John Bruce Hancock c 1939-January 22, 2022
West Columbia, South Carolina - John Bruce Hancock passed away at the age of 82, surrounded by his family, on January 22, 2022. Many people avoid cemeteries, but not John. He loved Elmwood Cemetery and visited often to tend to graves and remember family members who had passed away. Always the sign man, he joked in recent years he was going to place a sign on his plot that said, "Coming Soon!" One of his many gifts was making those around him feel less afraid. He shared so many family stories, that we feel he is now reunited with people who loved him, and whom he loved, before us.
John was always good company; gracious and funny; interested in how others were doing. Even as his health challenges mounted, he entertained, and without fail, he put others at ease. He was endearing and kind. He regularly donated blood and platelets until his health required that he stop.
John lived his early years on Assembly Street, just behind Arsenal Hill Presbyterian Church, next door to his grandparents. He attended Logan Elementary, Rosewood Elementary, Dent Middle, Hand Middle and Dreher High School. The oldest of three boys, John tried to help his mother after his father died of a heart attack when John was just twelve years old. His parents had recently bought a home on Penbroke Avenue and he worked bagging groceries to help pay the mortgage.
He threw the discus and shot put at Dreher and he and his cousin, Tommy McCall, performed gymnastics routines for the talent show. Bonnie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 57 years, remembers being in the gym and seeing a muscular, tan, young man with white gymnastics pants and no shirt as he spun his 6'1" frame around the high bar. She asked him to an Entre Nous social club dance.
John served in the SC Air National Guard for six years. Then he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic and was stationed in Seville, Spain. He purchased a piece of lace and a comb while there, which Bonnie wore as her wedding veil.
Bonnie and John married on Thanksgiving Day 1964. It is said that you don't only marry your spouse, you marry their family, and John certainly did that. He loved, played with and protected Bonnie's sisters, Jemme and Jane from the start. They were just 10 and four years old when Bonnie and John began dating. Bonnie's mother, Ruby, became his best audience.
Fatherhood came naturally to John because he had been taking care of people he loved his entire life. When one of his three girls was sick, he tucked in the covers around her with his big ol' hands, and said, "Tuck, tuck, tuck; fix, fix, fix."
Bonnie and John's home was the place to be on weekends for nieces, nephews, and neighborhood kids. He taught them the gymnastics routines that he and Tommy did. He threw the softball to prepare them for games on the Disco Dolls team. He created a huge backyard swing that hung between two pine trees and launched children so high in the air that neighbors could see them from the front yard. At bedtime he flew each child to bed like Superman; sound effects included, occasionally crashing them into a wall or ceiling. Instead of reading bedtime stories, John invented tales of sisters who lived in a dark forest and befriended monsters who were good-hearted and misunderstood.
John and Bonnie enjoyed going to Carolina football games with John's brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Kaki, and Bobby and Elizabeth. John loved being with family, win or lose. For years, during the week, he ate breakfast and lunch at Lizard's Thicket on Two Notch Road, where he befriended staff and other regulars. In recent years, Cracker Barrel was his favorite spot for family breakfasts and he made friends there, too.
He couldn't bear to see anyone or anything hungry. He fed a feral cat twice a day for nine years, even though it never once let him pet it. He loved an Old Milwalkee in a frosty mug and he loved to make cheese grits with so much cheddar cheese they were bright orange.
He started his career as a BellSouth lineman, as his father had done, and loved it. Soon after, he jumped at the chance to go into business with his brothers in a company called Uniflock and they enjoyed working and playing together in equal measure. When his brothers moved on, John built Realty Advertising sign company for 30 years until he sold it and retired at the age of 61.
He took his girls to work with him on Saturdays and made them feel like they were helping; showing them how to hammer a nail or use a post hole digger, always encouraging them to try. After work, he smelled like paint thinner and the outdoors.
John was a born filmmaker and captured daily life on his super 8 camera. He once spliced footage from a horror film into home movies of a trip to London he and Bonnie took in the 1970s. It showed them getting into a tour bus, then a giant sea monster knocking the bus into the Thames River. He loved to see family and friends react to his creations.
Having chaperoned many dances in Lexington School District 2, Bonnie and John briefly attended each daughter's prom so that John could have one dance with each daughter. Years later, he proudly and handsomely walked each daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He was happy to have a few more men in the family and welcomed his sons-in-law warmly.
