Greer Obituaries = Veteran

John Wayne Lewis

Location: Greer, SC

June 28, 2023 - John Wayne Lewis, age 79, passed away in Greer, South Carolina on June 25, 2023, after several years of declining health.

He was born in Mullins, South Carolina and had lived in Greer for the last 40 years.

He graduated from Berry College in Rome, Georgia in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, and was a member of the college's first soccer team and was a proud Viking.

Wayne was also a Past Exalted Ruler of the Dublin, Georgia Elks Lodge, past member of The Greenville Gun Club, and International Benchrest Shooters. Over the past 40 years he enjoyed traveling the eastern states participating in numerous competitions.

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William Carl Leonard, Jr.

Location: Moore

June 4, 2023 - William Carl Leonard, Jr., 82, passed away June 4, 2023.

A native of Reidville, son of the late William Carl Leonard, Sr., and Marie McKown Leonard, he was a 1962 Clemson graduate and a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and combat pilot during the Vietnam War.

He was also a retired employee of Sealed Air and a member of Lyman Wesleyan Church.

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Willie E. "Gene" Dillard, Jr.

Location: Lyman

June 18, 2023 - Willie E. "Gene" Dillard, Jr. passed away at home on February 22, 2023.

Gene was born on June 18, 1946, in Spartanburg. He was the son of the late Elaine Wilson Dillard and Willie E. "Gene" Dillard, Sr. Gene grew up in Wellford, S.C.,, with his sister, Peggy and brother, Wilson.

Gene graduated James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, where he was a North/ South All-Star football selection as a senior and Appalachian State University, where he played football for Coaches Jim Duncan and Carl Messere. Gene fondly remembered his time at ASU and the many friends he made there.

Gene was an educator. He was a teacher and an assistant football coach at his alma mater, Byrnes High School, alongside his longtime friend, high school and college teammate, Bo Corne. Gene also coached track at Byrnes.

Even as a coach, he loved to teach. Blocking schemes and technique, among other skills, and he was an early believer in tracking and grading offensive and defensive performance.

After he stepped away from coaching, he remained a committed teacher at Byrnes until his retirement. Gene took pride in working closely with students who were sometimes overlooked and unappreciated and took great care in their education and especially their high school experience.

After his retirement from teaching, Gene began a second career as a part-time musician, leading the Bluegrass Jam at The Handlebar in Greenville, always with his familiar upright bass. He made many lifelong friends in the Greenville music scene and cherished making music with them or just spending time with them. He also enjoyed playing various private gigs, especially those who tolerated him singing lead on Billy Joe Shaver's "Georgia on Fast Train," or Guy Clark and Rodney Crowell's "Stuff That Works," both personal favorites.

Gene loved music, but especially bluegrass, Turner Classic Movies, Abbott and Costello, The Marx Brothers and Monty Python, a well written song and irony. To know him, was to be witness to his wit and the driest sense of humor in the room.

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Greer Obituaries = Veteran

John Wayne Lewis

William Carl Leonard, Jr.

Willie E. "Gene" Dillard, Jr.

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