Lawrence A. Booher
October 22, 1920 - April 22, 2006
Lawrence Lawrence “Larry” A. Booher, of Mt. Pleasant, died on Saturday, April 22, 2006. He was a retired residential real estate appraiser, weekly newspaper editor and a retired Lieutenant Colonel, Army of United States, U.S. Army.
Born in 1920 in Dayton, Ohio, he was the son of the late George E. and Ruth Hale Booher and inherited from them the love of and skills for playing music. He attended Middleton, Ohio public schools and Ohio State University, graduating in 1942 with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism. In college, he was a sousaphone player in the famous OSU Marching Band. He participated in numerous student activities and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve Corps and was called to active duty in the Army of United States. Following assignments at Fort Sill, OK and Camp Edwards, MA, he was transferred to HQ, Office of Strategic Services, in Washington, DC, serving overseas at HQ OSS, China Theater. Following the end of World War II, he was assigned to the Army Public Relations Division in Washington, DC. Upon release from active duty, he joined the Ohio Army National Guard serving as Public Information Officer, 37th Infantry Division (including two years active duty during the Korean Conflict), Division Artillery staff, Commanding Officer, 137th Supply and Transport Battalion, and State Public Information Officer, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel after over 27 years service.
In his civilian life he was associated with the printing/publishing industry including being editor-general manager of a weekly newspaper in Franklin, Ohio. He moved to South Carolina in 1978 continuing in printing and publishing until 1986 when he started a career in real estate, first in sales and then in residential appraising, earning his professional designations as a residential appraiser, The Appraisal Institute, retiring when he moved to Mount Pleasant in 1991. He volunteered his expertise and became editor of monthly newsletters for Hibben United Methodist Church, the Charleston Chapter of The Retired Officers Association, and the Charleston Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society.
In 2000, he was elected Volunteer of the Year by the Coastal Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer Association. He was a member of Hibben United Methodist Church in Mount Pleasant, Charleston Chapter Military Officers of America Assn. and Charleston Chapter, S.C. Genealogical Society.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Edith Smith Booher. He is survived by daughter Catherine Poag, of Greensboro, North Carolina; son, Reverend Bruce Booher and his wife Penny, Beaumont, Texas; his sister Esther Parks and her husband David “Tip”, Houston, Texas; step-daughter Carolina Lane, Decatur, Georgia; step-sons John and William Hernandez, Lexington, Kentucky, Ed B. Hernandez and his wife Donna, Summerville, George Hernandez and his wife Linda, Covington, Georgia; 11 grandchildren, John E. Booher and wife Carrie, Park Ridge, Illinois, Heidi B. Ewing and husband James, Colorado Springs, Colorado, David Booher, Port Arthur, Texas, Katie Roche and husband Timothy, Charleston, South Carolina, Lewis P. Poag, Jr., Greensboro, North Carolina, Dana Hernandez, Summerville, Laura Robinson and husband Bryan of Augusta, Georgia, Julie Hernandez, Covington, Georgia, Cynthia Lane, Decatur, Georgia, Susan Hernandez, Louisville, Kentucky, Holly Hernandez, Lexington, Kentucky; four great-grandchildren Sara and Grace Booher, Park Ridge, Illinois, Cambridge Ewing of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Evan Estridge, Louisville, Kentucky and three nieces and one nephew, all in Texas. He is also survived by his closest friend and companion, Mrs. Jacqueline Denman, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
Visitation will be at McCallister-Smith Funeral Home, 1520 Rifle Range Road, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Graveside services will be conducted at the graveyard, Trinity United Methodist Church, Smoaks, South Carolina, at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, April 25, 2006. In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be made to the Library Fund, Hibben United Methodist Church, Mt. Pleasant; or the Future Military Officer Scholarship Fund, Charleston Community Fund. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.
Larry was a member of the marching band in 1939. He played Sousaphone.