In 2006, their home became Pop and Nana's house; a dream setting for their adored grandchildren, John Thomas (named for John), Ella, Reagan and Carlyn. There were swimming lessons in the pool, birthday parties, bedtime stories, unending snacks and treats, card games, RumiQ, riding the zipline, and a hand puppet named Roscoe that Pop created to engage the kids in touching, hilarious conversations. Reagan particularly liked to sit in the closet and talk things over with Pop and Roscoe. They also enjoyed sculpting clay and listening to music in Pop's Man House. He created a, "My First Year," video for each grandchild, from the first ultrasound to the first birthday party. He was famous for pairing each scene with music that was so touching no one ever left a home movie premier with dry eyes.
He attended every recital, football game, performance, play, concert, awards ceremony, and Grandparents' Day he could. He was known for his mustache. His granddaughter, Carlyn, called it his, "scrumptious mustache." His oldest granddaughter, Ella, loved how he said, "Don't forget!" and if anyone asked, "Forget what?" he smiled with his hands spread out at his sides, and said, "You already forgot?" Another favorite was: "Drink your milk, it'll make your hair white and your teeth curly!" He called all flowers, "Noxemas."
Ella wrote a letter to her beloved Pop this week, "You are the strongest person I know. You taught me how to be strong and to never give up," it said. Throughout his life, John often sported a band aid, bandage, or cast. If you asked what happened, you were in for a treat. He loved to tell stories and his comedic timing was impeccable. He cut off the tips of two fingers with a table saw, losing a fingernail. Once healed, he described trimming his fingernails as, "clip, clip, skip, clip, clip."
At the age of twelve, he joined the Downtown Columbia YMCA and remained a member until the COVID pandemic; fortunately, he was able to introduce John Thomas and Ella to the Y before this. He was well-known there, and as he had done at Dreher, he walked on his hands around the gym. He even appeared in TV commercials for the Y, as well as for Godfather's Pizza and Modern Exterminating, and did some modeling for catalogs.
He seemed unaware of how intelligent or talented he was. He read books on physics, history, and philosophy, just to satisfy his curiosity. He took lessons from a local sculptor and was honored to help complete the book held by the librarian sculpture in front of the Lexington Main branch of the library. He and Bonnie took Spanish classes and completed a Spanish language immersion program in Costa Rica. They went on Historic Columbia tours and researched genealogy.
John had an ear for music and at various times enjoyed playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo, hammer dulcimer, harmonica, tin whistle, and the spoons. He and John Thomas loved to play the keyboard and sing together. He visited his mother at Laurel Crest Retirement Community almost daily and befriended her fellow residents in the memory care unit. He showed them hours of home movies he'd made. No one remembered they'd seen them before so he was able to enjoy them himself over and over again.
In retirement, he and Bonnie travelled out west and up the east coast to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland, and Scotland were other destinations. A highlight for John was playing the spoons with a band at a Irish pub.
We are all better for having known John, and as Ella wrote in her final letter to him, "Don't worry, Pop. We won't forget."
John is survived by his wife, Bonnie Hancock; daughters, Shelley Sowell (Joey), Meredith Kaiser (Heinz), Mauren Kreiner (Jim); grandchildren, John Thomas Sowell, Ella Kreiner, Reagan Sowell, Carlyn Kreiner; brother, Bobby Hancock (Elizabeth); sisters-in-law, Jemme Stewart, Jane Gold (Steve); nephew, Edwin Allen Hancock, Jr. (Gina); nieces, Lindsey Hancock Russell, Sarah Hancock; cousins, Bill Hancock, Martha Greenway, David McCall (Joyce), Diane McCall Bond. John was predeceased by his father, Bruce Hancock; his mother, Margaret McCall Mayfield; his brother, Edwin Allen Hancock, Sr., brother-in-law, David Stewart; nephew, John Kevin Hancock; cousin, Tom McCall.
Due to COVID, a private family graveside service was held on Friday, January 28, 2022. Please share your memories in the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Downtown Columbia YMCA or a charity of your choice. Or you may give blood in his honor as supplies are critically low.
[John Bruce Hancock, 82, West Columbia, he served in the S.C. Air National Guard for six years, he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic. I checked him out, he was an A2C assigned to the 169th CAMS. Because of the Covid virus, there was a graveside service for him January 28, 2022. Memorials may be made out to Downtown YMCA, or to the charity of your choice, or just give blood. I must say, he had a first class obituary!-Bob Barkalow]
John bruce Hancock
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
Name: John bruce Hancock
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1932
[abt 1940]
Gender: Male
[White]
[White]
Birthplace: South Carolina
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Map of Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Street: Asseray
House Number: 1824
Sheet Number: 13A
Attended School or College: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Bruce Hancock25 Head
Margaret Hancock20 Wife
John bruce Hancock 8 Son
West Columbia, South Carolina - John Bruce Hancock passed away at the age of 82, surrounded by his family, on January 22, 2022. Many people avoid cemeteries, but not John. He loved Elmwood Cemetery and visited often to tend to graves and remember family members who had passed away. Always the sign man, he joked in recent years he was going to place a sign on his plot that said, "Coming Soon!" One of his many gifts was making those around him feel less afraid. He shared so many family stories, that we feel he is now reunited with people who loved him, and whom he loved, before us.
