North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years

James Robert Riggs, 69, died on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Born on Aug. 14, 1950, in New York City, N.Y., he was the son of the late Thomas Riggs and Noel Mills Riggs. Shortly thereafter, he lived in Birmingham, Ala., for a couple of years before moving to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he grew up and became a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan. After graduating from Carnegie Tech with a lighting degree in 1972, he worked in theatre and met his wife at Stage West in 1974, where they both worked. They married in 1975. They moved to Milwaukee and along with …

SMGT USAF Retired Ivan “Van” Cook, 88, of Loris passed away on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Born in Bakersville, N.C., he was the son of the late Frederick and Daisy Hobson Cook. Mr. Cook retired as a Senior Master Sergeant from the U.S. Air Force after 22 years of service. He was an avid fisherman and golfer. Mr. Cook was preceded in death by a son, Kendal Grey Caulder; a daughter, Renae Chouinard; and two sisters, Juanita Burleson and Louise Tingen. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Doris B. Cook of Loris; two daughters, Sherri Cox of Little River …

George L. Williams Sr. passed away on Friday, May 15, 2020. He was born in Florence, one of six children born to the late George Williams and Josephine Brockington Williams. He was predeceased in death by four of his five siblings and parents. His brother, Robert Williams, is the lone surviving sibling. George attended public schools in Florence and graduated in 1949 from Wilson High School where he was elected class president. In 1954, he graduated from South Carolina State University (then South Carolina State College) with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Pre-Law. In 1960, he received his Master …

Evelyn H. Lenihan, 88, of Little River died on Saturday, May 23, 2020. She was born in Cumberland, Md. Evelyn was a registered nurse and worked for 45 years in many areas including a stint as a captain in the United States Air Force. She is survived by two nieces, Carolyn Rafter-Koudry and Anne Kendrick, and one nephew, John T. Rafter. She was predeceased by her son, William E. Lenihan III, her ex-husband, William E. Lenihan Jr., and her five sisters. A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church at a …

Catherine W. Hewett of Myrtle Beach passed away on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Born on Oct. 5, 1931, in Tabor City, N. C., she was a daughter of the late Wilbur and Elvie G. Wright. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Charles Hewett; son, Charlton Glenn Hewett; daughter, Tracy Hewett; granddaughter, Leigh Green and her best friend of many years, Joe Edwards. Survivors include her daughter, Kathy Surdyke and her husband Kevin of Myrtle Beach; grandchildren, Sophie Surdyke, Connor Surdyke and Miranda Mapula and her husband Kurt; sister, Doris W. Mills of Tabor City, N.C., …

Albert O. Inman, 81, of Little River died on Thursday, May 21, 2020, at Regency Hospital of Florence in Florence. Born on June 26, 1938, in Horry County, he was the son of the late George H. and Rosetta Ward Inman. Mr. Inman is survived by his children, Albert O. Inman Jr. and Brenda Nixon; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and his fiancé, Doretha Edwards. Graveside services were held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, at Pleasant Plain Baptist Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Pleasant Plain Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1208, Little River, S.C. …

A very, very happy birthday today to Reeves LOWMAN who is loved so much by his family…Lois WATKINS so happy to have her family spend the Memorial Day weekend with her…Grateful appreciation is being extended to Cleo STEELE for her hard work to keep the Republican Club such an important group locally as she is being honored tonight by the Horry County Republican Party at a special event…Welcome to the area for a very special event tonight Lindsey GRAHAM, Tom RICE and Tim SCOTT…Dick BLACKBURN stopping by to chat with the newspaper staff on Memorial Day…Tiffany ANDREWS such an interesting …

By Ruben Lowman As North Myrtle Beach begins to head into the first summer with the coronavirus, more and more residents and tourists are venturing out into the city. The Times spoke with Mayor Marilyn Hatley recently to provide residents and visitors alike with more information about the city’s efforts to reopen the economy. Mayor Hatley said that public safety is the number one priority and the city has worked hard over the past couple of months to safeguard residents and city employees for when municipal buildings become fully operational. “The city has been very busy,” she said. “We’ve taken …

By Ruben Lowman Gov. Henry McMaster continued his loosening of COVID-19 restrictions by announcing last week that attractions will be allowed to reopen. The governor has spent the past month gradually permitting certain sectors of the economy to be reopened with more relaxed social distancing guidelines in place. The guidelines were created by McMaster’s AccelerateSC task force, which has been charged with devising the safest ways to rejuvenate South Carolina’s economy. The businesses deemed “attraction facilities” that are permitted to reopen include museums, aquariums, putt-putt golf courses, zoos, planetariums, water parks, amusement parks, historic sites and bingo halls. They will …

By Annie Rigby Loris Elementary School teachers and staff have not seen their students in person since Friday, March 13. With Gov. Henry McMaster’s executive order to close all South Carolina schools beginning on Monday, March 16, teachers have missed interacting with their students. Paiton Harrelson said that the ride through town was a joint effort beginning with the first grade teachers and expanding to all grades from child development to fifth grade staff participating in the ride. On Friday, May 15, some of the school PTO members joined in the LES teachers caravan making a 50 plus parade of …