Nancy Hamrick Ravenel

Nancy Hamrick Ravenel, 79, of Charleston, SC died on December 4, 2024 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Relatives and friends are invited to her memorial service to be held Tuesday, December 10, 2024 in St. Michael’s Church, 71 Broad Street at 11:00 am. A reception will follow in the church Parish Hall. 

Nancy was born on August 2, 1945, in Waukegan, Illinois to Dr. Clarence Thomas “Buddy” Hamrick Jr. and Doris “Sunny” Hodges Hamrick. Nancy was raised in Charleston on Ashley River Road with her five siblings. She and her former spouse, the late Dr. Benjamin Owen Ravenel, Jr. had two children, Benjamin Owen Ravenel III, who predeceased her in 2022, and Kate Ravenel Reid. While raising her children and working in communications at the Medical University of South Carolina and at the College of Charleston, Nancy earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston. She went on to obtain a Master’s in Communications from American University in Washington, DC. Her life was indelibly marked by her spirit of adventure, curiosity, sense of fun, love of travel and new places, and an abiding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everywhere she lived, Nancy refined her natural talent for interior design, made deep friendships with people of all ages and backgrounds, and became an active member of her local church wherever she lived. When she moved back to Charleston, she loved attending St. Michael’s and singing in the choir.

Nancy treasured her time working for Dr. Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri Fellowship in Huémoz, Switzerland, at Voice of America in Washington, DC, in the relocation business in Paris, France, and at AIG in New York, NY. She became fluent in French during the eight years she lived in Paris and loved learning Spanish while living in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Nancy cherished her Hamrick family and found great joy spending time with them. 

Nancy is survived by her daughter, Kate Ravenel Reid (Scott) of New York, NY; daughter-in-law, Shannon Ravenel of Charleston, SC; four grandsons: Owen Ravenel IV of Charleston, SC, Buford Reid of New York, NY, Walker Reid of Berkeley, CA, and Daniel Ravenel of Charleston, SC; three sisters and two brothers: Ellen Hollingsworth (John) of Charleston, SC, Tommy Hamrick (Jan) of Pelzer, SC, Anne Cochet (Alan) of Oxford, MS and Aix-en-Provence, France, Elizabeth Coleman (Rutledge) of Savannah, GA, and Eric Hamrick (Whitney) of Greenville, SC. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to support Nancy’s sister and brother-in-law’s ministry planting churches in Europe. Checks payable to Mission to the World, Memo PROJECT #91837 may be sent to: Mission to the World, PO Box 744165, Atlanta, GA 30374-4165. Alternatively, memorials may be sent to The Cure Alzheimer's Fund at www.curealz.org/giving/donate, or by mail at Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington St., Suite 310, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481.