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WAGENER - Mr. Elmer Outlaw, 77, entered into rest Tuesday, December 10, 2019.
Elmer is survived by his daughters, Sam, LeWanda and Dwayne Fulmer; grandchildren, Brandi (Juan Rosales) Brown and William Koester; and special friend Dawn Beard.
Elmer is preceded in death by his wife Dee Outlaw and son-in-law Larry Parker.
Elmer was well known in the community and was active in the United Methodist Church of Wagener.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, at 3:00 pm at the Wagener United Methodist Church, 153 Columbia Road, Wagener, SC 29164.
Visitation to follow service. A meal will be provided. All are welcome.
No Flowers, Please. Donations to Wagener Methodist Church, PO Box 265 , Wagener ,SC 29164 and to the Epworth Children’s Home online or at P. O. Box 50466 Columbia, SC 29250. Donations to either organization would be helpful and appreciated.
A Little About Me
After high school, I did my military service with the U.S. Army, most of my time at the North Pole, Thule Greenland.
After returning from service, Me and my wife, Dee, were introduced by my high school buddy, Tommy Goff - One of the best things Tommy ever did. We fell in love, got married at Bethcar Church and moved to Marion, Virginia where I had a job with Olan Mills Photography. (Still have a friend in Virginia that we made about 50 years ago.) While in Virginia, we had our first daughter, Sam.
A few years later we were back in Columbia S.C. I worked as a photographer and Dee worked at a local bank where they would tease her that they had an OUTLAW in the bank. Our 2nd daughter, LeWanda, was born on a July 4th morning in Columbia after some very crazy speeding on Gervais Street.
We were both raised in the country, and in 1971 we returned to the country when we moved to Wagener, S.C., where we did almost all of the building of our house, now the office.
In 1973 I accepted a job as a salesman and traveled the low country of S.C. During these years I was a photographer for portraits and weddings and met a lot of nice people. Later on we started doing crafts and craft shows. A lot of fun and a lot of work.
In 1991 I took an early retirement from the company I had worked at for a number of years and Dee and I opened our own business. The business gave us the opportunity to travel all over the U.S. including San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite, the giant sequoia trees, Sacramento and the farm lands of northern California. We visited Washington and Oregon to see the "Haystacks" in the Pacific, Mt Hook and St Helena. Other trips we took were to Tulsa OK, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Route 66, Chicago's Navy Pier and the tallest church in the world - a Methodist Church. We saw tulips in Holland, Michigan and the Niagara Falls from both the U.S. and Canada. We enjoyed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Memphis, and Nashville. Really enjoyed horse racing at Churchill Downs - I broke even !! We traveled extensively all over the south east.
Our last major trip took us all over New England to view the gorgeous leaves and eat maple syrup. We rode a ferry across Lake Champlain & visited Washington D.C. We saw New York City and Long Island, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont.... A truly Great trip !!!
Dee passed away about 5 years ago. Me and my girls went through some really hard times but we got through it and have loved each other even more. During this period of grief and recovery, I wrote a couple of books and tied and sold tons of fishing flies. I also perfected my "story telling capabilities" !! Another great thing that happened is that an old friend of mine came to be our Pastor. Jim and I renewed our friendship and became best friends, having lunch and conversation as often as possible ! I even introduced him to Total Wine !
A few years ago I was introduced to a special lady, Dawn, through her daughter, who I had met at the V.A. hospital in Columbia. Dawn and I have had many good times together after our first date at my favorite restaurant, Zorba's, where I gave her a Kiss - a Hershey's Kiss !!! We have enjoyed cooking together, wine, old movies and poker.
Our most recent adventure, in October, was to Tampa, FL, where I had the privilege of performing the wedding ceremony for my dear friend Bobby Hayes. Who knew I was capable ?!?!
After about 20 years of heart problems - becoming best friends with your cardiologist because you see him so often is not what I suggest (LOL) - I recently made a decision to have heart surgery to hopefully help me improve a little. Although I received excellent care, it was not successful !!
My daughters are very thankful to all the DRs and staff at RCVICU especially my ICU RN Ryan M.
I wish all of you, my friends, the very best and I suggest you try to enjoy life and show your love to all your favorite people !!!
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Elmer Lewis Outlaw, Jr., please visit our floral store.
Epworth Children's Home
P. O. Box 50466, Columbia SC 29250
Web: https://www.epworthchildrenshome.org/give/
Wagener United Methodist Church
P. O. Box 265, Wagener SC 29164