Warren William Mcgarvey

Warren William (Bill) McGarvey of Bluffton, SC. died Tuesday, December 2 after a long illness. He was 89. Born February 3, 1925, he was the only son of Josiah Turner of Altoona, Pa. and Lois Prothro Graves of Pritchardville, SC. He had a sister, the late Dorothy Lois Martin of Hardeeville, SC. He is predeceased by his wife, Mary Frances Yarbrough McGarvey and a daughter, Emily Patricia McGarvey Tiedemann, both of Savannah, Ga. He is survived by four sons; Warren Randolph of Bluffton, SC., William George of New York, NY, Mark Michael of Hilton Head, SC. and Warren William II of Bristo Va. He has seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. "Did you know I was the very first child born on Paris Island, SC. Well, that's what my mamma always said and mamma's never lie!" At eight months, Warren moved to Port Au Prince, Haiti where his father, a US Marine Corps Sergeant Major and bandmaster was stationed for three years. "When we returned to SC, I could only speak French!." Warren began his education in a one room Bluffton schoolhouse with eleven grades. He completed the twelfth at Ridgeland High where he played football, baseball and basketball. His college education began at Armstrong Junior College where he became a star player on their basketball team. Warren also attended Charleston's Citadel and Camden Military Academy. He was affectionately called "Chick" during his college days because of his long legs and love of southern fried chicken! Warren proudly served in the US Navy aboard several ships sailing the North Atlantic during WWII. After serving his country, he played professional baseball with the minor league team, the West Virginia Miners. After a career in sports, he married, started a family and settled in Savannah, Ga. where he learned the moving and storage business. In 1973, he moved to Manassas, Va. and began his own company, Empire Movers, an agent for Pan American Van Lines, which became a trusted mover for large businesses including the FBI Secret Service and IBM. Upon retirement, Warren returned to his beloved Bluffton with his wife, Mary to build a beautiful home in Sun City where they entertained on a grand scale and were a fan favorite couple among the karaoke crowd. "Mary and I love to sing and dance. One of our favorite duets is "Elvira". Oh man, nobody has as much fun as we do." They loved golfing and anything social with friends, but Warren's greatest passion was fishing and he spent many a lazy afternoon on the water with his lifelong friend, "Bubba" Crosby. "We grew up together in Bluffton fishing and hunting for squirrels, turkeys, doves and "good lookin women!" The sight of his childhood home is known by locals as "McGarvey's Corner" where US 278 and US 170 meet. Those who knew him best say Warren never met a stranger. He was a good will ambassador who welcomed his northern friends retiring to the south. He would often ask, "What do you call the son of a northern dad and a southern mom?" His answer....."A Half Damn Yankee!" of which he is proud to call himself. When meeting people for the first time, Warren would initiate a conversation (often long) by asking, "Where yawl from" and never leave them without saying, "Good to meet yawl and here's one even better for you....Have a good rest of your life!" The family will receive friends from 5:00pm til 7:00pm on Friday, December 5, 2014 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd., Bluffton. A Memorial service will be held at 6:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations made to the Bluffton Boys & Girls Club or a charity of your choice. The family will receive friends from 5:00pm til 7:00pm on Friday, December 5, 2014 at Sauls Funeral Home, 90 Simmonsville Rd., Bluffton. A Memorial service will be held at 6:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations made to the Bluffton Boys & Girls Club or a charity of your choice.