Patrick Meehan Marshall

Patrick (Pat) Meehan Marshall, 86, of Waterloo, SC, passed away peacefully on September 18, 2026 with his wife and love of his life, Julee Cammer Marshall, by his side. Born in Sumter, South Carolina on September 16, 1940, he was the fourth of seven children of the late George Norton Marshall, Sr. and Roberta McFaddin Meehan. Pat was a graduate of Clemson University, a retired US Air Force Colonel, and an expert in crop hail insurance within the Farm Bureau / American Agricultural Insurance Company umbrella of companies.

Pat was an intelligent and introspective man who enjoyed wildlife, solitude, books, and movies; his children, siblings and their families; close friends; and above all, his Julee. His life always seemed to involve rivers, swamps, lakes, or the ocean. Pat loved sunsets, lake and marsh views, and thunderstorms. Despite his often quiet, stoic seriousness, Pat was a masterful storyteller whose self-deprecating accounts of his mishaps, of which there were many, could bring small gatherings of friends or family to tears and gasping for breath in laughter.

In addition to his wife, Julee, Pat is survived by his children Clare Marshall Wood (Eric) of Greenville, SC, Patrick Meehan Marshall, Jr. (Debi) of North Augusta, SC, and Carol Marshall Harris (Billy) of Smyrna, TN; grandchildren: Taffy Durham (Andrew), Taylor Kruger, Bethany Marshall, Allison Payette (Gabe), Abbie Hogan (Jake), Abbie Simms (Bryan), Olivia Harris, and Erica Wood; great grandchildren Anderson, Savannah and Lottie Durham; and sisters Becky Jones of Lexington, SC, Ellen Pfeiffer (Ed) of Dover, Delaware, and brother Robert Marshall (Paula) of Clemson, SC. He was preceded in death by brothers, Paul Grimball Marshall and George Norton Marshall, Jr., and sister, Sally Marshall Bourne.

As a child, Pat learned to love wildlife and natural beauty when hunting and fishing with his father, “Scrap,” in the swamps, rivers and fields surrounding Sumter. His early childhood also included visits to Edisto Beach, SC. He recounted stories about family trips to Edisto as a child, with the back of his father’s roofing truck loaded with children, dogs Spud and Windy, supplies, live chickens, and other food for the week.

Pat graduated from Edmunds High School in 1958 in Sumter, where he was co-captain of the football team. He was a member of the Numeral Society at Clemson University and with hilarity confessed he flunked ROTC because, goaded by his friends, he saluted, did an about face, and marched off the field for every class drill. Despite this antic among others, Pat graduated from Clemson in 1962, with a degree in Economics.

That year, Pat married Alice Bryan (now Alice Mellette), and entered the US Air Force, serving six years active duty in Altus, Oklahoma and Anchorage, Alaska. Even though their marriage dissolved early, Pat and Alice remained deeply respectful to one another and prioritized the well-being of their children. This taught Clare, Patrick and Carol the value of respect, forgiveness, grace, and integrity.

Pat continued his service in the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Colonel in 1994. In his last military role, he served on a multi-agency then-top-secret classified team as a disaster preparedness expert for continuity of government and reconstitution of the United States in the event of a nuclear war or natural disaster. He received the Legion of Merit. A private, humble, and dutiful man, Pat only casually shared this role with his children several years after the existence of the NPO was declassified.

Pat began his civilian career in 1969 in Walterboro, SC accepting a job as a claims adjuster for South Carolina Farm Bureau, his decision being mostly based on the perk of a car, he would laughingly admit! This job also required him to drive the beautiful backroads of South Carolina, a lifelong love. He lived in a backwoods cabin on Horseshoe Creek, where he taught his children to fish with worms and crickets.

Farm Bureau soon recognized Pat’s talents and he quickly progressed through several roles, relocating in the early 1970s to the Columbia SC state headquarters. In 1980, Pat joined American Agricultural Insurance Company (AAIC) and relocated to Park Ridge, Illinois where he developed expertise in crop hail insurance and reinsurance. In 1990, he became Vice President of Underwriting in 1990 for AAIC where he managed pricing, coverage limits, contracts and risks for Farm Bureaus across the US who were reinsured by AAIC. Pat was credentialed as a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and as an Associate in Reinsurance (ARe).

