Mrs. Vera Fowler

Vera Edith Chasteen Fowler, 91, wife of Luther and mother to Anne, Gail, and John, passed from this life on Friday, September 9, 2016. Born in Jacksonville, FL, she was the daughter of the late Hugh Franklin Chasteen and Gail Sealy Crandall Chasteen. Vera enjoyed a lifelong love of art, gardening, music, and travel. She studied art at Florida State University and was a gifted painter, usually working in oils. Her love of all things artistic spilled over into designing her home and gardens. Her lovely yard was filled with pass-along plants, many nurtured from cuttings from her parents’ farm or friends’ yards. For many years, she and her dear friend, Claire McKenzie, were patrons and season ticket holders of the Columbia Music Festival. Vera and Luke loved to dance and could still cut a fine rug at age 80. Always up for an adventure, especially when it involved travel, Vera traveled solo at age 19 from Lake City, FL, to the San Francisco Bay area where she visited cousins and lived for the next year, riding the streetcars to her job and painting scenes of the rugged California coast. She later traveled solo to South Carolina to visit cousins in Florence, meeting her husband Luther while there. After marrying in 1949, Vera and Luke moved to Columbia, joined Park Street Baptist Church, and have remained members to this day. Vera taught second grade Sunday School and was an active member of the June Cooper Circle of the Women’s Missionary Union. Vera is survived by her daughters Anne Wade (Stephen) of Columbia, Gail Blumberg of Atlanta, GA, and her son John Fowler (Sherry) of Elgin, SC. Vera has four grandchildren: Caroline Ledford (Mike) of Charleston, SC, Elizabeth Mayhew (Jared) of Hemingway, SC, Sydney Blumberg of Charleston, SC, and Nate Blumberg of Atlanta, GA. She also has two great-grandchildren: Stamps Mayhew and Presley Mayhew of Hemingway, SC. The second child of eight siblings, she is survived by her two sisters, Kathryn Chasteen Steele and Nancy Chasteen Moore (George), both of Jacksonville Beach, FL, and three brothers, Hugh Chasteen of Lake City, FL, John Chasteen (Glenda Faye) of Lakeland, FL, and Wesley Chasteen (Sue) of Palm Bay, FL. She is predeceased by brothers David (Shirley) and Robert. Visitation will be Thursday, September 15th at 11:00 at Park Street Baptist Church followed by the funeral service in the church sanctuary at noon with the Reverend Jay Black and the Reverend Lee Brookins officiating. Pallbearers will be Stephen Wade, Nate Blumberg, Jared Mayhew, Mike Ledford, and Mark Lyon. The family would like to express their appreciation to the staff of B Wing at Presbyterian Home for all their kindnesses to our mother while in their care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Park Street Baptist Church, 2204 Park Street, Columbia, SC, or the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 500 Wildlife Parkway, Columbia, SC. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

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Mrs. Vera Fowler

July 29, 1925 - September 9, 2016