Ruby Nolan

Ruby Lee Chandler Whitmire Nolan, aged 100, passed quietly at her home in Hanahan, SC on June 11, 2017. A memorial service will be held on Friday June 16, 2017 at 11:00 am at Deer Park Baptist Church in North Charleston. A second concluding service will also be held on Sunday, June 18, 2017 at The Wood Mortuary in Greer, South Carolina at 2:00 pm with visitation at 12:30 pm. Ruby was born on July 22, 1916, in Walhalla, SC, to Susie Orr and John Franklin Chandler where she spent her early childhood. After the untimely death of her father when she was barely 13-month-old and her brother only 6 weeks old, her mother remarried. As her new stepfather followed work they relocated. Most of her childhood was spent in the areas of Walhalla, Lyman, and Chick Springs SC. As happened often in those days, her family took in boarders which is how she met the first love of her life Erskine Whitmire. At the age of 15 Ruby came home from school one day and was told that she wouldn’t be going back to school. Her efforts were needed to help support the growing family. She started work the next day at Southern Bleachery. Ruby regretted that she wasn’t able to complete her education so when she was 65 years old she proudly accomplished obtaining her GED. Ruby and Erskine married in 1932 and continued to live in Taylors and were both employed at Southern Bleachery. During this time, Ruby became interested in Merle Norman Cosmetics and opened a studio in their home on Edwards Road in Taylors. Her business flourished and she eventually moved the home business to the first Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio in Greer, located on Main Street which she operated for many years. The maternal family line is a strong one in Ruby’s family. At the time of Ruby’s granddaughter’s birth in 1955 there were 5 generations living on the maternal side, starting with Ruby’s grandmother Carrie Dodd Orr. In 2004 upon the birth of Ruby’s great-great granddaughter, once again there were five living generations on the maternal side with Ruby now the proud matriarch. Ruby was a devoted wife to Erskine for 28 years until his death in 1959. Ruby later met her second husband Mike Nolan on a blind date as a favor to a friend. Mike and Ruby were married in 1964 and shortly thereafter moved to Oahu, Hawaii where Mike was stationed with the Air Force. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, they moved back to Greenville and then returned to her Edwards Rd home in Taylors. Ruby went to work at Norris Manufacturing as a product inspector. After her retirement, Ruby and Mike relocated to Surfside Beach, SC. After 30 years of marriage Ruby became a widow again in 1994. She subsequently moved to Hanahan SC to be near her only child Frankie. At this time she became a member of Deer Park Baptist Church in North Charleston. Ruby loved creating and working with her hands whether it was through sewing, crocheting, cooking, acrylic resin work or her beautiful costume jewelry boxes. She had a generous, giving heart and made lasting friendships wherever she lived. She also loved to play the piano and the organ and to sing with her sisters at family get-togethers. She was especially fond of southern gospel music. Never one to sit idle, she often learned new crafts and constantly tried to better herself. She even learned to swim late in adulthood. Ruby was preceded in death by her first husband, Erskine M. Whitmire; her second husband Michael G. Nolan, four brothers, Harold Chandler, Herbert Nichols, Ernest Nichols and Rufus “Nick” Nichols, her sister Earline Cook and her sister Christine Sehorn. She is survived by her sister, Jackie Nichols, of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and sisters-in-law Gin Chandler of Taylors, South Carolina and Clarideen Nichols of Anderson South Carolina. She leaves behind her only child, daughter Frankie Hawkins of Charleston South Carolina, her granddaughter Krista Hancock (husband Jim) of Stedman, North Carolina; her grandson Mark Hawkins (wife Karen) of Goose Creek South Carolina; three great-grandsons Garrett Hawkins, Lawton Hawkins and Drayton Hancock; a great-granddaughter Audrey Washington (husband, Adrian) and a great-great-granddaughter Aliyah Warren all of Anchorage, Alaska. She leaves behind many much-loved nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the Roper Hospice of Charleston for their support during Ruby’s final months. Memorials may be made to Deer Park Baptist Church Building Fund, 8875 University Blvd, Charleston, SC 29406, or the National Kidney Foundation.