COLUMBIA - Mrs. Rosemarie Elam, 78, passed away after a short illness on April 13, 2019. Mrs. Elam was born in Worms Germany in December 1940. She came to the United States in 1966 after marrying US Army First Sergeant Paul J. Elam. Mrs. Elam enjoyed being an Army Wife and was very proud of her husband’s service in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Mrs. Elam was an insurance agent and later the general agent with her family’s Zurich Insurance Agency in Germany from 1956 until its sale in 1981. In the late 1980s Mrs. Elam received her South Carolina insurance license and worked with Dr. Raymond Elam with AL William Insurance and Investments. Ray was a dear family friend and the family will always be grateful for his guidance and support over the many years.
Mrs. Elam received an Associate’s Degree in Computer Programming from Midlands Technical College in 1991 and worked as a System’s Analysist for the South Carolina Housing Authority and Computer Science Corporation. Mrs. Elam also had a lifelong career in real estate sales and property management. She worked in property management with her family in Germany and later was a property manager/realtor with her husband’s real estate companies Stevens and Elam Realty and Management Brokers Realty. After her husband’s death in 1983 she sold the companies and posted her real estate license with Imperial Realty. Mrs. Elam’s last real estate position was from 2005 until 2015 where she was the property manager for FDR and Associates. Mrs. Elam loved Madame and Monsieur Deary and referred to FDR and Associates as her daily trip to France. Mrs. Elam’s joy was Madame Deary’s beloved dogs Sage and Basil, later Edison and Bell. She often joked that her Welsh Corgis were jealous of her friendship with Madame Deary’s beautiful dogs. Mrs. Elam enjoyed serving as a Poll Manager for the Richland County Election Commission from 1975 to 2015.
Mrs. Elam was predeceased by her husband, 1SG Paul J. Elam. She is survived by her daughter, Janet Hall and two grandsons, William Hall and Matthew Hall. She is survived by her son, CPT Paul J. Elam, II.
Serving as honorary pallbearers for Mrs. Elam are Mr. Keir Anderson, Mr. Andrew T. Fiffick IV, MAJ Matthew Gates, Mr. Miles Gordon, MAJ Clyde Bennett Gore Jr., Mr. Curt Letourneau, CPT Cody Mitchell, LTC Stanley L. Myers, MAJ Matthew Pinckney, and Mr. John P. Sirianni.
The Family will have a visitation Wednesday, April 17, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Mrs. Elam requested to be interred with her late husband at Fort Jackson National Cemetery. At her request, a private graveside service will be held on a later date. Quoting Miss Rose, “My husband and I were always Fort Jackson People, how nice it will be to be laid to rest with him at that peaceful place with other Service Members.”
The Elam Family would like to extend a special thank you to the outstanding staff of Lexington Medical Center and to St. Joseph Catholic Church’s Father Matthew Gray. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to a charity of one’s choice.
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