Obituary of Lela E. Dow

CAMDEN - Funeral service for Lela Dow, 98, will be held at 5pm on Saturday, August 26, 2023 at Powers Funeral Home, Lugoff. The family will receive friends from 4pm-5pm at the funeral home. Burial will be held on Sunday, August 27, 2023 at 10am in Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Lela Dow was born on December 20, 1924, to the late Andrew and Drucilla McFarland. Lela was the third child of 11.  Growing up, Lela attended elementary school in McBee, SC and later graduated from Jackson High School in Camden, SC.  In 1948 Lela moved to Connecticut to work and married her first husband James Deas.  Lela and James remained married for nine years until his untimely death in 1957.  Lela then moved to New Jersey where she worked for Color Forms and the Englewood School System as a teachers aide from 1966 until 1990.  Lela  married her second husband Solomon Dow in 1966 and remained married until he passed away in 2006.  Lela also devoted a great deal of her time selling Avon and received many awards for being a top salesperson.  She often carried her nephews John and Sean with her to many clients residence in Patterson, NJ when selling her products.  Lela loved gardening and always was recognized for having a beautiful well maintained yard.  Lela retired in 1977 and returned back to her roots in Camden, SC.  Lela was a faithful member of Macedonia Baptist Church and attended services regularly until her health would not physically allow her to do so. Lela enjoyed talking about world events and the news; she could talk about anything from the corn fields to outer space.  Lela knew all her relatives and often talked about her grandparents.  

Lela was predeceased by her husbands, Solomon Dow and James Deas; parents, Andrew and Drucilla McFarland; sisters, Hattie Little, Louise Dais, Thelma Johnson, Edith Colburn, Andrew McFarland, Jr., Dorothy Burt and Joeann Pritchett. Lela leaves three sisters to cherish her memory, Willa Faye McFarland, Jean Kearney and Lois Johnson (Robert); and a host of nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give a special thanks to all Lela’s past and present caretakers for their dedication, kindness and professionalism and their love while taking care of her for many, many years.