Mr. Kirby Darr Shealy, Jr.

Kirby Darr Shealy, Jr., 79, of Columbia, South Carolina, died on December 30, 2023, surrounded by his family, after a lengthy illness. A Columbia native, he was the son of Dr. Kirby Darr Shealy and Harriet Way Shealy. Kirby grew up on Blanding Street and was an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church as a youth and young adult. Kirby graduated from Columbia High School in 1961. He enrolled at Wofford College, where he majored in psychology and pledged Kappa Alpha Order, earning his Bachelor of Arts in 1965. His friends from Columbia High and Wofford would sustain him for the rest of his life. Kirby attended the University of South Carolina School of Law and graduated in the Class of 1968. He went to work with R.K. Wise, Esquire and enjoyed a fulfilling career practicing law with the firm that came to be known as Wise, Wise & Shealy. In 1974, Kirby began serving as the part-time municipal judge for the City of Forest Acres, a job he held even after he retired from the practice of law and became a Richland County magistrate judge in 1999. He retired outright in 2017 at the age of 73. Kirby’s first marriage produced two children, Kirby Darr Shealy III and Emily Fishburne Shealy. He was a devoted father to Kirby and Emily throughout their lives. In 1990, Kirby married Jenny Coffey Shealy, and they enjoyed 33 happy years together as near-constant companions. Pawleys Island and Edisto Beach were their favorite destinations, but they enjoyed trips to Alaska, Colorado, France, Ireland, and elsewhere with their many friends. Kirby and Jenny were gentle, patient, and loving grandparents to their five grandchildren, and Thanksgivings spent at Edisto were cherished by their entire extended family. Kirby enjoyed many hobbies and pastimes during his very full life. When he took up a new activity, he pursued it with great enthusiasm and often single-minded focus. As a young man, he enjoyed playing baseball, and he found peace and great pleasure in nearly every phase of his life pursuing game in fields, forests and on the water. He was a remarkably talented third baseman and was similarly accomplished as a wing shooter and angler. Baseball eventually gave way to tennis, which he played regularly with friends and family for nearly 40 years. When his knees would no longer accommodate the rigors of that sport, Kirby took up golf, and he was almost fanatical in his love for the game. Jenny caught the bug, too, and they could be found playing together most Sundays over the last 20 years. Kirby particularly valued his friendships with those who pursued all of these passions along with him, and he was grateful for their loyalty and steadfast presence in his life, even when illness kept him from the activities he enjoyed. Kirby is survived by his loving wife, Jenny, his two children, Kirby (Llewellyn) and Emily (Kevin Tinch), and by his stepdaughter, Ashley Jackson Matthews. He is also survived by his five grandchildren: Emma Bamberg Shealy, David Barnwell Shealy, Caroline Evelyn Tinch, Helen Elizabeth Tinch, and Forrest Townsend Matthews. He is also survived by his sister, Attelia Shealy Blackard, and her children and grandchildren, all of whom he loved dearly. He was predeceased by his brother-in-law, Dr. William Griffith Blackard, and by his son-in-law, Forrest Newman Matthews. The family will receive friends at the Shealy home, 125 Spring Lake Road on Wednesday, January 3rd from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1715 Bull Street, in Columbia on Thursday, January 4th at 11 a.m. Burial will be private. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family. Memorials may be sent to the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, hollingscancercenter.musc.edu, 18 Bee Street, MSC 450, Charleston, SC 29425, or to the charity of one’s choice.

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Mr. Kirby Darr Shealy, Jr.

November 3, 1944 - December 30, 2023