Earl Bouknight

IRMO—Funeral services for Melvin “Earl” Bouknight, 94, of Irmo will be held at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2016 at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, 1541 Lake Murray Blvd., Columbia, SC 29212. Officiating will be Pastor Jeffrey J. Wilson.Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military honors.Pallbearers will be Rodney and Justin Hilton, Ben Holladay, Doug and Dean Shealy and Zachery Bond. The family will greet friends from 3:00-4:00 p.m. prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be made to Salkehatchie Summer Camp, 4908 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC 29203 or Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, PO Box 7, Irmo, SC 29063. Earl Bouknight, beloved husband of 35 years to the late Myrtle Elizabeth Shealy Bouknight.Born in Irmo, he was the son of the late Reuben I. Bouknight and Ophelia Warner Bouknight.He was a lifelong area resident and his family were founding members of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. Bouknight’s were one of the founding families in the Irmo and Dutch Fork Area.He served proudly in the United States Army during WWII. He was a retired carpenter, where he helped build many homes in the Irmo/Dutch Fork area. He enjoyed being a farmer and gardener and loved sharing his bounty with his friends and neighbors. Earl was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and father-in-law. Surviving are his son, Stanley Bouknight of Irmo; daughter, Annette Holladay (Al) and Donna Hilton (Rodney) all of Irmo; four grandchildren and spouse, Rachel and Robert LeBlanc, Ben and Laura Holladay, Justin and Tori Hilton,and Chrystal Reddick; great-grandchildren, Conner, Chase and Carter Reddick and Charlotte and Marc LeBlanc. He was preceded in death by his sister, Leila V. “Beck” Shumpert and five brothers, Carnell “Noot”, Thurmond “Bum”, L. E. “Sebe”, Randolph and JB Bouknight. A special thanks to Palmetto Health Hospice especially Rachel, Janie, Charlotte, Erin and Pastor Charles Pollock.