John was always good company; gracious and funny; interested in how others were doing. Even as his health challenges mounted, he entertained, and without fail, he put others at ease. He was endearing and kind. He regularly donated blood and platelets until his health required that he stop.
John lived his early years on Assembly Street, just behind Arsenal Hill Presbyterian Church, next door to his grandparents. He attended Logan Elementary, Rosewood Elementary, Dent Middle, Hand Middle and Dreher High School. The oldest of three boys, John tried to help his mother after his father died of a heart attack when John was just twelve years old. His parents had recently bought a home on Penbroke Avenue and he worked bagging groceries to help pay the mortgage.
He threw the discus and shot put at Dreher and he and his cousin, Tommy McCall, performed gymnastics routines for the talent show. Bonnie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 57 years, remembers being in the gym and seeing a muscular, tan, young man with white gymnastics pants and no shirt as he spun his 6'1" frame around the high bar. She asked him to an Entre Nous social club dance.
John served in the SC Air National Guard for six years. Then he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic and was stationed in Seville, Spain. He purchased a piece of lace and a comb while there, which Bonnie wore as her wedding veil.
Bonnie and John married on Thanksgiving Day 1964. It is said that you don't only marry your spouse, you marry their family, and John certainly did that. He loved, played with and protected Bonnie's sisters, Jemme and Jane from the start. They were just 10 and four years old when Bonnie and John began dating. Bonnie's mother, Ruby, became his best audience.
Fatherhood came naturally to John because he had been taking care of people he loved his entire life. When one of his three girls was sick, he tucked in the covers around her with his big ol' hands, and said, "Tuck, tuck, tuck; fix, fix, fix."
Bonnie and John's home was the place to be on weekends for nieces, nephews, and neighborhood kids. He taught them the gymnastics routines that he and Tommy did. He threw the softball to prepare them for games on the Disco Dolls team. He created a huge backyard swing that hung between two pine trees and launched children so high in the air that neighbors could see them from the front yard. At bedtime he flew each child to bed like Superman; sound effects included, occasionally crashing them into a wall or ceiling. Instead of reading bedtime stories, John invented tales of sisters who lived in a dark forest and befriended monsters who were good-hearted and misunderstood.
John and Bonnie enjoyed going to Carolina football games with John's brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Kaki, and Bobby and Elizabeth. John loved being with family, win or lose. For years, during the week, he ate breakfast and lunch at Lizard's Thicket on Two Notch Road, where he befriended staff and other regulars. In recent years, Cracker Barrel was his favorite spot for family breakfasts and he made friends there, too.
He couldn't bear to see anyone or anything hungry. He fed a feral cat twice a day for nine years, even though it never once let him pet it. He loved an Old Milwalkee in a frosty mug and he loved to make cheese grits with so much cheddar cheese they were bright orange.
He started his career as a BellSouth lineman, as his father had done, and loved it. Soon after, he jumped at the chance to go into business with his brothers in a company called Uniflock and they enjoyed working and playing together in equal measure. When his brothers moved on, John built Realty Advertising sign company for 30 years until he sold it and retired at the age of 61.
He took his girls to work with him on Saturdays and made them feel like they were helping; showing them how to hammer a nail or use a post hole digger, always encouraging them to try. After work, he smelled like paint thinner and the outdoors.
John was a born filmmaker and captured daily life on his super 8 camera. He once spliced footage from a horror film into home movies of a trip to London he and Bonnie took in the 1970s. It showed them getting into a tour bus, then a giant sea monster knocking the bus into the Thames River. He loved to see family and friends react to his creations.
Having chaperoned many dances in Lexington School District 2, Bonnie and John briefly attended each daughter's prom so that John could have one dance with each daughter. Years later, he proudly and handsomely walked each daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He was happy to have a few more men in the family and welcomed his sons-in-law warmly.
