Charles Connor Crook, Jr.

Charles Connor Crook, Jr. of Goat Island, SC passed away on February 27, 2020. He is survived by his wife of 52 years Linda Anne Smoak Crook of Goat Island, SC; his daughter Courtney Alean Crook Shytle (Eric) of Columbia, SC and grandchildren Philip and Lily; his son Charles Connor Crook, III (Meg) of Charlottesville, VA and grandchildren Wilson and Catherine; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his father Connor Charles Crook, Sr., his mother Jenelle Bozard Crook, and his sister Carole Crook Prickett, all of St. Matthews, SC.

Charles and Anne were high school sweethearts. They were both 1964 graduates of St. Matthews High School in St. Matthews, where Charles was Student Body President, a bus driver, and a letterman in football and track. Charles graduated from the University of South Carolina and then served his country in the U.S. Army from 1968-1970. He and Anne then returned to St. Matthews, where Charles joined his father-in-law in a construction business that he later owned and operated until his retirement in 2009. Charles was a lifelong member of First Baptist Church in St. Matthews, where he served as a Trustee and a Deacon for many years. He served his community throughout his lifetime as a business owner, employer, and civic and church leader. He previously served on the Calhoun County School Board and the Calhoun County Country Club Board, chaired the Calhoun County Democratic Party, and most recently led his fellow Goat Islanders as Chief of the Goat Island Fire and Safety Committee.

Throughout his life, Charles spent as much time as possible with Anne, his children and grandchildren, and his beloved nieces and nephews, whether in the kitchen cooking, in the woods hunting, or on the water fishing and boating. He and Anne retired to Goat Island in 2011, where he found his calling fishing, gardening, reading, maintaining the island infrastructure, assisting his neighbors in countless ways, and organizing the fire and rescue team. Charles loved Elvis, his dog Lizzie, and a nice glass of red wine. It made him happy to prepare a meal for friends and family, whether it was a January oyster roast, a July 5 (not a typo, it was his birthday) barbecue, or a Thanksgiving fried turkey.

He will be greatly missed by his friends and family in St. Matthews and on Goat Island. Charles was a man of extraordinary kindness, loyalty, selflessness, and strength. We know he has now found his eternal peace, sailing with the wind at his back and the sun on his face.

There will be a visitation with the family at Stuhr Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant, on March 7, 2020 from 4-6 pm and a memorial service will take place at the family home on Goat Island on March 8, at 3:30 pm. Transportation will be available for friends from the Isle of Palms Marina to Goat Island at 2:45 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorials to be sent to the Goat Island Association of Neighbors (GIAN) Fire and Safety, P.O. Box 434, Sullivan's Island, SC 29482.