Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
1940 - 2023 (82 years)| Name | Emily Gail “Gail” KENNEDY [3, 4, 5] | |
| Birth | 20 Sep 1940 | Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  [4] |
| Gender | Female | |
| HIST | of Bishopville, South Carolina at death- she had 8 granchildren whose last name is Kennedy- where do they go? jkh GAIL KENNEDY PLAYER Posted Friday, January 27, 2023 6:00 am BISHOPVILLE - Gail Kennedy Player, widow of Dale William Player, died on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. She was born on Sept. 20, 1940, in Sumter, a daughter of the late John Wesley Kennedy and Emily Hatfield Kennedy. A funeral service to honor her life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Bishopville with the Rev. Denise Seymour officiating. The family will receive friends from 3 to 6 p.m. today at the Players' farm, 250 Stoney Run Road, Bishopville, SC 29010. A private family burial will be held at St. Luke Cemetery in Elliott. The directors of Hancock-Elmore-Hill Funeral Home are caring for the family. Memorials may be made in her honor to Bethlehem United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 167, Bishopville, SC 29010 or St. Luke United Methodist Church Cemetery, c/o Susie Chavis, 324 Elk St., Bishopille, SC 29010. Mrs. Player graduated from Bishopville High School and attended Limestone College. She loved her community and enjoyed a long life of community service, having served on Bishopville City Council for 28 years with six of those years as mayor pro tempore. Mrs. Player was a former board member of the Lee County Arts Council, the South Carolina Cotton Museum, Greater Bishopville Inc., Lee County Economic Development Alliance, Opera House Foundation, Friends of Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden, the Bishopville branch of NBSC (Synovus) Bank and Progress Energy Advisory Board of the Pee Dee. She was a past regent of the Henry DuRant Chapter, NSDAR, and for years volunteered with the Lee County Cooperative Ministry Care Center. She was actively involved with Lee County's Social Peace Initiative while participating in Citizens for Progress and Understanding and helping organize and administer Christian Unity Week. Mrs. Player was an active member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church, where she had formerly served as chairman of the administrative council, was a member of United Methodist Women, the Eva Woodham Circle, and was a teacher of the Joe Fanning Sunday School Class. Always athletic and enjoying outdoor activities, she had been a ranked South Carolina tennis player and made sure that her children played a good tennis game as well. She and her late husband, Dale, ran 10k races, hiked South Carolina trails, and enjoyed dancing the Shag and kayaking with friends. She loved to garden, read and spend time with friends at the lake and at the beach. Like her mother, she was a fun-loving person for whom laughter came easily. "Nana" delighted in spending as much time as possible with her children and their spouses and her 10 grandchildren anywhere, but especially at Lake Wateree. One grandchild came up with the expression "This joy cannot be duplicated," which was made into a sign and hung in the lake house. Mrs. Player is survived by her daughter, Jennie Player Lambe (Scott); sons, John Whitworth Player (Beth), William Weber Player (Molly) and Thomas Kennedy Player (Ashley); grandchildren, Kennedy Lambe, Elizabeth Lambe, Joseph-Caine Player, Worth Player, Wesley Player, Lylli Player, Avery Player, Wilson Player, Blain Player and Sarah Player; sister-in-law, Maxine Player Blakely (Ed); a niece and three nephews. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, John Wesley Kennedy Jr. and Loretta Bennett Kennedy; and their son, John Bennett Kennedy. The family would like to especially thank her church, friends, Dr. John Pate, Dr. Sreenivas Rao, Dr. Virginia Clyburn-Ipock and their staff and McLeod Hospice House for their love and care. GAIL PLAYER • 1940 - 2023: Bishopville woman remembered for love of God, community service Posted Friday, February 10, 2023 6:00 am BY ASHLEY MILLER ashley@theitem.com A Bishopville woman is being remembered by her community as "fun-loving" and a community servant for the time she devoted to councils and boards throughout her life. Gail Player was born on Sept. 20, 1940, in Sumter and passed away Jan. 24 after a 15-month battle with lung cancer. She was 82. After graduating from Bishopville High School, Player attended Limestone College in Gaffney. After marrying her husband, Dale, the couple had four children. Player split her time between part-time jobs and being a stay-at-home mother. She loved hiking, playing sports and serving her community. "Our household was pretty busy with four children," said Jennie Lambe, Player's daughter, while laughing. Many people who got to know Player in her 82 years of life said she loved her community and enjoyed doing community service. She served on numerous boards and councils, one of which was Bishopville City Council for 28 years - six of those years as mayor pro tempore. Travis Windham, chair of Lee County Council, said he knew her for as long as she served on city council. "She was very good to work with. She was very community minded," Windham said. "Great family, always a positive attitude, and she really had concerns for the people." The Player family and Windham spent time together at Lake Wateree - one of Player's favorite relaxation spots - and got to know each other