In 2006, their home became Pop and Nana's house; a dream setting for their adored grandchildren, John Thomas (named for John), Ella, Reagan and Carlyn. There were swimming lessons in the pool, birthday parties, bedtime stories, unending snacks and treats, card games, RumiQ, riding the zipline, and a hand puppet named Roscoe that Pop created to engage the kids in touching, hilarious conversations. Reagan particularly liked to sit in the closet and talk things over with Pop and Roscoe. They also enjoyed sculpting clay and listening to music in Pop's Man House. He created a, "My First Year," video for each grandchild, from the first ultrasound to the first birthday party. He was famous for pairing each scene with music that was so touching no one ever left a home movie premier with dry eyes.
He attended every recital, football game, performance, play, concert, awards ceremony, and Grandparents' Day he could. He was known for his mustache. His granddaughter, Carlyn, called it his, "scrumptious mustache." His oldest granddaughter, Ella, loved how he said, "Don't forget!" and if anyone asked, "Forget what?" he smiled with his hands spread out at his sides, and said, "You already forgot?" Another favorite was: "Drink your milk, it'll make your hair white and your teeth curly!" He called all flowers, "Noxemas."
Ella wrote a letter to her beloved Pop this week, "You are the strongest person I know. You taught me how to be strong and to never give up," it said. Throughout his life, John often sported a band aid, bandage, or cast. If you asked what happened, you were in for a treat. He loved to tell stories and his comedic timing was impeccable. He cut off the tips of two fingers with a table saw, losing a fingernail. Once healed, he described trimming his fingernails as, "clip, clip, skip, clip, clip."
At the age of twelve, he joined the Downtown Columbia YMCA and remained a member until the COVID pandemic; fortunately, he was able to introduce John Thomas and Ella to the Y before this. He was well-known there, and as he had done at Dreher, he walked on his hands around the gym. He even appeared in TV commercials for the Y, as well as for Godfather's Pizza and Modern Exterminating, and did some modeling for catalogs.
He seemed unaware of how intelligent or talented he was. He read books on physics, history, and philosophy, just to satisfy his curiosity. He took lessons from a local sculptor and was honored to help complete the book held by the librarian sculpture in front of the Lexington Main branch of the library. He and Bonnie took Spanish classes and completed a Spanish language immersion program in Costa Rica. They went on Historic Columbia tours and researched genealogy.
John had an ear for music and at various times enjoyed playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo, hammer dulcimer, harmonica, tin whistle, and the spoons. He and John Thomas loved to play the keyboard and sing together. He visited his mother at Laurel Crest Retirement Community almost daily and befriended her fellow residents in the memory care unit. He showed them hours of home movies he'd made. No one remembered they'd seen them before so he was able to enjoy them himself over and over again.
In retirement, he and Bonnie travelled out west and up the east coast to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland, and Scotland were other destinations. A highlight for John was playing the spoons with a band at a Irish pub.
We are all better for having known John, and as Ella wrote in her final letter to him, "Don't worry, Pop. We won't forget."
John is survived by his wife, Bonnie Hancock; daughters, Shelley Sowell (Joey), Meredith Kaiser (Heinz), Mauren Kreiner (Jim); grandchildren, John Thomas Sowell, Ella Kreiner, Reagan Sowell, Carlyn Kreiner; brother, Bobby Hancock (Elizabeth); sisters-in-law, Jemme Stewart, Jane Gold (Steve); nephew, Edwin Allen Hancock, Jr. (Gina); nieces, Lindsey Hancock Russell, Sarah Hancock; cousins, Bill Hancock, Martha Greenway, David McCall (Joyce), Diane McCall Bond. John was predeceased by his father, Bruce Hancock; his mother, Margaret McCall Mayfield; his brother, Edwin Allen Hancock, Sr., brother-in-law, David Stewart; nephew, John Kevin Hancock; cousin, Tom McCall.
Due to COVID, a private family graveside service was held on Friday, January 28, 2022. Please share your memories in the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Downtown Columbia YMCA or a charity of your choice. Or you may give blood in his honor as supplies are critically low.
[John Bruce Hancock, 82, West Columbia, he served in the S.C. Air National Guard for six years, he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic. I checked him out, he was an A2C assigned to the 169th CAMS. Because of the Covid virus, there was a graveside service for him January 28, 2022. Memorials may be made out to Downtown YMCA, or to the charity of your choice, or just give blood. I must say, he had a first class obituary!-Bob Barkalow]
John bruce Hancock
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
Name: John bruce Hancock
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1932
[abt 1940]
Gender: Male
[White]
[White]
Birthplace: South Carolina
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Map of Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Street: Asseray
House Number: 1824
Sheet Number: 13A
Attended School or College: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Bruce Hancock25 Head
Margaret Hancock20 Wife
John bruce Hancock 8 Son
John Bruce Hancock c 1939-January 22, 2022
West Columbia, South Carolina - John Bruce Hancock passed away at the age of 82, surrounded by his family, on January 22, 2022. Many people avoid cemeteries, but not John. He loved Elmwood Cemetery and visited often to tend to graves and remember family members who had passed away. Always the sign man, he joked in recent years he was going to place a sign on his plot that said, "Coming Soon!" One of his many gifts was making those around him feel less afraid. He shared so many family stories, that we feel he is now reunited with people who loved him, and whom he loved, before us.
