| Name |
Orville Van “O. V.” PLAYER [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] |
| Suffix |
Jr. |
| Birth |
20 Jan 1916 |
Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Education |
he was educated in the Sumter public schools, eh attended the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship [8] |
| HIST |
Item Staff Writer- By R. Brandon Larrabee- With laughter and shared memories, a standing-room-only crowd packed into a Sumter County courtroom Thursday to mark the retirement of one of the county’s most experienced and admired public servants, Orville Van “O.V.” Player Jr., who has served his native county for more than five decades, including 30 years a s clerk of court. ¶ Player, who was first elected to the clerk’s post in 1972, never faced opposition in his seven bids for re-election. On Thursday - which Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen declared Orville Van Player Jr. Day in the city - he was honored with a ceremony attended by more than 100 local and state officials and residents, including former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney Jr. and several members of the state judiciary. ¶ During the ceremony, Reps. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and David Weeks, D-Sumter, presented Player with the Order of the Silver Crescent, bestowed on the clerk by Gov. Mark Sanford, and citations by both the S. C. House of Representatives and Senate marking Player’s service to his country. They were among several certificates and honors given to Player during the hour-long ceremony in Sumter County Courthouse Courtroom No. 1 - renamed the O. V. Player Jr. Courtroom during the commemoration. ¶ “I’m very honored by this ceremony and by your presence,” Player, who will officially step down from his post at the end of year, told the crowd. “I cannot believe how fast the time goes by.” ¶ The clerk also expressed his appreciation to the people whom he served for 20 years as a school board member and almost 31 in this current post. ¶ “The citizens of this county have been good to me. And a mere ‘thank you’ does not seem adequate,” Player said. ¶ He was on the board of trustees for Sumter School District 17 for 20 years and was clerk of court of Sumter County from 1972 until his retirement in 2003. He was involved with many organizations. He was past president of the Sumter Lions Club, Crime Stoppers of Sumter County and the Red Cross Boodmobile. He was inducted into the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. [2, 8] |
| MILI |
he served in the U. S. Army during World War II [8] |
| Occupation |
former clerk of court of Sumter County, South Carolina; he served the people of Sumter County for more than 50 years [8] |
| Religion |
a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church, Sumter, South Carolina, where he was a deacon, and elder, clerk of the session, and an elder emeritus [8] |
| _UID |
8661E164297246B889FC401C7F44907E7715 |
| Death |
29 Nov 2005 |
Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina |
| Burial |
1 Dec 2005 |
a memorial service in the First Presbyterian Church, Sumter, South Carolina [8] |
- Elmore-Hill-McCreight Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina
|
| Person ID |
I107521 |
Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified |
5 Jun 2010 |
1916 - 2005 (89 years)