outside of work. Player enjoyed spending as much time as possible with her children, their spouses and her 10 grandchildren at the lake. "We had great times at the lake. You could really tell she was a person for the community and her family," Windham said. Player was also a board member on Lee County Arts Council, the South Carolina Cotton Museum, Greater Bishopville Inc., Lee County Economic Development Alliance, Opera House Foundation, Friends of Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden (for several years), the Bishopville branch of NBSC Bank (now called Synovus Bank) and Progress Energy Advisory Board of the Pee Dee. She was a past regent of the Henry DuRant Chapter of South Carolina for the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and volunteered with the Lee County Cooperative Ministry Care Center. "She just loved Bishopville. I think that is why she was so active in the community. She loved it here," said Whit, Player's son. "Her and Dad left briefly for school, but they found their way back here, home." She was all that and still more. Known as a "wholesome Christian woman," Player volunteered with Lee County's Social Peace Initiative and participated in Citizens for Progress and Understanding. She helped organize and administer Christian Unity Week and was an active member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church, where she formerly served as chairwoman of the administrative council. She was a member of United Methodist Women and the Eva Woodham Circle and was a teacher for the Joe Fanning Sunday School Class. "She was always hardworking for her family and for the church. She was a community servant and passionate about serving God," said Lambe, her daughter. One would assume with all of her time devoted to community service, she had little time for herself. But Player always made time for athletics, the outdoors and her family. Player was a ranked South Carolina tennis player and, according to Lambe, her mother always kept them involved in the community and church, their most cherished memories being the ones made on the tennis court. "She always wanted all of her kids to play sports, any sport we wanted to, but we mainly spent our childhood at the tennis court," Lambe said, laughing. Both of Player's children said they will always cherish those memories at the tennis court, whether they played a game with the family or friends. "You know there was six of us in the family, so sometimes we would play games with just us and sometimes with friends. It was always a great time, and we always had a laugh," Whit said. Player and her husband spent their young adult years running 10k races, hiking South Carolina trails, enjoying shag dancing and kayaking with friends. She also loved gardening, reading and her time at the lake or the beach with friends. "They both were loved by people, you couldn't not love them both," Whit said. "In her older years, her and dad would spend most of their time at the lake. It was their spot. She loved hiking and all, but I think the lake holds a lot of memories of us and her grandchildren," Lambe said. "She was a fun-loving nana." One of her grandchildren, Elizabeth, came up with the expression, "this joy cannot be duplicated," which the family made into a sign. The sign hangs at the lake house as a reminder to the Player family to continue to have joy and fun. "They [Player and her husband] would go to church when they were at the lake. It became a giant family with the neighbors and all of us kids and grandchildren there," Whit said. Whit said Player filled many roles: a mother, a wife, a friend and devoted Christian, all while radiating positivity and sharing wisdom in the community. For Lambe, there was one Bible verse that could describe her mother. "When I think of the Bible verse that says love the Lord your God with all your heart ... then it talks about love thy neighbor as yourself, I feel like that pretty much sums her up as a person," she said. Player was loved by the Bishopville community, and while her joy may not be duplicated, it will certainly not be forgotten. [1, 2, 3, 6] | |
| _UID | 86EC43DB261F4B9AB9724C9D8185AED658F6 | |
| Death | 24 Jan 2023 | |
| Burial | St. Luke Cemetery, Elliott, South Carolina [1] |
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| Person ID | I74144 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 20 Feb 2023 | |
| Father | John Wesley KENNEDY, Sr., b. 1 Nov 1908, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 16 May 1999, Carolina Hospital System, Florence, South Carolina (Age 90 years) | |
| Mother | Emily Ella “Ella” HATFIELD, b. 22 Sep 1911, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 24 Feb 2006, Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 94 years) | |
| _UID | 26956B1CDCF34695989D15E57B98DC6F79F8 | |
| _UID | 26956B1CDCF34695989D15E57B98DC6F79F8 | |
| Family ID | F50564 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Dale William PLAYER, b. 26 Sep 1936, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina d. 6 Feb 2014, McLeod Hospice House, Florence, Florence County, South Carolina (Age 77 years) | |||||||||
| Marriage | 12 Jan 1963 [4, 5] | |||||||||
| _UID | 509CD764FB4D44A1841B7E6B7817914B47D8 | |||||||||
| _UID | 509CD764FB4D44A1841B7E6B7817914B47D8 | |||||||||
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| Family ID | F51522 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||||
| Last Modified | 11 Feb 2014 | |||||||||
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