Allendale-born Thelma Hariley remembered after death at 95
Born in Allendale and later of Neptune, Thelma Hariley died at 95, leaving six children and June 5 services that linked New Jersey to her South Carolina roots.
Thelma Hariley, born in Allendale and later a resident of Neptune, New Jersey, died May 24 at 95, leaving behind a family story that still points back to South Carolina. Her obituary tied her final arrangements to Neptune City, while her family’s local funeral home connection remained in Allendale.
Hariley was the daughter of Eliza Elizabeth Youmans and Wilmour Shine Youmans. She was preceded in death by her son Curtis Harley. The obituary listed six surviving children, Mozelle, Annie Mae Kearse, Michael Hariley, Gail Anderson, Joseph Hariley and Janet Bland, and also named grandchildren, underscoring how many branches of the family now carry her memory. A matching memorial posting said the family was being cared for by B. F. Cave Funeral Home in Allendale.
Her life in New Jersey carried its own record of work and service. Hariley worked for American Vitamin Products, Coni-Seal Inc. and Signal Light Corp., and the obituary said she enjoyed music, cooking and gardening. It also said she volunteered at Midtown Community Elementary, including for field trips and fun-day events, a detail that points to a neighborly presence that reached beyond her own household. Visitation, funeral and graveside services were held Friday, June 5, in Neptune City.
For Allendale County readers, the notice lands in a community where family names often stretch across state lines but stay tied to home. Allendale County’s population was estimated at 7,355 in July 2025, down from 8,039 in the 2020 Census, and Black residents made up 71.1% of the county population. The county’s history runs from the cotton boom and plantation agriculture of the 1790s to later upheaval after Interstate 95 shifted traffic away and the Savannah River Site briefly reshaped the local economy.
Hariley’s life fits that larger pattern of movement and return. Born in Allendale, she became part of the long line of county families whose members left for work and home elsewhere but kept their roots visible in obituaries, funeral homes and the names passed down through children and grandchildren.
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