Alice Reynolds Tollison

COLUMBIA - Funeral service for Alice Reynolds Tollison, 76, will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, October 19, 2015, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with a private burial in Greenville Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, October 18, 2015, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. Mrs. Tollison died Sunday, October 11, 2015. Born in Cassatt, SC she was a daughter of the late James Wesley Reynolds and Claudia Moore Reynolds. Known to many as Ms. Alice, Momma T, Aunt Alice, The Hat Lady, The Bag Lady and the Coupon Queen. Beginning in the early 1960s, Mrs. Tollison served as a registered nurse at Kershaw County Hospital and later as the private nurse for Governor West’s family. She ultimately retired as the long serving nursing home administrator at Midlands Center. In her retirement, she began volunteering with Connie Maxwell Children’s Home. This led to a lifelong passion to care for children in need, especially little girls. She began to raise money to place in her “Angel Fund” by selling all kinds of crafts, blankets, dish towels, wash cloths, etc. She used that money to take the children on trips and provide many much needed items. On one occasion while buying sodas for the children she was struck by an automobile in the parking lot of the store. While recovering from her many injuries in the hospital she knitted over fifty caps for chemotherapy patients at the hospital. Following her full recovery, she sewed hundreds of blankets for homeless shelters and bags for the elderly to attach to their walkers. Ms. Alice gave countless hours of her time to God’s Store House and utilized her couponing to donate literally tons of canned goods. She also cared for women that were victims of domestic violence and taught many of those women how to sew. These are but a few of the many good deeds and organizations that her faith called her to contribute to during her life. Ms. Alice was also a docent at the Governor’s Mansion, an active leader within Dentsville Baptist Church and active with state G.O.P. affairs. Ms. Alice will leave a lasting legacy of forgiveness and generosity. She always saw the good in people and forgave anyone for any wrong doing. Her boys and family were very important to her and she tried to take care of everyone she met. On Sunday morning an officer from the Sheriff’s Department came to check on her as they did daily. In light of the recent flooding, she told him she was sad that she was not able to do more for her community during this time of tremendous need. Surviving are her sons, Ralph Erskine “Steve” Stevenson, III (Jynell) of Rocky Mount, N.C. and James Wesley Stevenson of Brandenton, Fla.; grandchildren, Jamie Stevenson, Melissa Stevenson, Anna Hiatt, Ryan Stevenson, Elizabeth Krzeminski, Stephanie Stevenson; two great-grandchildren; brothers, James William Reynolds of Hartsville, Robert Wesley Reynolds of Cassatt; sisters, Faye Reynolds Eiff of San Antonio, Texas, Deborah Reynolds Hussey of Cassatt, Patricia Reynolds Newman of Camden, Alma Reynolds Branham of Rock Hill, Florrie Reynolds Grant of Hartsville; and countless close friends and adopted family. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Charles Earl Tollison; and a brother, Gordon Reynolds. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Connie Maxwell Children’s Home Starnes Cottage, P.O. Box 1178, Greenwood, SC 29648-1178.