Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
1930 - 2011 (81 years)| Name | Joseph Chandler “Joe” KIRVEN [4, 5, 6, 7, 8] | |
| Birth | 10 Apr 1930 | Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | of Sumter, South Carolina Joseph C. Kirven Joseph Chandler Kirven, 81, husband of Sallie Munroe Kirven, died Saturday, May 28, 2011, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. Born April 10, 1930, in Sumter, he was a son of the late Thomas Jackson and Eva Chandler Kirven. Mr. Kirven was an elder at First Presbyterian Church, where he also served as deacon, Sunday school teacher and chairman of the pre-school committee. For many years, he was president of the Bethany Sunday School Class. He graduated from Edmunds High School and attended Presbyterian College on a football scholarship. He was twice named Little All-American and was named to PC's All-Decade Team, 1950-1959. In 1985, he was named to the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Kirven was commander of his college ROTC unit and as a senior was awarded the Wysor Saber for best company commander. He served in the U.S. Army 511th Airborne Infantry and was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at PC and president of his college chapter for two years. He spent most of his career as an educator in Sumter District 17, with service in nearly every school in the district. He taught and coached football at Alice Drive Junior High and Edmunds High School and taught at Wilder Elementary. After receiving his master's degree in education from Appalachian State University, he was principal of Central Elementary, McLaurin Junior High, Bates Middle and Millwood Elementary. He was named Principal of the Year by the S.C. Parent Teacher Association, and under his leadership, the PTA at Millwood Elementary was named the top elementary school PTA in the state. Mr. Kirven loved his students and was known for his "lollipop discipline." He had great respect and appreciation for the faculties and staffs with which he felt privileged to serve. After retiring from Millwood Elementary in 1989, he served the district as interim principal at Alice Drive Elementary and sat on the Disciplinary Review Panel. Mr. Kirven was an avid outdoorsman. He especially enjoyed duck hunting, deer hunting, fishing for stripers in the Santee-Cooper Lake System and saltwater fishing at Edisto Beach. Cultivating his farmland and sharing the abundance it produced was a highlight of his retirement. Surviving are his wife of 53 years; a daughter, Anne K. Tedder of Anderson and husband, the Rev. Dr. Dennis R. Tedder; and a son, Dr. Joseph M. Kirven of Orlando, Fla. and wife, Kristin Adamkiewicz Kirven. He was loved, admired and will be greatly missed by his five grandchildren, Andrew Chandler Tedder and Joseph Henry Tedder of Anderson, and Shea Munroe Kirven, Kiley Chandler Kirven, and Kinley Joseph Kirven of Orlando, Fla.. Also surviving are brothers Tom Kirven (Sarah), Larry Kirven (Carol) and Rusty Kirven (Vivian), all of Sumter; and sisters Laura K. Onsrud (David) of Simpsonville and Julie K. Griffin (Lynwood) of Parkton, N.C. He was preceded in death by a sister, Phee Kirven, and a brother, Danny Kirven. A service of witness to the resurrection will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church with Dr. Mark Durrett officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to First Presbyterian Church, 9 W. Calhoun St., Sumter, S.C., 29150. Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com. Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter is in charge of the arrangements (803) 775-9386. Posted in Obituaries on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 Sumter loses 2 men of character and goodness Sumter lost two exemplary men during the week, both of whom made a difference in this community in their chosen professions: medicine and education. Many, many lives were impacted because of not just their professional contributions, but also because of the examples they set as men of character and basic goodness. There have been many words of appreciation and tribute bestowed upon Dr. Lea B. Givens and Joseph Chandler Kirven. We'd like to add a few more: Dr. Lea B. Givens At funeral services for Lea Givens on Saturday, his former partner and close friend Dr. Philip Brandt honored him with this title: "The Master." Among the Sumter medical community it was a title that Lea Givens not only earned but wore well. He was a master, said Brandt, of the art of medicine, which he practiced for over 50 years with a dedication seldom seen today among his peers. Most physicians, with few exceptions, work hard for their patients while applying the years of study, preparation and sacrifice they've undergone, which should be duly recognized. But Lea Givens was in a league of his own. He not only practiced medicine but lived it, 24/7, 365 days a year. If an extra mile was needed in caring for his patients, he took two. Morning, noon or night, early or late, he would respond to any patient in need, no matter the inconvenience to his personal life. The legend of Lea Givens is replete with stories of his dedication, of the time he spent poring over medical journals or consulting with other doctors about a better way to treat a patient. He attended countless seminars and workshops to improve his skills. As for his patients, there was no road he would not travel to help improve their health. Brandt told of Givens fighting an insurance company on behalf of a patient badly in need of serious heart surgery that only two doctors in America were capable of performing successfully, Drs. Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley in Houston. The insurance company refused to pay for the expensive surgery. Givens would not take "no" for an answer and went to the mat with the insurance company. He won, and so did the patient who survived the surgery and went on to live a healthy and productive life. That was the Lea Givens who became "The Master." There is not enough newsprint available to chronicle what he represented in medical care for those who were fortunate enough to become his patients and hence friends for life. He was a small town boy from Fountain Inn who became a Sumterite, placing his distinctive brand on medical care in this community that will likely never be equaled. Joseph Chandler Kirven What you saw in Joe Kirven was what you got - a plain old country boy, down to earth, strong, God-fearing, hard-working family man. He grew up on a farm and never forgot his roots as he went through 81 years of life as a gifted athlete, a patriot who served his country in the U.S. Army, a teacher, a principal, an outdoorsman, a leader in First Presbyterian Church, and above all, a role model to men young and old. The accolades were plentiful and well-deserved following his death. County Administrator Bill Noonan saw Kirven as a man who taught his young students "How to live life the right way, how to do good things, and how to be involved and to study hard." To former high school history teacher and Item archivist Sammy Way, Kirven was "one of the most caring people I think I've ever met. He was like a father, a friend, mentor. He hired you and was then there to help you - everything he did made you a better teacher, and that was his philosophy. He helped people all the time." Noted bird sculptor Grainger McKoy, like Way, saw Kirven as a father figure, a "gentle giant," "a man's man," someone he wanted to emulate. There's a consistent thread running through those remembrances of Joe Kirven who distinguished himself as a coach and educator: he was people-oriented, selfless and kind-hearted. Like many strong men who grew up on a farm during the Great Depression, Kirven knew about hard times but never let it deter him from getting a good education at Presbyterian College and using it to serve others, much as Lea Givens did with the fine education he received. Joe Kirven was a man of substance who, like Givens, impacted many lives. The time he spent with us was time well spent. He made a difference. Posted in Editorials on Sunday, June 5, 2011 Joseph C. Kirven: 1930-2011 Joseph C. Kirven: 1930-2011 Kirven is seen in his football days at Presbyterian College. View all 3 images in gallery. Posted: Saturday, June 4, 2011 6:00 am | Updated: 11:33 pm, Fri Jun 3, 2011. BY JOE PERRY jperry@theitem. "Living the Country Life." That's what Joseph Chandler Kirven titled his 140-page autobiography, a compilation of stories about his upbringing at Woodlands Farm, a 350-acre family property off Brewington Road, and a farm in Eastover the family worked during the Great Depression. Kirven wrote about playing football for Presbyterian College, serving his country in the U.S. Army, hunting in the fields and swamps of Sumter County and working for many years as an educator and coach. Kirven, 81, died May 28, and, as Sumter County Administrator Bill Noonan put it, Kirven's legacy will live on for many years. "I think many of the young students of the '60s and '70s and even the '80s - the community - continues to benefit and flourish as a result of things Joe taught them," Noonan said. "How to live life the right way, how to do good things, and how to be involved and to study hard. A guy like Joe influences a community for generations, really." FARM RAISED Kirven's grandfather Thomas Jackson Kirven was born in Darlington County in 1868. After marrying Laura Ann Fraser while in his 20s, they settled near DuBose Siding, close to DuBose Crossroads, in the early 1900s. That couple's first child, also named Thomas Jackson Kirven, was Joseph C. Kirven's father. In 1912, the elder Thomas J. Kirven moved his family to Woodlands Farm on the eastern side of Brewington Road. In 1921, Joseph C. Kirven's grandfather died at the age of 53, and his father took over Woodlands. The 12-horse farm had eight tenant houses with families. Cotton, corn, tobacco, cane for syrup, wheat for flour and oats to feed the livestock were the main crops. Joseph C. Kirven was the third child born to his parents in 1930, just as the Great Depression reared its head. Like most families, the Kirvens were hit hard. As a 3-year-old, Joe Kirven saw his family move to Eastover to farm 300 rented acres, where the family stayed until the mid-'40s. The Kirvens lived in a simple frame house without electricity that sat atop brick pillars.When it rained, pots and pans were put to use, catching the drops that fell inside the home. Kirven's father had two 2-horse wagons, a one-horse wagon, plows, harrows and a reaping binder in addition to cotton planters, fertilizer distributors and eight mules. Before the sun was up, Kirven's father was in the kitchen readying coffee and biscuits. Kirven and his brother Tom milked six cows before catching the 7:30 a.m. school bus to Eastover Elementary School and again when they got home each evening. Butter was churned and Kirven's mother sold about 10 pounds a week, along with four dozen eggs. In the winter a dozen hogs weighing up to 300 pounds were butchered and salt cured, and the family always enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables. It was a simpler time of hard work and families pulling together. "In order to survive in this world, you need to learn some things quickly," Kirven wrote. "Today it's look out for the cars on the road and be careful crossing the railroad tracks. In my childhood, things were a little different. When Dad hollered at 5:30 a.m. 