Thelma Owens McQueen

Mrs. Thelma Owens McQueen was the fourth of six children born to the late Jessie and Lillie Eutsey Owens in Branchville, South Carolina. Branchville is where she was raised and educated until her family relocated to Loris, South Carolina following the death of her father years later. It was in Loris, that she met her husband of years, the late Rufus C. McQueen. This union produced four children Unyolia (Robert) Coleman, Larry Donnell (Barbara) McQueen, Timothy (Lisa) McQueen, all of Columbia, South Carolina and Rufus Charles (Marlyn) McQueen of Atlanta, Georgia; fifteen grandchildren and twenty-three great grandchildren. She also helped to raise her niece, Brenda (Kerry) Martin, the daughter of her younger sister Ruth. Brenda was considered more of a daughter to Mrs. McQueen and a sister to her four children, than a niece or a cousin respectively. Mrs. Thelma O. McQueen was a licensed cosmetologist/beautician who operated a chair in several salons before opening her own beauty shop adjacent to her home on Weldwood Court. She also worked as a private duty caregiver until the declining health of her husband led to her retirement. She was a faithful member of Jehovah Baptist Church, where she served as with the Missionary Society, Musical Choir, a Deaconess and served as the church secretary for many years. In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. McQueen was preceded in death by two sisters, Ruth Owens Beckwith of Queens, New York and Doshia Owens Shuler of Columbia, SC; one brother, Louis Owens of Roosevelt, New, York; two brothers-in-law, Harvey Junior Page and Eddie Shuler, both of Columbia, SC; and one sister-in-law, Evator McQueen Nealey of Clarendon, North Carolina. She leaves to cherish precious memories: four children and a special niece; fifteen grandchildren; twenty-three great grandchildren; one sister, Dora Owens Page of Columbia, South Carolina; one brother, Willie (Barbara) Owens of St. Albans, New York; one sister-in-law, Lillian Owens of Roosevelt, New York and a host of loving nieces; nephews; cousins; other relatives and friends. Services will be held 11:30 AM Saturday, April 27, 2013 at Jehovah Baptist Church, 1540 Frye Road, Columbia, South Carolina, with Pastor Stanley Marshall, Officiating.

Thelma Owens McQueen

August 12, 1921 - April 22, 2013