Shirley Melrose Rape Wessinger

Chester Mrs. Shirley Melrose Rape Wessinger, 86, died Thursday, September 28, 2023, at MUSC Health Chester Nursing Center. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 PM Sunday, October 1, 2023, at Wesley Memorial UMC with Rev. Dan Sullivan and Pastor Shannon Higgins officiating. Interment will be private. The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Sunday at the church. Mrs. Wessinger was born January 31, 1937 in Spartanburg, SC and was a daughter of the late Theodore Blease Rape and Mildred Pauline Harvey Rape. She attended the schools of Chester, SC and retired from Campus Sportswear. She formerly worked for Charter Communications and was also a volunteer for many years. Mrs. Wessinger was a founding member of Wesley Memorial UMC where she served as Sunday School teacher, Lay speaker, choir member and Youth leader. She was also a dedicated Bible Study member. Shirley was also a member of Eureka UMC prior to Wesley Memorial UMC. She loved her family and was a dedicated caregiver to several of them. She loved to watch Jeopardy and playing Scrabble. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of over 65 years, Henry M. Wessinger and a brother, Jim Rape. Shirley is survived by her four children, Mike Wessinger, Ronnie Wessinger (Nancy), Ricky Wessinger (Kelli) and Tiera Lewis (Randy) all of Chester, SC; seven grandchildren, Staci Wessinger Dreher of Fort Mill, Annie Wilson (Robert) of Columbia, Michael Wessinger (Krista) of Fort Mill, Jill Piers (D.J.) of Clover, Keely Lewis-Schroer (David) of Chapin, Dylan Lewis (Jessica) of Rock Hill and Micah Graham (Chris) of Richmond, VA; eight great grandchildren, Noah, Colton, Sullivan, Charlotte, Jonah, Joseph, Lucy and Jacob; and her extended family, Jim Latham, Shirley Campbell and Richard Harrington; one sister, Trudy Scruggs; a brother-in-law, George Wessinger; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfuneralhome.com.