'Time to go!," you had better roll and get dressed." ON KIRVEN'S POND Kirven's autobiography was compiled over the course of about 10 years, from 1995 to 2005. Fond of the outdoors, Kirven devoted several pages re-telling how his father got the idea in 1946 of building a fishing pond in the backyard, complete with a dam and spillway. County conservation officer Ben Abbott completed the surveying, and state and federal money helped with building the dam and dredging. It was up to the Kirvens to clear the trees and bush. "We had only a small tractor, a crosscut saw, axes, and bush axes," he wrote. "This posed a problem. The pond site was thick black gum trees and myrtle bushes, as well as briars. How could this pond be cleared with no bulldozer or heavy machinery to move sixty-foot trees? 'Well,' Dad said, 'If we were willing to put out the effort, we could see our dream come true.'" Nothing was easy, Kirven wrote. Trees were sawed by hand and dragged away in sections by a tractor. The boggy area was full of stumps and holes and progress was slow. After two summers, the site began to take shape. A digging machine was brought in and created an island in the middle of the pond which would become the home for waterfowl. In 1949, a bulldozer was used to build the dam, and the spillway was completed in June of that year. After three years of work, the spillway was closed and the pond filled a year later. Five thousand bream were stocked, and a year later, 500 bass found a new home. "It seems like forever before the appointed time to begin fishing, but two years later there was prime fishing," Kirven wrote. "The pond has been enjoyed by all family members, especially my mom and dad, who spend many Saturday evenings fishing for their supper. Besides fishing, this pond has become home to many waterfowl. Ducks have settled here for years, and they come and go with the seasons. My brother Larry introduced a dozen or so Canadian geese to the pond in the 1960s. Since then, they have nested every year, and today in 1999 there are well over 150 geese that this pond home. My immediate family also calls this pond home, for Sallie and I built our house next to this pond in 1972." LOOK OUT, BUSHY TAIL! Kirven loved hunting. His father taught him how to handle a shotgun by the time he was 9 years old, and he bagged his first deer a year later in the Wateree Swamp. His first love, however, was squirrel hunting. "Getting up at 4:30 a.m. after playing a football game on Friday night was no problem for me if it was squirrel hunting season," he wrote. "After walking nearly a mile to the swamp, I would sit in my favorite spot along the hickory nut ridge and wait for daylight. Before the first rays of sun hit the top of the tall oak tree, you could hear the chatter and see limbs begin to shake as Bush Tail came looking for a hickory nut. Some days were better for hunting than others, and the best days were cool, with no wind, and maybe a little cloudy." When Kirven got a little older, he moved on to duck and deer hunting. "Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night could keep us from duck hunting when the season arrived," he wrote. "E.M. Watt, Larry and I made an awesome trio when it came to duck hunting ... In a two-man boat with a five-horse Wizard motor, we three made many a journey into Sparkleberry Lake Swamp." COLLEGE BOUND "The summer of 1949 was a dry and hot season," Kirven wrote. He helped out with the usual chores - milking cows, cropping tobacco, hauling hay and combining grain - but not a day went by without thoughts about reporting to Presbyterian College for football practice on Aug. 15. Weighing in at 175 pounds, Kirven was in good shape and found he could hold his own with members of the varsity team - mostly older and larger World War II veterans. "While at Presbyterian College, E.M. (Watt) broke the state broad-jump record, and I also held several records in pass receiving and set a new record in total minutes played per game (54 minutes). My senior year I was honored as being named to the 'Little All-America Team.' At graduation I was selected as the outstanding company commander of the ROTC unit at Presbyterian College." Being in the ROTC meant Kirven was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation. His military service lasted from September 1953 until a discharge in January 1956. SETTLING DOWN After basic officer's training at Fort Benning, Ga., Kirven went through airborne training and was assigned to the 508th Regiment. He was transferred to Ft. Campbell, Ky., in early 1954 and was assigned to the 511th Airborne Regiment for two years. His active duty came to a close in January 1956 after an exercise in Alaska that lasted six weeks. Kirven helped out on the farm when he got home, but soon accepted a job as a traveling salesman, with college and high school rings, yearbooks and fraternity jewelry as his wares. After five months, he resigned, having no desire to continue traveling. In August 1956, Kirven landed a job as assistant coach and teacher at Dillon High School, which paid $3,500 a year. Kirven lived with his aunt Ansie Williams in nearby Fairmont, N.C., who invited him to attend the Presbyterian Church several blocks from her home. It was fate. A certain "bright-eyed" and smiling young lady in the choir caught his attention, and his aunt told him she was a new teacher and recent arrival to town. "You have probably guessed by now who one of those young teachers was," Kirven wrote. "Yes, it was Sallie. As I remember that day, I knew from the beginning that this was it, and Sallie was the one I wanted for my wife." The next summer Kirven accepted a job coaching and teaching at Alice Drive Middle School, and he built a house on the family's property. "Sallie and I were married in June 1958 in her church in Clarkton, N.C., in the hottest weather of the year. The temperature that day reached 105 degrees," he wrote. 