Wednesday, January 27, 2021, William Ervan “Bill” Barrett completed his earthly journey and passed into glory. Bill, age 92, was born in 1928 in Lexington, SC, son of the late Harriet Valeria Corley and John Edward Barrett. After graduating from Winyah High School in Georgetown, SC in 1946, he joined the U.S. Army for 18 months and served one year in General McArthur’s Honor Guard in Tokyo, Japan. Following his service, he graduated from University of South Carolina receiving a B.S. in Business Administration Major in Accounting in 1951. He was accepted into American Institute of CPA and worked in accounting; in 1963, Bill joined management at WestRock Paper Mill (formerly SC Industries) in Florence, SC as Chief Accountant.
When he retired in 1994, gardening, traveling and grandchildren were his greatest joy. He was a member of Lexington Baptist Church; Lexington Lodge, No. 152, AFM; Shriners’ Omar Imps, Florence, SC and the Jamil Shriner Temple, Columbia. Bill enjoyed clowning with the Imps, and brought smiles to many people.
Bill is survived by his wife of 31 years, Christine; daughter, Lauralee Barrett; granddaughter, Madison Barrett; daughter, Cathrine (Rick) Nunley; grandchildren, Krista Nunley, Justin Nunley and Suzanne Nunley. He was predeceased by his son, William E. Barrett, Jr.; brothers, George Ray Barrett, Bruce Thomas Barrett and John Edward Barrett.
A graveside service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29, 2021 at Corley Family Cemetery on Industrial Drive. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Compassionate Care Hospice of Columbia.
Bill wrote, “Truly I have been blessed by God. Life is good.”
