Esther Chavis Howe Long

Lexington - Esther Chavis Howe Long passed away on August 5th, 2019. She was born in Orangeburg County and was 88 years old. She was the widow of Robert Allen Howe and Jesse P. Long. Esther met and married Bob, a pitcher for the Columbia Reds in 1948. They were married for 56 years and they reared 6 children.

Bob & Esther established a farm in West Columbia where they built a home and raised thousands of chickens, millions of eggs, hundreds of black Angus cattle and thousands of bales of Coastal Bermuda hay.

Mama Howe & Papa Howe have 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Esther was active in Congaree School PTA, American Legion Auxiliary and Dunn's Chapel Church and choir.  She also owned & operated Esther's Fashions and founded Sunshine Thrift Store. She enjoyed fishing, gardening, sewing, traveling and antiquing, but most of all “a bargain”!

She was predeceased by her parents, Lucious and Lubel Hoover Chavis; daughters, Robbin Howe and Deborah Metts Snipes; 2 infant brothers; brothers, L.C., Floyd and Troy Chavis; sisters, Romie Skinner, Essie Geddings & Mildred Hutchinson Breedlove.

She is survived by daughters, Dianne (Keith) Pound, Sandra (Larry) Jackson, Andrea Howe; son,  Robert A. "Rocky" (Ginger) Howe II; grandchildren, Loren (Brandy), Justin (Sarah) and Derek Metts, Kit (Leigh) Pound, Drs. Toya Pound (Gene) Chang, Alex (Laura) Jackson and Zachary Jackson; step-grandchildren, William Jacob Moorer II and Sydney Moorer; great-grandchildren, Bryce, Kelsey, Ryleigh and Rivers Metts, Laney and Claire Pound, Anna Grace and Ellis Chang and Caroline Jackson; sisters, Mary Wetherell, Shirley LaCons, Elaine Borecki, Jackie Johnson and brother, Bobby Chavis.

Graveside services will be conducted by Rev. Tom Atten at Southland Memorial Gardens at 10 am on Saturday, August 10th. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Memorials may be made to: Dunn's Chapel Church, 281 Chapel Rd. West Columbia, SC 29172

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