William Benjamin “Billy” McClary, age 80, died Saturday, September 21, 2019. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am Wednesday, September 25 at Darlington Presbyterian Church. A family burial will be held prior to the service, directed by Belk Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 Tuesday evening at the funeral home.
Born on July 3, 1939 in Kingstree, SC, he was a son of the late William Gamble McClary and Lydia Barrineau McClary. Billy graduated from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 1962 and received his Funeral Director and Embalmers license shortly after. He then went to work as a sales representative for Batesville Casket Company and retired after more than 32 years with them. Mr. McClary was an avid golfer, but after discovering he couldn’t play every day after his retirement, he went back to work, this time as a funeral director for Belk Funeral Home, a job he had for close to twenty years.
Billy enjoyed people and was active in the community. He was a member of many civic organizations and was awarded the Most Outstanding Jaycee for the State of SC. His passion for golf was shown through his organization of the Southern 500 Golf Tournament, Black Creek Seniors and the South Carolina Funeral Directors golf outings. He was a faithful member of Darlington Presbyterian Church and served as a deacon and was a member of the Dudley-Paulling Sunday School Class.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Omie Elizabeth Snowden McClary, two daughters, Elizabeth Louise McClary of Garden City Beach, Margaret Ervin (Rev. James Edward) Moss of Covington, VA, four grandchildren: William Harrison Rogers III, Clara Elaine Rogers, Benjamin James Moss, Samuel Witherspoon Moss; two brothers, Lynn(Anne) McClary of Cades and Mike McClary of Kingstree.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Elizabeth Ann Ward.
Memorials may be made to the Darlington County Humane Rescue, PO Box 503, Darlington, SC 29540 or Darlington Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund, 311 Pearl Street, Darlington, SC 29532.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of William B. McClary, please visit our floral store.