraged her first husband during his long struggle with various health issues; and she ministered to her second husband as his health declined. Putting the need of others before her own needs was a blessing to many people simply because she had the gift of a caregiver’s heart.

Bertha’s refreshing sense of humor, extremely quick with, and her Christian spirit endeared her to everyone. She frequently wore pink, which coincidentally accentuated the joy in her beautiful smile. The saying, “to know her was to love her” was an appropriate tribute to her captivating personality.

The trials and sorrows inherent to living in this world did not seem to diminish her spirit or restrain her hopes for the future. She patiently adapted and endured as she stood firm with the promise of God’s Word; and her inner peace was strengthened by this powerful message of the Sernity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In addition to her parents, husbands, siblings and some of her nieces and nephews, Bertha was predeceased by her infant daughter, Frances Ann Uptegrove.

Surviving are: her son, Raymond R. Uptegrove (Kay); two daughters, Jane Uptegrove Owens and Susan Uptegrove Leedecke (Wayne); a step-son, Edward R. Cole (Gayle); two step-daughter, Patricia Cole Springer (David) and Susan Cole Swails (John Marshall, Sr.; six grandchildren, Dr. Russell L. Uptegrove, Ellen U. Trumbore (Mike), Angela O. Suiter (Wayne), Amy O. Sanchez (Frank), Alicia M. Owens, and George J. Leedecke; six step-grandchildren, Edward L. Cole, Alexandra S. Cole, Erin Swails Lubash (Mike), John Marshall Swails, Jr. (Elizabeth), Agee Springer (BriAnna) and Chapman Springer; seven great-grandchildren, Laurin B. Uptegrove, Katherine A. Uptegrove, Charles Bradley Allen, Meredith R. Allen, Kyle A Milner, Katie J. Sanchez, and Abbigayle N. Leedecke, and one step-great-grandchild John Swails, III. Also surviving are her nieces, Miriam Lawrimore Allen (Roddy), Ann Lawrimore Bashor (Bill), and nephews, Jeffrey Humphries, Larry Moore (Betty) and David Hemstrought (Mrs. Billie).

A graveside service for Bertha C. Lawrimore Uptegrove Cole will be eleven o’clock Monday, September 28, 2020, in Elmwood cemetery, 1601 Highmarket Street, Georgetown, SC. Officiating will be the Rev. Dr. Dora Gafford, former pastor of Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church.
In case of inclement weather, the service will be held in the Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home at 222 Saint James St. in Georgetown.

Due to Covid-19, the family asks that everyone please practice social distancing and facemasks as required.

The family would like to thank the staff of Morningside Assisted Living for their genuinely loving and tender care. Appreciation is also extended to the member of Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church for their many visits, cards, gifts and especially for their prayerful support through the years.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church, 901 Highmarket Street, Georgetown, SC 29440

The Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.


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  • Created by: Roger Lambert
  • Added: Sep 25, 2020
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216045543/bertha_c-cole: accessed ), memorial page for Bertha C. Lawrimore Cole (19 Mar 1919–25 Sep 2020), Find a Grave Memorial ID 216045543, citing Elmwood Cemetery and Annex, Georgetown, Georgetown County, South Carolina, USA; Maintained by Roger Lambert (contributor 47400721).