When Honea Path Clerk/Treasurer Evelyn McKinney wasn’t being a clerk, she was being a caregiver. In fact, giving someone else some care was one of the last acts of her life.

Around 3 p.m. Saturday, Ms. McKinney died at the Greenville Memorial Hospital after she was involved in a car crash Friday, said her son, Frank McKinney III. The crash occurred around 5:40 p.m. Friday as his mother headed home after visiting with her 84-year-old sister, Caroleen Wright, who is in rehabilitation at National Health Care, Mr. McKinney said.

“She was a caregiver,” he said regarding his mother. “She was constantly taking people to the doctor, or to the grocery store. That’s what she liked — helping people and taking care of them.”

Ms. McKinney’s car collided with another car as she pulled into the intersection of Sauer Farm Road and Paige Road, about a half-mile from her home, Mr. McKinney said. No one else received life-threatening injuries in the crash.

However, Ms. McKinney, an 80-year-old native of Honea Path, sustained head injuries, her son said.

Beside taking care of people, Ms. McKinney had served as Honea Path Town Clerk/Treasurer since 1979, Mayor Earl Lollis Meyers said. Before that, she worked as a clerk at Belton City Hall and was a teacher at Ware Shoals Elementary School, her son said.

“She was a wonderful lady to work with,” the Mayor said. Ms. McKinney kept up with every penny of the town’s public money conscientiously, Mayor Meyers said.

Ms. McKinney is survived by her son, her daughter, Janna McKinney, 44, who lives in Atlanta. She had two grandsons. Her husband, Frank McKinney Jr., died 22 years ago. They were married for 39 years.

She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Honea Path since 1946 — the year she and Mr. McKinney married, her son said. Other than working, Ms. McKinney also enjoyed working in her yard and reading, Mr. McKinney said.

“She was all the time reading,” he said. “She liked doing anything outdoors. She worked because she liked what she did. She liked dealing with people every day.”

Rusty Burns, development coordinator for Honea Path, said people always could count on Ms. McKinney being at work each day and being “in charge.”

“She was an institution in the town of Honea Path and she was the rock that everything centered around,” Mr. Burns said.

Anderson Independent

By Alison Glass & Charmaine Smith-Miles