John was always good company; gracious and funny; interested in how others were doing. Even as his health challenges mounted, he entertained, and without fail, he put others at ease. He was endearing and kind. He regularly donated blood and platelets until his health required that he stop.
John lived his early years on Assembly Street, just behind Arsenal Hill Presbyterian Church, next door to his grandparents. He attended Logan Elementary, Rosewood Elementary, Dent Middle, Hand Middle and Dreher High School. The oldest of three boys, John tried to help his mother after his father died of a heart attack when John was just twelve years old. His parents had recently bought a home on Penbroke Avenue and he worked bagging groceries to help pay the mortgage.
He threw the discus and shot put at Dreher and he and his cousin, Tommy McCall, performed gymnastics routines for the talent show. Bonnie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 57 years, remembers being in the gym and seeing a muscular, tan, young man with white gymnastics pants and no shirt as he spun his 6'1" frame around the high bar. She asked him to an Entre Nous social club dance.
John served in the SC Air National Guard for six years. Then he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic and was stationed in Seville, Spain. He purchased a piece of lace and a comb while there, which Bonnie wore as her wedding veil.
Bonnie and John married on Thanksgiving Day 1964. It is said that you don't only marry your spouse, you marry their family, and John certainly did that. He loved, played with and protected Bonnie's sisters, Jemme and Jane from the start. They were just 10 and four years old when Bonnie and John began dating. Bonnie's mother, Ruby, became his best audience.
Fatherhood came naturally to John because he had been taking care of people he loved his entire life. When one of his three girls was sick, he tucked in the covers around her with his big ol' hands, and said, "Tuck, tuck, tuck; fix, fix, fix."
Bonnie and John's home was the place to be on weekends for nieces, nephews, and neighborhood kids. He taught them the gymnastics routines that he and Tommy did. He threw the softball to prepare them for games on the Disco Dolls team. He created a huge backyard swing that hung between two pine trees and launched children so high in the air that neighbors could see them from the front yard. At bedtime he flew each child to bed like Superman; sound effects included, occasionally crashing them into a wall or ceiling. Instead of reading bedtime stories, John invented tales of sisters who lived in a dark forest and befriended monsters who were good-hearted and misunderstood.
John and Bonnie enjoyed going to Carolina football games with John's brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Kaki, and Bobby and Elizabeth. John loved being with family, win or lose. For years, during the week, he ate breakfast and lunch at Lizard's Thicket on Two Notch Road, where he befriended staff and other regulars. In recent years, Cracker Barrel was his favorite spot for family breakfasts and he made friends there, too.
He couldn't bear to see anyone or anything hungry. He fed a feral cat twice a day for nine years, even though it never once let him pet it. He loved an Old Milwalkee in a frosty mug and he loved to make cheese grits with so much cheddar cheese they were bright orange.
He started his career as a BellSouth lineman, as his father had done, and loved it. Soon after, he jumped at the chance to go into business with his brothers in a company called Uniflock and they enjoyed working and playing together in equal measure. When his brothers moved on, John built Realty Advertising sign company for 30 years until he sold it and retired at the age of 61.
He took his girls to work with him on Saturdays and made them feel like they were helping; showing them how to hammer a nail or use a post hole digger, always encouraging them to try. After work, he smelled like paint thinner and the outdoors.
John was a born filmmaker and captured daily life on his super 8 camera. He once spliced footage from a horror film into home movies of a trip to London he and Bonnie took in the 1970s. It showed them getting into a tour bus, then a giant sea monster knocking the bus into the Thames River. He loved to see family and friends react to his creations.
Having chaperoned many dances in Lexington School District 2, Bonnie and John briefly attended each daughter's prom so that John could have one dance with each daughter. Years later, he proudly and handsomely walked each daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He was happy to have a few more men in the family and welcomed his sons-in-law warmly.
