Obituary of Martha McElveen Horne

Martha McElveen Horne, 61, wife of Terrell T. Horne, died Wednesday, July 15, 2015, at her home. Born in Sumter, she was the daughter of the late Joseph T. McElveen and Elizabeth Thomas McElveen. Mrs. Horne was a graduate of Edmunds High School, and earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She served as the first law clerk for then Circuit Court Judge Ernest A. Finney, Jr., as Assistant Attorney General from 1978-1982, as the first woman Deputy Solicitor for the Third Judicial Circuit from 1983-1991, and as in-house attorney for the Sumter Police Department and as City Prosecutor from 1991 until her retirement in 2015. She was the first woman President of the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division and also served in the Bar’s House of Delegates and Board of Governors, as well as the first Executive Director of the Bar’s Resolution of Fee Disputes Board. She was named the 1990 SC Bar Young Lawyer of the Year, and was one of the first recipients of the Compleat Lawyer Award, given by the USC School of Law. Mrs. Horne was a member of First Presbyterian Church. She was a former President of the Sumter Junior Welfare League, a member of the Sumter Crimestoppers Board and with her husband Terry Horne, served as co-chair of the Sumter Red Cross Board. Surviving in addition to her husband are a daughter, Elizabeth McElveen Horne; a son, Joseph Tyler Horne; a brother Joseph McElveen (Kathy); a nephew, Thomas McElveen (Bronwyn) all of Sumter; two nieces, Kate McElveen of Sumter and Sarah Frank of Austin, TX; one great-niece, Adelaide McElveen. Memorial services will be held at 2 P.M. Monday, July 20, 2015, at Bethesda Church of God with Rev. Al Sims and Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith officiating. The family will receive friends from 1 PM to 2 PM Monday prior to the service at Bethesda Church of God and other times at 600 Yuma Court. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, SC 29210 or to United Ministries of Sumter County, P. O. Box 1017, Sumter, SC 29151. On-line condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad Street, Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements (803) 775-9386.