Bamberg-born Jacob O'Quinn remembered for service, faith, family

Jacob Perry O'Quinn’s life traced a familiar Bamberg County path of faith, service and family, beginning with his birth in Bamberg to Joseph Hampton O'Quinn and Katie Summers O'Quinn and ending in Chapin, where he died peacefully at home on April 9, 2026.

For Bamberg residents who remember the families and institutions that shaped the town, O'Quinn’s story tied together several of the county’s best-known anchors. After attending Columbia Business School, he entered the United States Army. After the Korean War, he continued his education at Wofford College and the University of South Carolina, while remaining a lifelong Clemson supporter.

His obituary placed equal weight on his church work. O'Quinn served as a deacon, an elder, Sunday School president and chaplain for The Gideons International, roles that marked him as more than a private believer. He was part of the leadership structure that many small Southern congregations rely on, the people who teach, visit, organize and keep church life moving week after week.

That public service was matched by a long family life. O'Quinn was married to Ann Worsham O'Quinn for 72 years. He was the father of Anna Richter and Perry O'Quinn, and the family tree extended to six grandsons and 14 great-grandchildren. The obituary also listed a wide extended family, underscoring how deeply his loss was felt across more than one branch of the O'Quinn and Worsham families.

Funeral services were scheduled for April 21, 2026, at Whitaker Funeral Home in Chapin, with visitation beforehand and burial at Chapin Christian Community Church Cemetery. Those details placed his final arrangements close to the church-centered life that defined him.

For Bamberg County, O'Quinn’s death marked the passing of another native son whose life reflected the county’s own civic memory: a hometown beginning, military duty, higher education, and a steady commitment to church and family that stretched across generations.