In 2006, their home became Pop and Nana's house; a dream setting for their adored grandchildren, John Thomas (named for John), Ella, Reagan and Carlyn. There were swimming lessons in the pool, birthday parties, bedtime stories, unending snacks and treats, card games, RumiQ, riding the zipline, and a hand puppet named Roscoe that Pop created to engage the kids in touching, hilarious conversations. Reagan particularly liked to sit in the closet and talk things over with Pop and Roscoe. They also enjoyed sculpting clay and listening to music in Pop's Man House. He created a, "My First Year," video for each grandchild, from the first ultrasound to the first birthday party. He was famous for pairing each scene with music that was so touching no one ever left a home movie premier with dry eyes.
He attended every recital, football game, performance, play, concert, awards ceremony, and Grandparents' Day he could. He was known for his mustache. His granddaughter, Carlyn, called it his, "scrumptious mustache." His oldest granddaughter, Ella, loved how he said, "Don't forget!" and if anyone asked, "Forget what?" he smiled with his hands spread out at his sides, and said, "You already forgot?" Another favorite was: "Drink your milk, it'll make your hair white and your teeth curly!" He called all flowers, "Noxemas."
Ella wrote a letter to her beloved Pop this week, "You are the strongest person I know. You taught me how to be strong and to never give up," it said. Throughout his life, John often sported a band aid, bandage, or cast. If you asked what happened, you were in for a treat. He loved to tell stories and his comedic timing was impeccable. He cut off the tips of two fingers with a table saw, losing a fingernail. Once healed, he described trimming his fingernails as, "clip, clip, skip, clip, clip."
At the age of twelve, he joined the Downtown Columbia YMCA and remained a member until the COVID pandemic; fortunately, he was able to introduce John Thomas and Ella to the Y before this. He was well-known there, and as he had done at Dreher, he walked on his hands around the gym. He even appeared in TV commercials for the Y, as well as for Godfather's Pizza and Modern Exterminating, and did some modeling for catalogs.
He seemed unaware of how intelligent or talented he was. He read books on physics, history, and philosophy, just to satisfy his curiosity. He took lessons from a local sculptor and was honored to help complete the book held by the librarian sculpture in front of the Lexington Main branch of the library. He and Bonnie took Spanish classes and completed a Spanish language immersion program in Costa Rica. They went on Historic Columbia tours and researched genealogy.
John had an ear for music and at various times enjoyed playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo, hammer dulcimer, harmonica, tin whistle, and the spoons. He and John Thomas loved to play the keyboard and sing together. He visited his mother at Laurel Crest Retirement Community almost daily and befriended her fellow residents in the memory care unit. He showed them hours of home movies he'd made. No one remembered they'd seen them before so he was able to enjoy them himself over and over again.
In retirement, he and Bonnie travelled out west and up the east coast to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland, and Scotland were other destinations. A highlight for John was playing the spoons with a band at a Irish pub.
We are all better for having known John, and as Ella wrote in her final letter to him, "Don't worry, Pop. We won't forget."
John is survived by his wife, Bonnie Hancock; daughters, Shelley Sowell (Joey), Meredith Kaiser (Heinz), Mauren Kreiner (Jim); grandchildren, John Thomas Sowell, Ella Kreiner, Reagan Sowell, Carlyn Kreiner; brother, Bobby Hancock (Elizabeth); sisters-in-law, Jemme Stewart, Jane Gold (Steve); nephew, Edwin Allen Hancock, Jr. (Gina); nieces, Lindsey Hancock Russell, Sarah Hancock; cousins, Bill Hancock, Martha Greenway, David McCall (Joyce), Diane McCall Bond. John was predeceased by his father, Bruce Hancock; his mother, Margaret McCall Mayfield; his brother, Edwin Allen Hancock, Sr., brother-in-law, David Stewart; nephew, John Kevin Hancock; cousin, Tom McCall.
Due to COVID, a private family graveside service was held on Friday, January 28, 2022. Please share your memories in the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Downtown Columbia YMCA or a charity of your choice. Or you may give blood in his honor as supplies are critically low.
[John Bruce Hancock, 82, West Columbia, he served in the S.C. Air National Guard for six years, he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic. I checked him out, he was an A2C assigned to the 169th CAMS. Because of the Covid virus, there was a graveside service for him January 28, 2022. Memorials may be made out to Downtown YMCA, or to the charity of your choice, or just give blood. I must say, he had a first class obituary!-Bob Barkalow]
John bruce Hancock
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
Name: John bruce Hancock
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1932
[abt 1940]
Gender: Male
[White]
[White]
Birthplace: South Carolina
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Map of Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Street: Asseray
House Number: 1824
Sheet Number: 13A
Attended School or College: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Bruce Hancock25 Head
Margaret Hancock20 Wife
John bruce Hancock 8 Son
West Columbia, South Carolina - John Bruce Hancock passed away at the age of 82, surrounded by his family, on January 22, 2022. Many people avoid cemeteries, but not John. He loved Elmwood Cemetery and visited often to tend to graves and remember family members who had passed away. Always the sign man, he joked in recent years he was going to place a sign on his plot that said, "Coming Soon!" One of his many gifts was making those around him feel less afraid. He shared so many family stories, that we feel he is now reunited with people who loved him, and whom he loved, before us.
