Odell Hope, Sr.

Mr. Odell Hope, Sr., of 220 Morgan Street, Rock Hill, South Carolina, was born on November 13, 1934, in Chester County, South Carolina, to the late Sam Hope, Jr. and Sarah E. Williams Massey. He was called to eternal rest on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at his home, surrounded by his loving family.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, James Williams and Mary Sober Williams; his first wife of forty-five years, Marie McCullough Hope; his son, Willie James Hope; sisters, Claudia Easterling, De Ada Williams, Johnie Cathcart, Carrie Grant, Ruby Morgan, and one brother, Carl Moore.

He was educated in the Chester County Schools and was a lifetime member of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, where he was a faithful Hymn Choir leader for many years. He was also a Sunday School teacher. He was a longtime employee of Duff Norton for sixty years, and he received several awards for all his years of service. He worked a long time for Attorney John Thomas Roddey, where he met his first wife, Marie McCullough.

He loved watching football, especially his favorite team, the Carolina Panthers, looking at old gospel videos, working on cars, and working his garden, but his main passion was singing.

Mr. Odell leaves to cherish his memory, his loving wife, Dianne Pettus Hope; thirteen children, Doris Hope (Larry), Odell Hope, Jr. (Barbara), Sarah Colvin, Angela Jaggers (Ben), Kenneth Hope (Anita), Eric Hope, Beverly Jaggers (Elijah), Laverne Hope, Calandra Jackson, and Arsonia Franklin, Nakia Pressley, Princess Pressley, and Lacardo Pressley; 27 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; 19 great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Mary J. Edwards, Lula B. Samuels, and Willie Mae Hope; four brothers, S.A. Williamson (Red), Moses Samuels, Jack Hope, and Sam Hope, III; sisters-in-law, Amanda Carter (James), Lisa Watts (Marvin), Rashida Walker (Terrence), Hazel Pettus, Barbara Pettus, and Tinnie Moore, all of Rock Hill; Gloria Elmore (James) of Orangeburg, SC, Brenda Gettys of Catawba, SC, Anne Jane Forbes, Mary Boyce, Ruby Cannon, and Helen Oguje, all of New Jersey; brothers-in-law, Garrison Pettus (Sophia) and Willie Beaty, both of Rock Hill, SC, Willie Hinton, Jr. of Columbia, SC, John McCullough and Robert McCullough, both of New Jersey; a special goddaughter; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.