Father Julius McKelvy Jr. 90, departed this life on  Saturday August 26, 2017 in Marion County. He was the grandfather of Sandra Dean. You may visit the family at 204 Bethlehem St. Marion. Service arrangements are scheduled for 11:00am Thursday August 31, 2017 at the Bethlehem Baptist Church, Marion. He will be laid to rest in the Florence National Cemetery, Florence.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Julius McKelvy Jr. was born on September 11, 1926 in Marion, SC., to the late Julius McKelvy Sr. and Serena Goodyear McKelvy. He departed this life on Saturday August 26, 2017 in the Mullins Nursing Center. He was an avid fisherman and hunter. He enjoyed watching westerns, especially if John Wayne or Clint Eastwood were in the film. Unlike most people his age, he did not go to bed early. He would watch Family Feud until 11pm. He would also stay up late to watch basketball and football.

He was educated in Marion County School District. Although the military was racially segregated, he still wanted to fight for his country. He joined the U.S. Navy and served in WWII. As a child, he attended Bethlehem Baptist Church with his mother, and later accepted Christ as his personal savior and became a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Marion, SC., and sang on the choir. He was the youngest for four children and was preceded in death by his siblings: Thomas and Robert McKelvy and Albertha Blackmon of Philadelphia, PA.

In 1946, he was united in holy matrimony to the late Lula Mae Lee, and to this union children were added: Cassandra McKelvy, Marion, SC., Jimmy (Dessie) McKelvy, Marion, SC., Claudia Burch, Marion, SC., Tim Lesane, Marion SC., Glen McZeak, Wilmington, NC., Juliet Smith, Marion, SC., Althea (Russell) Gause, Marion, SC., and Debbie Ross, Charleston, SC. Three children preceded him in death; Alvin, Gwendolyn and Leon McKelvy. In addition to his children, he is survived by nineteen grandchildren, including Sandra Denise Dean of the home, and twenty-three great grand-children and a special son Thomas Earl Ellison, Marion SC., and Josephine West, Marion, SC., who has been his friend and neighbor for over thirty years.