John was always good company; gracious and funny; interested in how others were doing. Even as his health challenges mounted, he entertained, and without fail, he put others at ease. He was endearing and kind. He regularly donated blood and platelets until his health required that he stop.
John lived his early years on Assembly Street, just behind Arsenal Hill Presbyterian Church, next door to his grandparents. He attended Logan Elementary, Rosewood Elementary, Dent Middle, Hand Middle and Dreher High School. The oldest of three boys, John tried to help his mother after his father died of a heart attack when John was just twelve years old. His parents had recently bought a home on Penbroke Avenue and he worked bagging groceries to help pay the mortgage.
He threw the discus and shot put at Dreher and he and his cousin, Tommy McCall, performed gymnastics routines for the talent show. Bonnie, his high school sweetheart and wife of 57 years, remembers being in the gym and seeing a muscular, tan, young man with white gymnastics pants and no shirt as he spun his 6'1" frame around the high bar. She asked him to an Entre Nous social club dance.
John served in the SC Air National Guard for six years. Then he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic and was stationed in Seville, Spain. He purchased a piece of lace and a comb while there, which Bonnie wore as her wedding veil.
Bonnie and John married on Thanksgiving Day 1964. It is said that you don't only marry your spouse, you marry their family, and John certainly did that. He loved, played with and protected Bonnie's sisters, Jemme and Jane from the start. They were just 10 and four years old when Bonnie and John began dating. Bonnie's mother, Ruby, became his best audience.
Fatherhood came naturally to John because he had been taking care of people he loved his entire life. When one of his three girls was sick, he tucked in the covers around her with his big ol' hands, and said, "Tuck, tuck, tuck; fix, fix, fix."
Bonnie and John's home was the place to be on weekends for nieces, nephews, and neighborhood kids. He taught them the gymnastics routines that he and Tommy did. He threw the softball to prepare them for games on the Disco Dolls team. He created a huge backyard swing that hung between two pine trees and launched children so high in the air that neighbors could see them from the front yard. At bedtime he flew each child to bed like Superman; sound effects included, occasionally crashing them into a wall or ceiling. Instead of reading bedtime stories, John invented tales of sisters who lived in a dark forest and befriended monsters who were good-hearted and misunderstood.
John and Bonnie enjoyed going to Carolina football games with John's brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed and Kaki, and Bobby and Elizabeth. John loved being with family, win or lose. For years, during the week, he ate breakfast and lunch at Lizard's Thicket on Two Notch Road, where he befriended staff and other regulars. In recent years, Cracker Barrel was his favorite spot for family breakfasts and he made friends there, too.
He couldn't bear to see anyone or anything hungry. He fed a feral cat twice a day for nine years, even though it never once let him pet it. He loved an Old Milwalkee in a frosty mug and he loved to make cheese grits with so much cheddar cheese they were bright orange.
He started his career as a BellSouth lineman, as his father had done, and loved it. Soon after, he jumped at the chance to go into business with his brothers in a company called Uniflock and they enjoyed working and playing together in equal measure. When his brothers moved on, John built Realty Advertising sign company for 30 years until he sold it and retired at the age of 61.
He took his girls to work with him on Saturdays and made them feel like they were helping; showing them how to hammer a nail or use a post hole digger, always encouraging them to try. After work, he smelled like paint thinner and the outdoors.
John was a born filmmaker and captured daily life on his super 8 camera. He once spliced footage from a horror film into home movies of a trip to London he and Bonnie took in the 1970s. It showed them getting into a tour bus, then a giant sea monster knocking the bus into the Thames River. He loved to see family and friends react to his creations.
Having chaperoned many dances in Lexington School District 2, Bonnie and John briefly attended each daughter's prom so that John could have one dance with each daughter. Years later, he proudly and handsomely walked each daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He was happy to have a few more men in the family and welcomed his sons-in-law warmly.
In 2006, their home became Pop and Nana's house; a dream setting for their adored grandchildren, John Thomas (named for John), Ella, Reagan and Carlyn. There were swimming lessons in the pool, birthday parties, bedtime stories, unending snacks and treats, card games, RumiQ, riding the zipline, and a hand puppet named Roscoe that Pop created to engage the kids in touching, hilarious conversations. Reagan particularly liked to sit in the closet and talk things over with Pop and Roscoe. They also enjoyed sculpting clay and listening to music in Pop's Man House. He created a, "My First Year," video for each grandchild, from the first ultrasound to the first birthday party. He was famous for pairing each scene with music that was so touching no one ever left a home movie premier with dry eyes.
