Obituary of a Jewel

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:                                                                        2 Timothy 4:6-7

On July 12, 1930, in Salters, SC, the Lord blessed Hattie Lucille and Dan Walter Ulmer with a beautiful baby girl, Ethel Mae Ulmer. A faithful servant of God, Ethel Mae was beckoned home to be with the Lord on Monday, June 6, 2022.

Ethel Mae was raised In a Christian home. At an early age she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at Anderson Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. I. L. Prioleau. Ethel Mae was a quiet person who loved her Lord in her own way. No one would ever know she was in church until you saw her.

Ethel Mae received her education at the Anderson Elementary School in the Santee Circle Community of Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

On January 28, 1955, she married the love of her life, Aaron Jim Small, Sr. To this union they were blessed with four sons and one bonus daughter, Aaron, Jr., Dan, Levi, Isaiah, and Patricia.

Ethel Mae was a phenomenal home maker who loved children. For many years she cared for the Bayles family of Santee Circle and the Russell family of Moncks Corner, but her main love was fishing. If you couldn't find Ethel Mae at home, just follow the foot tracks down to the fishing area, and there she sat with her fishing buddies, the late Carrie Coad, the late Rose Lee Wigfall, and Mrs. Dollie Rivers.

In Psalm 90:10, "The days of our years are threescore years and ten: if by reason of strength they be fourscore years yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for is soon cut off, and we fly away." It is a blessing that Ethel Mae lived ninety-one years for the purpose of doing God's will and being a friend to others.

Ethel Mae was preceded in death by her husband, Aaron Small, Sr.; three sons, Levi, Isiah and Aaron; one daughter-in-law, Lucinda Small; one great-great-granddaughter Hannah and a special friend, Harold Whitherspoon.

She  leaves to cherish her sweet memories, one  daughter, Patricia Reaves of Moncks Corner, SC; one son, Dan Small of Bridgeton, NJ; a devoted granddaughter, Marionette Stewart of Monroe, NC; great-grandson who was reared as a son, DaQuan Stewart (Marquetta) of the home; one sister, Wilhelmina Rivers of Marietta, GA; one daughter-in-law, Shirley Small of Moncks Corner, SC; two sisters-in-law, Tennie Small and Dollie Rivers of Moncks Corner, SC; one brother-in-law, Leroy Small of Charleston, SC; seventeen grandchildren, Evangela Myers (Kelvin), Marionette Stewart, Mary Williams, Takisha Davis (Weldon), Charlotte Jackson (Christopher), Valencia Small, Fattima Small, Derrick Small (Frandisa), Joshua Small (Phyllis), Caleb Small, Christopher Small, James Parrish (Amber), Tyrone Green (Lakisha), James Small, Desiree Watson (Robert), Aaron Holmes (Katrina), Matthew Denoto (Sequoya); 51 great-grandchildren; 21 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

Viewing will be Friday, June 10, 2022, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Home Going Celebration Service will be held Saturday, June 11, 2022, 11:00 a.m., at O. Allen Gethers Jr. Memorial Chapel, 200 Grace Street, Moncks Corner, SC. (Seating is limited) . Face masks are required for the viewing and service. Interment will be in Anderson Baptist Church Cemetery, 1159 Old Black Oak Road, Moncks Corner, SC.

The service will be live streamed on the funeral home's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gethersfh