Johnnie Sowell Neese

Funeral services for Johnnie Sowell Neese, 89, of West Columbia, will be held at 3:00 PM, Sunday, January 31, 2016 at Holland Avenue Baptist Church, 801 12th Street, Cayce, SC. Pastor Dow Welsh and Pastor Charles Wilson will officiate. Interment will follow in Southland Memorial Gardens. The family will greet friends from 6:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday, January 30, 2016 at Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington, 4720 Augusta Road, Lexington, SC. Mrs. Neese passed away Thursday, January 28, 2016. Born in Kershaw, she was a daughter of the late John Wesley and Evelyn Blease Johnson Sowell, Sr. She was a graduate of Kershaw High School, and attended Coker College. Johnnie was a charter member of Holland Avenue Baptist Church and served as Trustee and Sunday School Teacher for more than 50 years. She was the chairman of the Nominating, Finance, and Personnel Committees, and a member of the Benevolent, Building, Library, and Stewardship Committees. Johnnie was continuously employed by the House of Perfection, Inc., manufacturer and wholesaler of children's apparel from November 1956 until July 2005, when she retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She was the former President of the West Columbia - Cayce Junior Woman's Club, former Division chairman of the S.C. Federation of Women's Clubs, the former President of the Riverlyn Women's Club, a former member of the Lexington County Higher Education Commission, Congaree Area Girl Scout Council and served as the West Columbia - Cayce Residential Chairman for the United Way. Johnnie was a former member of the Body of Trustees, United Community Services and was nominated for the "Woman of Achievement" award for the State of South Carolina in 1992. She was awarded the "Woman of Distinction" honor in 1996, from the Congaree Area Girl Scout Council. From 1964 through 1967, Johnnie was active in the Lexington County and the South Carolina Republican Parties, having served as Secretary-Treasurer, County Finance Chairman, County Organization Chairman, President of Lexington County Republican Women, Precinct Officer, and Convention Credentials Chairman. A candidate for the House of Representatives in 1964, she was the first woman in South Carolina to run for public office on the Republican ticket. She served for 17 years as Treasurer for Senator Addison G. "Joe" Wilson and assumed active roles in State and Congressional campaigns for Republican candidates Albert Watson, Floyd Spence, and Strom Thurmond. Johnnie is survived by her daughters, Lynda Neese (Gary Miller), Carol Neese, Deborah Neese, Sandra Neese Cooke, Tracey Neese Edenfield; 6 grandsons, Ira Brent Driggers, Jonathan Michael Cooke, Jordan Patrick Cooke, Zachary Tanner Edenfield, Nicholas Yates Edenfield, Jacob Andrew Edenfield; 3 great-grandsons. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of more than 50 years, Harry Yates Neese; twin sister, Connie Sowell, and brother, John W. Sowell, Jr.