Pat developed meaningful, life-long relationships and gained the respect of his colleagues and clients across the US. He was a mentor to many. His work led him to most US states where he frequently spoke at AAIC insurance conferences. Pat's calm, even-tempered, thoughtful and insightful nature were instrumental to several innovative programs at AAIC, including formation of the subsidiary company, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services (AFBIS).

Pat retired from AAIC in 1999, and fulfilled his dream of moving to Edisto, where he met and married Julee, whom he deeply adored. Pat’s siblings, in-laws, mother, adult children and growing families and friends often gathered at his house and told stories, ate good food, and shared walks on the beach. An extremely neat man, Pat could frequently be found sweeping the beach sand off the board walks in his iconic loafers with no socks.

Pat and Julee moved to Lake Greenwood in 2005. They enjoyed many moments in solitude, reading books or magazines, watching movies together and doing crossword puzzles. An avid reader, he especially loved books by Elmore Leonard and Larry McMurtry as well as SC Wildlife and National Geographic magazines, to which he subscribed throughout his life. Pat and Julee enjoyed several cross-country trips, especially visiting scenic areas and national parks. Although he saw much of the US, he would always marvel at the beauty of SC.

Julee cooked almost all of their meals, often with organic produce from her own extensive garden. Pat always assisted Julee with the garden and almost always washed the dishes and emptied the dishwasher, until he no longer could. When not quietly reading or doing other yard work or chores, Pat could be found in the yard picking up pine cones.

Pat and Julee often entertained their now-large family with day long or weekend long parties celebrating major holidays and events, creating many special memories for his children and grandchildren, including swimming, bocce, and pontoon boat rides. Pat would spend days getting the yard and boat ready.

As in his childhood, Pat spent many times during his adult years with Dick Edmunds and his other close friends in the Wateree, Congaree, Black and Santee rivers and swamps as well on Monkey Island in the Ashepoo River; he usually took his son Patrick with him. Throughout their childhood, Pat took his children on many rides through country roads, telling them stories of screaming eagles, Rudeon Gonzolea, the hook man, and the ghost girl of the Wateree Swamp.

When his children were young, Pat often took them to sister Sally and Jack’s lake house in the summer, where demonstrated his impressive waterskiing skills. He could slalom ski starting from standing in shallow water or ski off the dock and glide back to shore, coming to a standing stop without ever getting submerged above the knees. When around water, he would invariably dive into the lake, forgetting to remove his watch or wallet! On more than one occasion, he dove into the lake with open eyes, with a subsequent underwater search by all present for his now-missing contact.

He generously showered his kids with Christmas gifts, including games that he happily played with them for hours. He had an extensive vocabulary and always won at scrabble. Once they were adults, Dad took Clare, Patrick, and Carol on ski trips to Colorado and Lake Tahoe. As young adults, each of his children had unique experiences with him: Patrick joined him on a rafting trip in the Colorado river; Carol accompanied him to London for an insurance conference at which he spoke; and Clare went to Lake Tahoe while he was planning a conference.

In his later years, Pat and Julee, Alice, his children and grandkids took several vacations together to Edisto, where he, along with the other male family members, would don their Cabana Boy t-shirts and put up the beach tents. These trips and other family get togethers almost always involved the game “Charades," during which Granddaddy Pat’s skits would have the whole family in stitches!

After a very long journey with dementia, Pat became a resident of Emerald Gardens memory care in May of 2026 when it was no longer possible for Julee to care for him at home. During this time, Pat deeply touched so many of the caregivers and other visitors with his sweet and frequent “I love you”. He drew delight and laughter with his go-to-expression, “Hot Damn!,” a phrase he borrowed from O Brother Where Art Thou?, one of his favorite Coen Brother’s films.

The family expresses deep gratitude for the loving care provided by Emerald Gardens’ caregivers and to Agape Hospice, especially Izzy Ronan, his nurse. Donations in Pat’s memory can be made to Camp Fellowship, 457 Camp Fellowship Road, Waterloo, SC 29384 or to a charity of your choice.

A memorial service will be held in Waterloo. Pat’s cremains will be interred at Concord Presbyterian Church in Sumter County near his mother and father.

Pat, we all love you so very very much. We miss you terribly. We know you are at peace and beside still waters. And that's a good Hot Damn!