Jerry Healand Reeves Iii

Jerry Healand Reeves III, age 82, died at home on the May River, Sunday, October 20, 2013. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of Zeadora Breckenridge and Jerry Healand Reeves Jr., Jerry grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He graduated from Greenville High School and Duke University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Baker, and they moved to Savannah to begin his twenty year career with Union Camp Corporation. In 1960, Jerry and Mary moved with their five sons to Bluffton where they continue to live on the May River. In 1972, Jerry and Mary started Resort Services, Inc., a commercial laundry and linen supply company with twelve employees and two customers. Forty one years later, their five sons operate RSI with 200 employees serving hospitals, hotels and restaurants seven days a week from Charleston to Brunswick. In 1986, Jerry and other partners bought the Bluffton Oyster Company out of bankruptcy. After buying out the partners and running the factory with family members for five years, he sold the Oyster Company property to the Beaufort County Open Land Trust which in turn sold the property to Beaufort County for use as a park and public access to the May River. The agreement made it mandatory that the oyster factory remain in operation, and it continues to do so today, making it the only oyster factory still in operation along the South Carolina coast. Jerry's contributions to the community of Bluffton and beyond are immeasurable: a founding member of the Bluffton Rotary Club, six years as a representative of Bluffton on the Beaufort County Council and a member of the Beaufort Board of Education in the 1960s. More recently, Jerry served as President of the Bluffton Historical Society and President of the Children's Center Board. He was also a member of the Lowcountry Foundation Board, the Hargray Caring Coins, the THA Group Board, and the local board of South Carolina Bank & Trust. In 2001, Jerry was the recipient of the Alice Glenn Doughtie Good Citizenship award for selfless service to the community. In 2012, the town of Bluffton added Jerry to the Wall of Honor recognizing his many contributions to the town. Jerry is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary, and five sons and their wives: Jerry IV and Isabella, David and Katherine, Jeff and Kim, Michael and Corinne, and Tommy and Connie. Fourteen grandchildren: Jerry V and his wife Kristy, Alston Reeves Williamson and her husband Nick, Rhett , Lea, Aiken, Baker and his wife Kimmie, Keith , Millie , Michael Jr., McNab and his wife, Kristen, Ryan, Tommy Jr., Mary , and Harris. Five great- grandchildren: Carrie, Anna and Jacob Reeves , Savannah Reeves, Isla Stuart Williamson. His brother John Breckenridge Reeves and his wife Gladys, and his sister Jackie Timms, and six nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, October 23, at 1:00 p.m. at the Church of the Cross, on Calhoun Street in Bluffton. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 from 6:00 til 8:00 pm at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Road in Bluffton. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to The Children's Center for the future Bluffton Children's Center, 8 Natures Way, Hilton Head, SC 29926. The Bluffton Historic Preservation Society , 70 Boundary Street, Bluffton, SC 29910 The American Diabetes Association , www.diabetes.org in memory of Jerry H. Reeves III The Beaufort Open Land Trust, 1001 Bay Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. Memorial Service at 1:00 pm, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at Church of the Cross, Calhoun St., Bluffton. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 from 6:00 pm til 8:00 pm at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd., Bluffton