Name Residence: Thomas H. Symmes Jr – Orangeburg,SC Date of Death: 06/19/2007 Notice Thomas Henry Symmes Jr., 90, of 1000 Methodist Oak Drive, died Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at The Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, June 22, at St. Matthews Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Craig Pipkin and the Rev. Kermit Shrawder officiating. Burial will be in the West End Cemetery. Mr. Symmes was born in St. Matthews, a son of the late Dr. Thomas Henry Symmes and Margaret Moorer Wienges Symmes. He was a 1938 graduate of The Citadel, where he was captain of the rifle team. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 70th Coastal Artillery Corps (a unit formed at Fort Hamilton, N.Y. in 1918 which he served in Europe during World War II). Prior to the U.S.Æs entrance into World War II, he was instrumental in the field testing of a new transportation vehicle that was to replace the motorcycle with its sidecar. The replacement vehicle was the JEEP, and its unglamorized usage in World War II was influential in the U.S. victory. As a Lieutenant and Captain in the U.S. Army, he served his country during World War II in the South Pacific. His initial orders were to the Philippines, but he was re-assigned to New Caledonia upon the fall of the Philippines. After the end of the war, he retired from the Army as a Major. After returning home from his tour of duty, he worked for the South Carolina Highway Department before starting a distinguished career with International HarvesterÆs farm equipment division. He retired from International Harvester during the late 1970Æs. He was a member of St. Matthews Presbyterian Church. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Sarah Shine Symmes of The Oaks in Orangeburg; daughter, Sally Symmes Abbott and husband, Thomas Howard Abbott of Chatham Township, N.J.; son, Thomas Henry Symmes III and wife, Laura Loughran Symmes of New Orleans; grandchildren, Scott Thomas Abbott of South Riding, Va. and Susan Abbott Fisher of Sterling, Va.; great-grandchildren, Nicholas Scott Abbott of South Riding, Va., Abigail Suzanne Fisher of Sterling, Va., and Kimberley Anne Fisher of Sterling, Va.; sister, Mrs. Louis (Sara Symmes) Boulware of Winnsboro. The family will receive friends at The Oaks, Walsh Building, Apt. 305. Memorials may be made to St. Matthews Presbyterian Church, 103 Amaker St. St. Matthews, SC 29135. Dukes-Harley Funeral Home of Orangeburg is in charge of arrangements.
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