He attended every recital, football game, performance, play, concert, awards ceremony, and Grandparents' Day he could. He was known for his mustache. His granddaughter, Carlyn, called it his, "scrumptious mustache." His oldest granddaughter, Ella, loved how he said, "Don't forget!" and if anyone asked, "Forget what?" he smiled with his hands spread out at his sides, and said, "You already forgot?" Another favorite was: "Drink your milk, it'll make your hair white and your teeth curly!" He called all flowers, "Noxemas."
Ella wrote a letter to her beloved Pop this week, "You are the strongest person I know. You taught me how to be strong and to never give up," it said. Throughout his life, John often sported a band aid, bandage, or cast. If you asked what happened, you were in for a treat. He loved to tell stories and his comedic timing was impeccable. He cut off the tips of two fingers with a table saw, losing a fingernail. Once healed, he described trimming his fingernails as, "clip, clip, skip, clip, clip."
At the age of twelve, he joined the Downtown Columbia YMCA and remained a member until the COVID pandemic; fortunately, he was able to introduce John Thomas and Ella to the Y before this. He was well-known there, and as he had done at Dreher, he walked on his hands around the gym. He even appeared in TV commercials for the Y, as well as for Godfather's Pizza and Modern Exterminating, and did some modeling for catalogs.
He seemed unaware of how intelligent or talented he was. He read books on physics, history, and philosophy, just to satisfy his curiosity. He took lessons from a local sculptor and was honored to help complete the book held by the librarian sculpture in front of the Lexington Main branch of the library. He and Bonnie took Spanish classes and completed a Spanish language immersion program in Costa Rica. They went on Historic Columbia tours and researched genealogy.
John had an ear for music and at various times enjoyed playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, banjo, hammer dulcimer, harmonica, tin whistle, and the spoons. He and John Thomas loved to play the keyboard and sing together. He visited his mother at Laurel Crest Retirement Community almost daily and befriended her fellow residents in the memory care unit. He showed them hours of home movies he'd made. No one remembered they'd seen them before so he was able to enjoy them himself over and over again.
In retirement, he and Bonnie travelled out west and up the east coast to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland, and Scotland were other destinations. A highlight for John was playing the spoons with a band at a Irish pub.
We are all better for having known John, and as Ella wrote in her final letter to him, "Don't worry, Pop. We won't forget."
John is survived by his wife, Bonnie Hancock; daughters, Shelley Sowell (Joey), Meredith Kaiser (Heinz), Mauren Kreiner (Jim); grandchildren, John Thomas Sowell, Ella Kreiner, Reagan Sowell, Carlyn Kreiner; brother, Bobby Hancock (Elizabeth); sisters-in-law, Jemme Stewart, Jane Gold (Steve); nephew, Edwin Allen Hancock, Jr. (Gina); nieces, Lindsey Hancock Russell, Sarah Hancock; cousins, Bill Hancock, Martha Greenway, David McCall (Joyce), Diane McCall Bond. John was predeceased by his father, Bruce Hancock; his mother, Margaret McCall Mayfield; his brother, Edwin Allen Hancock, Sr., brother-in-law, David Stewart; nephew, John Kevin Hancock; cousin, Tom McCall.
Due to COVID, a private family graveside service was held on Friday, January 28, 2022. Please share your memories in the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Downtown Columbia YMCA or a charity of your choice. Or you may give blood in his honor as supplies are critically low.
[John Bruce Hancock, 82, West Columbia, he served in the S.C. Air National Guard for six years, he served active duty for one year during the Berlin Crisis as a flight line mechanic. I checked him out, he was an A2C assigned to the 169th CAMS. Because of the Covid virus, there was a graveside service for him January 28, 2022. Memorials may be made out to Downtown YMCA, or to the charity of your choice, or just give blood. I must say, he had a first class obituary!-Bob Barkalow]
John bruce Hancock
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
Name: John bruce Hancock
Age: 8
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1932
[abt 1940]
Gender: Male
[White]
[White]
Birthplace: South Carolina
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Map of Home in 1940: Columbia, Richland, South Carolina
Street: Asseray
House Number: 1824
Sheet Number: 13A
Attended School or College: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship
Bruce Hancock25 Head
Margaret Hancock20 Wife
John bruce Hancock 8 Son
Family Members
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