Mary Townsend Whaley

Mary Townsend Whaley, age 89, of Wadmalaw Island, widow of John Seabrook Whaley, passed away peacefully on April 6, 2017. The relatives and friends of Mary T. Whaley are invited to attend her Funeral Service at 12:00 PM, Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at St. John’s Parish Church, 3673 Maybank Hwy., Johns Island. Burial will follow in the Churchyard. The family will receive friends at a reception in Walton Hall after the burial. Mary was born in Charleston on July 4, 1927, a daughter of the late Sarah Mikell Legare Townsend and Julius Charles Townsend, Jr. She grew up in Orlando, Florida but spent the summers visiting family on Wadmalaw Island. She graduated from Orlando High School and attended Flora McDonald College in Red Springs, NC. For many years, Mary played the organ during the summer church services at Grace Chapel in Rockville. She looked forward to her weekly game of bridge with the ladies and enjoyed the endless supply of crabs, shrimp, fish and oysters out of the creek. Mary is survived by her son, John S. Whaley, Jr. (Heidi) of Charleston; daughters: Ellen W. Stevens of Sumter and Susan W. Hanckel (Bill) of Wadmalaw Island; grandchildren: Mikell Stevens (Brett), Will Hanckel (Brooke), Mary Legare Whaley, Emily Kovach (Jonathan), Elizabeth Stevens (fiance’ Justin McGinnis) and Seabrook Whaley; great grandchildren: James Stevens, Haskell & Dixon Hanckel and Claire Kovach. She was predeceased by her son, Charles Townsend Whaley; her brother, Julius Charles “Bummie” Townsend, III and son-in-law, Constantine Yates “Stevie” Stevens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John's Parish Church, P.O. Box 125 Johns Island, SC 29457 or to Grace Chapel at Rockville, c/o St. John's Parish Church, P. O. Box 125, Johns Island, SC 29457.