'A MAN'S MAN' Kirven and his wife both worked in District 17. He taught and coached for 10 years before moving into school administration. A master's degree from Appalachian State University preceded stints as principal of Central Elementary, McLaurin Jr. High, Bates Middle School and Millwood Elementary. He was named Principal of the Year by the S.C. Parent Teacher Association. His wife Sallie taught music and elementary education until she retired in 1990, a year after Kirven retired. Though he worked for two years selling insurance, Kirven will unquestionably be remembered for his many years as a coach and educator. When Bill Noonan arrived in Sumter in 1965 as a coach, he met Kirven, then the principal at McLaurin, and found they had a lot in common. But it was Kirven's manner that stood out: "A very kind man who was extremely interested in the welfare of students and I think served as a mentor to many young teachers who came into the district," Noonan said. Kirven was never afraid to share his love of the outdoors, either. "He taught an awful lot of kids how to put a cricket on a hook," Noonan said. Renowned artist Grainger McKoy played football in junior high school and high school under Kirven's tutelage, and learned as much about life as he did about playing football. "He was just a gentle giant," McKoy recalled. When McKoy was 9 years old, his father died. "I didn't know until I was older, I was already scanning the horizon for a father figure and I latched onto him," he said. "He was the one that I chose to emulate." McKoy said Kirven was a rock. Steady. "Not gooey and gushy, just straight up testosterone," he said. "He was a man's man." Sammy Way taught history at Sumter High School for nearly 40 years, and was hired by Kirven in 1972 to teach at McLaurin Jr. High School. "He was one the most caring people I think I've ever met. He was like a father, a friend, mentor," Way said. "He hired you and was then there to help you - everything he did made you a better teacher, and that was his philosophy. He helped people all the time." Above all, Kirven was kind and generous and loved to give away produce from his farm. Kirven's guidance in the educational realm will always be cherished by Way. "He was truly a man that taught me more about teaching than anyone - how to deal with people because he was so people-oriented and I found myself incorporating a lot of his concepts and lessons into how I dealt with children and students," he said. "He was so patient. There was no such thing around him as a crisis. He showed you and guided you and helped you." DADDY Anne Tedder said her father was a strong, steady presence in the lives of her and her brother Joseph M. Kirven. "Always dependable, wise, always there," she said. "He had a very good understanding of people and human nature and what you needed to do to be successful." Her father instilled the lessons and rewards of hard work. As her father's health declined, she fully realized the impact he had on the Sumter community. "I knew him as my Daddy and never really understood how much he was loved and respected in the community in his professional life. I'm not surprised but it's great to know he made an impact on people in Sumter. He loved Sumter and lived here most of his life," she said. "This was home to him." Posted in Local news, News on Saturday, June 4, 2011 [4, 5, 6, 9] | |
| MILI | He served in the U.S. Army 511th Airborne Infantry and was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. [5] | |
| _UID | 627365F8DDB54C55A1EFA9981E7F087D5814 | |
| Death | 28 May 2011 | Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina |
| Burial | 31 May 2011 | a service of witness to the resurrection was held at First Presbyterian Church, 9 W. Calhoun St., Sumter, South Carolina [5] |
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| Person ID | I137507 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 19 Apr 2025 | |
| Father | Thomas Jackson KIRVEN, Sr., b. 18 Mar 1897, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 21 Aug 1975, Tuomey Hospital, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 78 years) | |
| Mother | Eva CHANDLER, b. 22 Sep 1901, Manning, Clarendon County, South Carolina d. 1 Jul 1977, Tuomey Hospital, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 75 years) | |
| Marriage | 4 Dec 1923 | Sumter County, South Carolina [10] |
| _UID | EA5D3D1F69B649B7903CB99C6706DA2B5516 | |
| _UID | EA5D3D1F69B649B7903CB99C6706DA2B5516 | |
| Family ID | F49408 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Sallie Anne MUNROE, b. 14 Aug 1934, Bladen County, North Carolina d. 23 Jun 2019, Rainey Hospice House, Anderson, South Carolina (Age 84 years) | |||||
| Marriage | 1958 [5] | |||||
| _UID | 3209349FF9E84159AD94C66269065A490496 | |||||
| _UID | 3209349FF9E84159AD94C66269065A490496 | |||||
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| Family ID | F94489 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||
| Last Modified | 10 Jun 2011 | |||||
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