Charles Heins

Charles Wesley Heins Jr., of Okatie, South Carolina, passed away after a short illness on May 4, 2021.

He was born in Ridgeland, South Carolina on October 26, 1925 to Charles Wesley Heins Sr. and Erlene Harrington Heins. He grew up in Estill and Hampton, South Carolina. After graduating from Hampton High School, he proudly served in the Army Air Corps from 1944 to 1946. His experience as a World War II Veteran and his love of working on automobiles with his father led him to pursue his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina.  After graduation, his first job was with Ford Motor Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. When Plywood Plastics opened in Hampton, South Carolina, he was happy to leave the big city and return home to work there as an engineer. Later, Westinghouse Corporation acquired Plywood Plastics and Charles stayed on for the company and retired as a Senior Engineer. He traveled to Switzerland, Denmark, Puerto Rico, and many states in the U.S. to do consulting work for Westinghouse. No matter where he went, he would always tell his family that there was no place like home.

In his community, he was a member of the Rotary Club, the Hampton County Historical Society, and Harmony Presbyterian Church. He was a member of Green Swamp Hunting Club.  He was an avid outdoorsman who loved the South Carolina lowcountry. He loved to take family, friends, and visitors alike on fishing, hunting, and boating expeditions.  But his service, his occupation, and his hobbies simply scratch the surface on what kind of man he was. To those that knew him he was a storyteller, a lover of people, a friend, an uncle, a father, and a grandfather. He was kind, he was generous, he was quick--‐witted, and he was honest… (except when it came to how big the fish he caught was!).

Charles was predeceased by his loving wife, Mary Gooding Sowell Heins, married February 14, 1953, and his sisters, Anna Sue Heins Rivers and Mary Lou Heins Burts.

He is survived by his daughters, Mary Ann Sowell of Hampton and Elizabeth Heins Stone of Okatie; his three beloved grandchildren, Maribeth Kayla Stone, Lizanna Caroline Stone, and Charles Michael Stone (another Charlie!); and nieces and nephews, Carolyn Rivers Brandt, Susan Rivers Clamp, Janette Rivers Moloney, Charles Heins Burts, Lisa Burts Malloy, Paul Gooding, Robert Gooding, and Ann Womble. Also, by his special friend, Eva Horry, who was dear to him up to the end of his life.

A graveside service will be held at Crocketville Cemetery officiated by the Pastor Don Rossire on Saturday, May 8, at 2:30 pm and directed by Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home of Hampton. The family requests that masks be worn.

Memorials may be sent to Crocketville and Presbyterian Cemetery Association Post Office Box 158, Hampton, South Carolina 29924 or Hampton County Historical Society, Post Office Box 152 Hampton, South Carolina 29924.