Horace Free

 Horace Free, 75, of 71 Elizabeth St., Bamberg, SC 29003, died August 11, 2008. Son of the late Horace LeRoy Free and the late Esther Dagnall Free, he attended Trinity United Methodist Church.

He graduated from Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in 1952 and Clemson University in 1956 with a B.S. degree in animal husbandry. He played high school football, baseball, and track and turned down a scholarship on football because his mother did not want him to play football. He was also offered a contract to sign on with the New York Yankees, but returned home to help his father on the farm. He loved to tell the story about receiving the letter from the Shrine Bowl to play running back, only to receive a letter 2 weeks later stating he was ineligible because he was a junior. He was an avid hunter of quail, dove and duck. After graduating from Clemson University, he served in the U.S. Army for 2 years active duty, 3 years active duty in reserves and 5 inactive reserves. His career consisted of Agricultural products. He was a cotton merchant and grain buyer, operating 3 cotton gins and an abandoned cotton warehouse.

He was president and treasurer of Edisto Storage Inc. and president and treasurer of Farmers Ginnery of Bamberg and Edisto Grain Company Inc. He also farmed 5000 acres or more of row crops, consisting of cotton, grain, and produce.

He was member of the local advisory board of Wachovia Bank for over 30 years. He was a lifetime member of Trinity United Methodist Church, serving as a trustee for many years, administrative council, finance committee and the committee on missions. He was appointed to the First Agriculture Committee by the Late Honorable Robert McNair in 1968. He is survived by his wife Lynn McAlhany Free of the home; 3 sons: Horace Dagnall Free Jr. and his wife Sallie M. Free and their children, William Murphey Free and Emma D. Free; David Ashley Free and wife Catherine Williams Free and daughter, Lauren Elizabeth Free; James Lewis Atticus Free; 1 sister: Georgia Free Laney; a number of special nieces, nephews, and cousins. He had a deep love for his fellow man and God.