OBITUARIES
Leah Darlene Fontenot
Dec 12, 2025
Leah Darlene Smith Fontenot, 68, devoted wife of Mark Fontenot from Grays, SC, passed away unexpectedly on December 12, 2025.
Leah was born September 28,1957 in Hampton, SC to Ina Leah Smith-Reed and the late Walker Smith, Jr.
Leah was a graduate of Ridgeland High School. She started her civil service career at MCAS Beaufort in clerical administration. She briefly worked as...
Stephen James Venarchick
Dec 11, 2025
Stephen James Venarchick, 74, of Hardeeville, South Carolina, formerly Maple Grove and St. Paul, Minnesota, passed away on December 11, 2025, into his Father’s (Abba) arms after a courageous battle with cancer. Steve was born on January 30, 1951, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from Harding High School in St. Paul in 1969....
Raymond J. Landry
Dec 10, 2025
Raymond Joseph Landry Obituary
It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband and father Raymond J. Landry at the age of 92 on December 10th. He passed away at Hilton Head Medical Center, South Carolina with wife Geraldine and sons Paul, Michael and Thomas by his side.
Raymond was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick on January...
Sue Ellen Stickley
Dec 9, 2025
In Loving Memory of Sue Ellen Stickley
Sue Ellen Stickley, 76, of coastal South Carolina, passed away peacefully at home on December 9, 2025, surrounded by her husband of 48 years and their daughter.
She loved Jesus, and she was prepared to meet Him.
Born in Memphis and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sue Ellen was adventurous, warm-hearted, and full of life. She had...
Shirley Vick O'Neal
Dec 8, 2025
Shirley Vick O'Neal, age 81 of Bluffton, SC, died December 8, 2025. Mrs. O'Neal was born in Baltimore, MD, on October 28, 1944, the daughter of the late James Edward Vick and Frances Virginia Thomason Vick. She was a graduate of Travelers Rest High School, Anderson University, and Appalachian State University, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology and M.A....
Catherine R. McCoy
Dec 8, 2025
Catherine Rose McCoy, 71, of Bluffton, SC passed away Monday, December 8, 2025 at her home.
Cathy was born January 15, 1954 in Dexter, MI to the late Charles R. Van Aken and Rosemary Matthews Van Aken. She graduated from Dexter High School and received a Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University. She then began her lifelong career as a Certified...
John Berton Hubbard
Dec 7, 2025
John Berton Hubbard, 64, beloved son, brother, uncle and friend of Beaufort, South Carolina, passed away unexpectedly on December 7, 2025. He was born in Fayette, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1961. John lived most of his life in Beaufort and graduated with the Beaufort High School Class of 1980, where he made many lifelong friends. He attended the University of...
Rhonda "Ronni" Rowe Duewel
Dec 5, 2025
Rhonda “Ronni” Rowe Duewel, 79, of Bluffton, South Carolina, passed away peacefully at her home after a courageous battle with cancer.
Born on January 28, 1946, in Wilmington, Delaware, Ronni was the daughter of J. Max Rowe, an electrical engineer, and Missouri “Sue” Rowe, a devoted homemaker.
Ronni is survived by her three loved children and one granddaughter: Steve, husband of Susan...
Sandra Lynn Tomko
Dec 4, 2025
Sandra Lynn Tomko, 82, of Bluffton, SC, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at Vineyard of Bluffton.
Born January 3, 1943, in Scranton, PA, Sandra was the daughter of the late Edward McCracken and Evelyn Brownell Watkins. She grew up in Scranton and later settled in North Andover, MA, with her beloved husband, Richard Tomko, where they raised their...
Robert "Bob" J. Schutz
Dec 4, 2025
Robert “Bob” J. Schutz, 79, died peacefully on December 4, 2025, with his wife, Tracey, by his side.
