Eva Maloney

Mrs. Eva Maloney, 107 of Heath Springs, passed away, Tuesday evening, September 27, at her home.

Funeral arrangements will be announced by Baker Funeral Home, Kershaw.

 

The following is an excerpt from Chip Sherer’s article in the November/December 2014 ARP Magazine.

Mrs. Eva Brock Maloney was born in 1909 and grew up in Honea Path, SC. She graduated from Honea Path High School in 1929. She entered Erskine that fall and on December 7, 1929, she married J.L. “Roy” Maloney of Sharon, SC. She attended Erskine for two years.

Roy Maloney had entered Erskine in 1923. In addition to attending classes, he worked as a carpenter, plumber, and electrician. He was only able to complete two years of his college studies. In 1931, Catawba Presbytery accepted his experiences and his two years at Erskine as sufficient preparation and received him under its care as a ministerial student. In 1932, he and Eva moved to Due West for him to enter Erskine Seminary.

In 1935, the Maloneys relocated to Heath Springs, SC, where he served as supply pastor of Pleasant Hill ARP. In 1936, he was installed as their pastor. Only a short distance from Pleasant Hill was Oak Ridge School where a mission congregation met on Sunday afternoons. In 1939, this mission was organized into Oak Ridge ARP and was supplied by Rev. Maloney. So, a long and wonderful relationship began between Pleasant Hill and Oak Ridge ARP Churches and the Maloneys.

During these years in Heath Springs, Mrs. Maloney was a wife, mother, pianist, WOC organizer, and friend to so many in the area and dearly loved by both congregations. The Maloneys served these churches until 1950.

Rev. Maloney had excellent carpentry skills and was a perfect candidate to be the full-time manager of Bonclarken. The Bonclarken Board pursued him for this role and, in May 1950, Rev. Maloney resigned as pastor and the family moved to Bonclarken. Unfortunately, Bonclarken’s financial status could not support a full-time manager. In September 1951, Pleasant Hill and Oak Ridge agreed to allow Rev. Maloney to serve again as their pastor, and agreed to allow him to be at Bonclarken one weekend each month during the off-season and the entire months of June, July, and August. This fateful decision allowed Bonclarken to have the services of Rev. Maloney when most needed.

With the move to Bonclarken, Mrs. Maloney added another job title—head dietitian for Bonclarken’s food service. She became famous for her food, especially her biscuits. She poured herself into everything she did at Bonclarken and helped make visits special for so many guests.

For the next ten years, she went back and forth between Bonclarken and Heath Springs. In 1960, Rev. Maloney resigned from his work at Bonclarken and returned to full-time pastorate. He died November 20, 1971 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.