Port Royal Town Councilman Vernon DeLoach dies at 88

A longtime Port Royal public servant died Monday.

Port Royal Town Councilman Vernon DeLoach died of an undisclosed illness early Monday morning in West Columbia. DeLoach, 88, had been hospitalized in Columbia and absent from several recent Town Council meetings.

A visitation will be held at Copeland Funeral Service at 5 p.m. Wednesday. A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at Port Royal Baptist Church. DeLoach will be buried at Sand Hill Baptist Church in Varnville on Thursday afternoon.

DeLoach lived in Port Royal for more than 50 years in the home he built on London Avenue, the large lot situated across from Live Oak Park. Before that, the family had lived in the block houses he had built on nearby 14th Street.

He served on several town committees and for five years was the town’s volunteer fire chief.

Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray remembers DeLoach telling him stories about having to remove a battery from a vehicle to install in the fire truck when it was needed. DeLoach’s son, Keith, said his dad would drive around Santa Claus in one of the fire trucks.

“He did some of everything in the town,” Murray said. “He will be missed.”

DeLoach had served on Town Council since 2001, most recently re-elected in 2013. He served a two-year term about 50 years ago, he told The Beaufort Gazette in 2013.

As councilman, DeLoach advocated for Port Royal Elementary School to remain open and supported the skate park in Naval Heritage Park as a way to give area children something to do, his daughter, Gwen Reed, said.

In addition to building his own house, DeLoach built, bought and oversaw rental properties, performing the maintenance himself. Before he retired, DeLoach was a building supervisor with the U.S. Navy and oversaw the inspection of facilities on Parris Island.

He is believed to have been one of the last living people who built Naval Hospital Beaufort in Port Royal, town manager Van Willis said. The facility opened in 1949.

DeLoach grew a large garden and gave much of the produce away. He was one of the founding members of Port Royal Baptist Church and for a timedelivered monthly sermons at Bethlehem Baptist Church, his children said.

“I moved here about 55 years ago with the intent of staying the rest of our lives,” DeLoach said when he was up for re-election in 2013. “My wife and children just loved this town. We have always tried to make this town to be a better place.”

VanWillis and the town’s staff worked Monday morning to compile a list of DeLoach’s involvement in the town. DeLoach could be challenging to work with, Willis said, but added that he admired the councilman’s straight-forward approach and generosity.

“You always knew exactly where he stood on an issue,” Willis said.

A special election will be held May 16 to fill DeLoach’s council seat, according to state law outlining the process. Candidate filing opens March 10 and remains open 10 days.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Port Royal Town Councilman Vernon DeLoach dies at 88."