Pam Dobbs

Pamela Sue Clifton Dobbs (Pam), 76, of North Charleston, SC passed away on June 26, 2024 peacefully surrounded by her loving family at Trident Hospital. Pam was born in Wichita, Kansas to Charles Clifton and Irene Smith Clifton. She moved around substantially as a child with her family. She finally settled in North Charleston in the 1970s. She loved hummingbirds, flowers, seashells, crime dramas, wildlife, and orphaned animals, but most of all her family, of whom she was wildly protective. She was direct and never had any qualms speaking her mind, or standing up for what she believed. She was tenacious as a bull and stubbornly independent. She had a dry sense of humor and enjoyed laughing with loved ones.

She attended Jameson high school in Lemoore California. While working full-time and raising two children on her own, she graduated from Baptist College of Charleston in 1983. Throughout her life, she had many jobs, including as a waitress, hotel, cleaning, staff, tomato picker, casino worker, bartender before she worked Civil Service for the Navy. This took her to Augsburg, Germany, Rota, Spain, Charleston, South Carolina, Washington DC and ultimately back to Charleston South Carolina. With the civil service, she worked for navy airport support in Spain, SupShip at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, the Navy Audit Service, and after over 30 years retired as a contract auditor for the Navy.

She was married to Ronald Schaefer and had Charles Schaefer. She later married Alvin Dobbs, and had Kathryn Dobbs. While married to him, she traveled to Germany and Spain. She moved to North Charleston with her children in 1978. In Charleston she began dating her partner, Gerald Southard. They were together until he passed away in 2017 through thick and thin. They enjoyed traveling, spending time with family and working on household projects together.

Pam is survived by her siblings Deborah Phillips, Lisa Dellolio, and Michael Clifton, her children, Charles Schaefer and Kathryn Dobbs, her grandchildren, Cora Hatcher (Jeremy), Charles Schaefer and Gavin Schaefer and her great grandchild, Emma Leigh Hatcher, Many nieces, nephews, and a multitude of cousins. As she was also an important part of their lives, also surviving are Gerald’s children Michael Southard, Stephen Southard and Lisa Jones (Michael) and grandchildren Jordan Jones and Joseph Jones.

She is preceded in death by her parents, many aunts, uncles and cousins, her partner, and best friend of nearly 40 years, Gerald Southard, her siblings, Annie Wheeling, Charles Clifton, and James Clifton, Her nephews, John Edwards, and Robert Scanlon, niece Andrea Clifton and great-great niece, Tatum Crabtree.

Visitation will be held on Monday, July 1 at 10 AM with the Life Well Celebrated Service at 11 AM at the Carolina Memorial Funeral Home. Burial to follow at the Carolina Memorial Park, 7113 Rivers Ave, North Charleston. Memorial donations may be made to either Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Charleston Humane Society, or One80 Place (an organization for homeless veterans.)