Bob is survived by his adoring wife, Tracey (Jelstrom) Schutz; his brother, Jim (Nancy) Schutz; his children, Erin Alston, Lauren Alston, Hannah Rice (Rob), Jake Schutz, and Jenna Schutz; and his stepdaughter, Chelsey Blake (Alyssa). He was loved well by his grandchildren, especially...
Henry Howard "Bo" Pollitzer
Dec 3, 2025
Henry Howard “Bo” Pollitzer died in his home in Buckingham Landing in Bluffton on December 3,2025 where he lived amongst the friends and family he adored. He was born at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC, the only son of Henry Higgins Pollitzer and Credle “Betsy” Pollitzer on December 14, 1957.
The family moved to Beaufort, S.C. shortly following his birth. His...
Annette Marie Helms
Dec 2, 2025
A funeral service will be held at 1:30 pm, Monday, December 15, 2025 at Sauls Funeral Home, 310 W. Adams St., Ridgeland. The family will receive friends beginning at 1:00 pm until the time of the service at the funeral home.
The service will be livestreamed below:
Albert M. Sramek II
Dec 2, 2025
Albert M. Sramek II (Al) died in his home in Bluffton, SC on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Margaret Sramek, his son, Michael Sramek, and his daughter, Amanda Sramek. His youngest son, Jeffrey Sramek, preceded him in death. Al is also survived by his daughter-in-law, Jane Hyatt...
David Henry Jenkins
Dec 1, 2025
It is with both sorrow and deep gratitude for a life well lived that we announce the passing of David Henry Jenkins, a devoted husband, loving father and stepfather and "Papa Dave" to his grandchildren. A faithful servant of God, David left this world on December 1, in Bluffton, SC at the age of 87. He left behind a legacy...
Judith Carol Lamiell Pedrotty
Nov 28, 2025
Judith Carol Lamiell Pedrotty died on Friday, November 28, 2025, in Neptune, New Jersey, at the age of 82. Judy was born in Barberton, Ohio, on July 28, 1943, to Rita Patricia Jacobs Lamiell and Thomas Joseph Lamiell. She grew up with her eight siblings in Canton, where she attended St. John the Baptist Catholic Grade School and Central Catholic...
Carey A. Clark Jr. (Buddy)
Nov 27, 2025
Carey A. Clark, Jr., known as Buddy, passed away peacefully on November 27, 2025. Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Buddy lived a life full of curiosity, love, and creativity. Over the years, he called many places home, including Silver Spring, MD; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; and most recently, Port Royal, SC.
A proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at...
Robert Hutton
Nov 27, 2025
Robert Allen Hutton, of Hilton Head, SC, has died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 82. Bob was born in Detroit to the late George and Edith (nee Rogers) Hutton. He was proud of his service in the US Air Force, his career in the machine tool industry, and most of all, of his family. Bob never met...
Carl T. Butzbach, III
Nov 25, 2025
Carl T. Butzbach III, of Bluffton, SC, formerly of Southbury, CT, passed away on November 25th surrounded by his loving family.
He was born July 4, 1945, in Paterson, NJ, to the late Carl Theodore Butzbach Jr. and Elizabeth (Leimbacher) Butzbach. He was raised in Clifton, NJ and graduated from Clifton High School in 1962 at the age of 16. Carl...
Stanley J. Gefen
Nov 25, 2025
Stanley Jerome Gefen of Hilton Head, SC, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones. He was 94 years old.
Stan was born in Boston, MA. He served as a cryptographer in the United States Fareast Command during the Korean War and then earned his degree in pharmacy from Northeastern University. Soon thereafter, in 1959,...
Diana Fitzgerald
Nov 24, 2025
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Diana Fitzgerald, age 69, who passed away peacefully at Hilton Head Hospital on November 24, 2025. Diana was born in New York and raised in Port Washington, Long Island to the late Reinhold and Velta Bekeris, both Latvian emigrants. Diana was a devoted wife, a loving mother, and an...
