Luke Sparrow

Graveside services for Lucas “Luke” Lide Sparrow, 96, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at Magnolia Cemetery. The Rev. Ryan Goodroe will officiate and Brown-Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home is in charge. The family will receive friends Tuesday, September 26, 2006 from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, 104 East Home Ave., Hartsville, SC 29550 or Hartsville Interfaith Ministries, 210 Swift Creek Road, Hartsville, SC 29550. Mr. Sparrow died Monday, September 25, 2006. Born in Hartsville, SC, he was a son of the late Jessie Calhoun and Fannie Andrews Sparrow. He attended Furman University during the depression and was employed for 42 years in the Cone Department at Sonoco. He began work there in 1932 when a paper cone machine was being developed and perfected for the growing textile industry in South Carolina and beyond. He loved his work and had a special enthusiasm for training new employees, many of whom became devoted friends. He served as President of the Red Fox Club in 1956, the year they purchased the first bus for the Red Fox teams to ride to out of town games. He was a charter member of the first Board of Directors of the Sonoco Credit Union, now SPC Credit Union, and the last surviving charter member. He served in the Big Brother Program and taught many young boys to fish on Prestwood Lake. He was a lifelong member of the Sonoco Oldtimers Club. Known fondly as “Mr. Luke” he was a super Red Fox fan, a proud supporter of all the athletic programs, believing they instilled character in our youth. He was an ambassador for Hartsville and very proud of the All American City award. He never went anywhere without introducing himself as “Luke Sparrow from a little town called Hartsville.” Surviving are his daughter, Rebecca Grant Sparrow of Pawley's Island, SC; nieces, Betty Jean Fahed of Richmond, VA, Jack King, Kaye MacDonald, Betty Ann McAlpine, Carole Sparrow, all of Hartsville, SC, Frances Newman of Hamlet, NC, Dorothy Mugele of Rock Hill, SC; nephews, John McNeil of Red Springs, NC, Raymond Sparrow of Hartsville, SC; special great niece, Jean Grant Salley, husband Henry and daughter, Chandler of Lexington, SC; special great nephew, Charles Matthew Grant, wife Terri, and daughter, Kelsey of Anderson, SC. He was preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, Martha Grant Sparrow; sisters, Mamie Sparrow Flowers, Eula Sparrow McKinnon, and Irene Sparrow McNeil; brothers, Boyd Sparrow, Ellie Sparrow, and Raymond Sparrow.

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Luke Sparrow

April 24, 1910 - September 25, 2006