Mrs. Eileen Copenhaver Britt

A memorial service for Eileen Copenhaver Britt, 100, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 7, 2012 at Laurel Crest Retirement Home. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Charles Edward Britt at Buffalo Baptist Church Cemetery, McCormick, SC at 3:00 p.m. The family will receive friends following the service at Laurel Crest. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.
Mrs. Britt died Saturday, December 31, 2011. Born in Chilhowie, VA, she was the daughter of the late Moncey Baldwin Copenhaver and Josie Elizabeth Wolfe Copenhaver. She grew up on a small family farm near Bel Aire, MD.
After high school, she attended Baltimore College of Business but soon decided she did not like that field. Instead, she entered the nursing profession, graduating from the Union Memorial Hospital School of Nursing of Baltimore.
For several years, she worked in a private duty setting and as a staff nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She loved to reminisce about the "old days of nursing", when nurses wore stiff, starched white uniforms, organdie caps and stood at attention each time a doctor entered the nurse's station.
In 1942, she met and married Charles, a graduate of Clemson University. His job as a civil engineer took them to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Alabama and South Carolina. In 1957, they purchased a Western Auto Store in Johnston. They owned and operated this business for over 20 years.
Eileen supported this new business venture by working mornings in the store and as a nurse in the evenings. She returned to nursing after a long absence and without the benefit of any type of refresher course. As a labor and delivery nurse at the Aiken County Hospital, she assisted at the birth of many "new" little South Carolinians.
Following the death of her husband in 1976, she sold the store and then spent many hours volunteering as a "pink lady" at Greenwood Memorial Hospital. She was very active in the Johnston Baptist Church serving many terms as President of her Sunday School class.
In 1999, she moved to Laurel Crest Retirement Home where she remained until her death. She said many times that this was one of her "best decisions". The warmth and friendship she found there sustained her last years.
At Laurel Crest, she was known for her independence, her wonderful sense of humor and unfailing optimism. In 2004, she was presented the "Roy Garratt Award" for outstanding resident. She had a ready smile and a joke for everyone.
Although her eyesight and health had begun to fail, her spirit endured. She felt it was her duty to bring happiness to those around her and she did just that. She frequently expressed gratitude for the long, healthy life with which she had been blessed.
She was a devoted, supportive but never interfering wife, mother, grandmother and mother-in-law. Her positive outlook has been an inspiration to all who knew her.
She is survived by her daughter, Jane Britt Thornhill (David) of Denver, CO; sister, Virginia Baity of Maryland; granddaughter, Tracy Morgan (Stephen) of Jacksonville, FL; grandson, CAPT Alan Thornhill, USMC of San Diego, CA; great-grandchildren, Shelby, Gretchen and Whitney Jane Morgan; nieces, Ann Troyer (Rich) of Columbia; Jean Bugg (David) of Atlanta, GA; Bobbie Bouknight (Heyward) of Leesville; Ann Parler (John) of Lake Murray; nephews, Harold Reeves (Linda) of Daytona Bch, FL; and Paul Baity (Debbie) of Maryland. She was predeceased by her parents, husband, and younger brother, Elva Copenhaver.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff of Laurel Crest, Palmetto Health and Hospice and especially Teresa Broxton, CNA, and Beverly Branham, CNA. The kindness shown by these individuals was such a comfort to Eileen and her family.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Laurel Crest Employee Fund, 100 Joseph Walker Drive, West Columbia, SC 29169 or Palmetto Health Hospice, PO Box 7275, Columbia, SC 29202-7275.
Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.