Mary Jo Dewar, Allendale Native and Lifelong Educator, Dies at 88

Mary Jo Dewar spent her final years teaching water aerobics at the Harbison Recreation Center, a volunteer role she held for 16 consecutive years that captured something essential about how she moved through the world: always working, always giving back.

Dewar, a native of Allendale who built a career spanning two coasts before returning to South Carolina, died peacefully at home on March 31, 2026. She was 88.

Born December 28, 1937, in Allendale, Dewar graduated from Winthrop College in 1959 and launched an elementary education career that took her first to classrooms in Augusta, Georgia, then to Seattle, Washington, where she taught for seven years. She later relocated to Yakima, Washington, working with community recovery programs and civic groups before eventually returning to South Carolina.

Back home, she built a second professional chapter with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, where she served for 13 years before retiring. The Harbison Recreation Center water aerobics program became a fixture of those retirement years, running alongside other volunteer and faith-based community work that kept her engaged in public life well into her eighties.

Her life story traced a wide arc: Augusta, Seattle, Yakima, and back to the Lowcountry, where her family's roots and her own memorial now rest. She is survived by three children, Warren Lloyd Dewar III (Carolyn) of Kentfield, California; James Baker Dewar, MD (Melanie) of Lexington, South Carolina; and Sallie Amanda Berry (Jeff) of Sumner, Washington, along with six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, at 11 a.m. at Allendale Presbyterian Church, 230 Flat Street, Allendale, with a reception to follow.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Swallow Savannah Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 306, Allendale, S.C. 29810. Floral arrangements can be ordered through Butler Florist at 803-686-1999. An online guestbook is available through Keith Smith Funeral Service.