Charles Monroe Blackwelder

Mr. Charles Monroe “C.M.” Blackwelder, 90, died Thursday, March 19, 2015, at The Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House in Rock Hill.The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22, 2015, at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Joel McMakin officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. Born in Indian Land, Mr. Blackwelder was a son of the late Charles Miller Blackwelder and Dovie Harris Blackwelder. He graduated from Fort Mill High School in 1941. Mr. Blackwelder was retired from Celanese, where he had worked as a maintenance mechanic and machinist. He was a life-long member of Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. Mr. Blackwelder thoroughly enjoyed gardening and had farmed all his life.He entered the United States Marine Corps on 31 August 1942 at Savannah, GA. He received his basic and advanced infantry training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA. He was then assigned to the 3rd Marine Division. From there he served in the South and Central Pacific area from 12 March 1943 until 08 May 1945. He participated in combat action against Japanese enemy forces at Bougainville, British Solomom Islands, Guam and the Marianas Island.From May until October 1945, he was stationed at the Marine Barracks Navy Yard in Charleston, South Carolina with his new bride, Sara Helen Braswell. His duty there was guarding German prisoners of war. He was discharged as a Private First Class on 18 October 1945 and returned to his home in Indian Land.Surviving his son, Darrell Blackwelder and his wife, Gerrie, of Salisbury, N.C.; his daughter, Janice Irvin and her husband, John of Indian Land, S.C. and Charlene Boggs of Indian Land; his brothers, Paul Blackwelder (Joyce) of Indian Land, James Blackwelder (Louise) of Wingate, N.C. and John “Barney” Blackwelder of Indian Land; and two grandsons, John-Carl Irvin and Jack Boggs, both of Indian Land. Mr. Blackwelder was preceded in death by his wife, Sara Braswell Blackwelder (2011).The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday, March 21, 2015 at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall and other times at the home of Janice Irvin, 9740 Blackwelder Road, Indian Land, SC.Memorial contributions may be made to Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Building Fund, 238 Fort Mill Highway, Indian Land, SC 29707; or to the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House, P.O. Box 993, Rock Hill, SC 29731.Read Obituary