Oscar Fred Lovelace, Sr.,93 previously of Columbia, died on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at Springfield Place Assisted Living Facility in Newberry, SC. He was delivered at home in Prosperity, SC on November 2, 1928, the son of the late Drury Oscar Lovelace and Annie Laura Frazier Lovelace and the eldest of five children. He grew up on a farm with dairy cows and crops with fun stories of picking cotton. He had a goat-cart as a child and graduated in 1945 as a member of the Beta Club from Prosperity High School. At 16 he matriculated to Clemson College on a Sears and Roebuck scholarship, then left to enlist in the Navy in 1945 at age 17 and served aboard the USS Leyte at the end of WWII. Before he graduated on the GI Bill with a degree in Dairy Science from Clemson A&M College in 1951, he met Virginia Dantzler on a blind date to the Carolina- Clemson game on Big Thursday 1950. They were pulling for opposing teams and the game ended in a tie at 7-7. After marriage on December 23, 1951, his first job was making ice-cream for Southern Dairies in Winston-Salem, NC. He convinced his bride to leave central heat and indoor plumbing to return home to the farm and live with his grandparents, Benjamin Oscar and Mamie Lovelace, in order to help his father become a Grade A Dairy. He recalled that his bride, a home economics graduate from Winthrop, had to make the biscuits in the wood stove to satisfy his grandmother. They were forced by necessity to use an outhouse and take showers from a hose hanging from a chinaberry tree during this chapter of life. After the Grade A dairy rating was achieved, he left to become assistant county agent in York and Chester with the Clemson Extension service. The family moved to Columbia in 1959 and he began working as field representative for Edisto Farms Dairy, Inc. After Coburg Dairies acquired Edisto, management wanted him to move to Charleston, but he did not want to upset the education of his children and was employed by the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank and the Federal Land Bank traveling the southeast assisting with loans to farmers. After retirement from the bank, he worked as a sales representative for Benson Oil Company. He enjoyed a long affiliation with the SC State Fair as a livestock manager over the beef and dairy entries. He was a past president of Five Points Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. He served as associate advisor for Explorer Post 707 and on the Church Council of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. He enjoyed annual family vacations to coastal SC, hunting and fishing, setting a gill net and crabbing with family and friends. He excelled as a loving father and grandfather, faithful friend and never lost his wonderful sense of humor. Survivors include his children, Lynn Lovelace Willis (Dr. Marsh Willis) of Columbia, Karen Marie Lovelace (Dr. Richard Beck) of Folly Beach and Dr. Oscar Fred Lovelace, Jr.(Mary) of Chapin; grandchildren, Carter McElveen (Andy) of Clemson, Hayden Willis (Colleen) of Charlotte, NC, Virginia Elliott (Micah) of Chapin, Sarah King (Chris) of Troy, Ohio, Lee Hyatt (Andrea) of Danbury, CT, Ben Lovelace (Liza) of Greenville, Dr. Spencer Lovelace ( Brittany) of Little Mountain, Erin Lovelace (Josh DeGraff) of Hollywood, CA and Luke Lovelace (Monica) of Washington, DC as well as 20 great grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, Virginia Dantzler Lovelace; brothers, Drury Billy Lovelace, Larry Steve Lovelace, Joe Frazier Lovelace; and sister, Drucy Ann Siokos. He was also predeceased by a great grandson, Ashley R. Shealy. A graveside service will be held by Rev. Bobby Morris and Pastor Scott Holland on Saturday February 19, 2022 at Mount Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 2336 Mount Pilgrim Church Road, Prosperity, SC 29127. The family will greet friends following the graveside service. Masks are encouraged out of courtesy to others. Memorials may be made to any of the following organizations: 1) Clemson University Foundation. Please direct your gift to Oscar Fred Lovelace, Sr. Memorial Holding Account in his memory. Gifts may be made by phone at (864) 656-5896 or by mail: Clemson University Foundation, Annual Giving Office, 110 Daniel Drive, Clemson, SC 29631; 2) Living Water Foundation / Community Garden, P.O. Box 1017, Prosperity, SC 29127; or to Mount Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 2336 Mount Pilgrim Church Road, Prosperity, SC 29127-7328. Messages and condolences may be shared here with the family on Fred's tribute page.