Connie Preacher Martin

Connie Turner Preacher Martin, 89, passed away peacefully on October 6, 2026, at the Blake at Woodcreek Farms senior living facility in Columbia, South Carolina. A few days before her transition, Connie’s four children, their spouses, and several grandchildren gathered around her to express profound love for their cherished mother and grandmother.

Connie was born in 1937 to Zada Turner Preacher and Dr. Abner Bushnell Preacher in Walterboro, South Carolina where her father served as physician for the nearby community that formed around a sawmill plant in Ashepoo. By 1940, the family settled in Allendale, South Carolina where Connie attended school. In the summer of 1954, she served as a House of Representative delegate for Girls State at the University of South Carolina. She was secretary of the class of 1955 at Allendale High School. In May 1956, she was crowned Miss Allendale County and that summer competed in the Hampton Watermelon Festival pageant, the Queen of the Beaufort Water Festival pageant, and in the Miss South Carolina pageant in Myrtle Beach. She attended Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina but left school to marry Gene Martin in 1956.

In 1969, Connie and Gene moved their family to Hilton Head Island where they owned and operated the Red and White Supermarket, which later became a Piggly Wiggly store. The Martins raised their four children on the island, and each worked at the grocery store. She served as a surrogate mother to many of the store’s employees and formed a close friendship with Daisy Frazier, who helped raise the Martin children. Connie moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1976 where she worked for Bob Capes Realty and later the Historic Columbia Foundation and the Columbia International Airport. She earned her associate’s degree in hospitality and hotel management from the University of South Carolina. In her later years, she enjoyed cross stitching, boating, travel, cooking, dancing the shag, organizing her high school reunion, and her many grandchildren.

Connie was predeceased by her parents, her sister, Zada Preacher Browne of Forsyth, Georgia, her brother, Dr. Bushnell Preacher of Yakima, Washington, and her ex-husband, Gene Martin of Hilton Head. She is survived by her half-sister, Benie Preacher Brunson (Lewis) and their children Bushnell and Louisa; her children and their families: Janice Martin Allen (Spencer), Parker Allen and Paige Allen; David Eugene Martin (Chris), Kayla Martin and Austin Martin (Megan), Hayes; Bill Martin (Reba), Bushnell Martin and Hai Yang Martin; and Jennifer Martin (Harris Welles), Henry Mitchell and Ike Mitchell. Connie had a gift for maintaining friendships with people she met throughout her life and kept in touch with them through letters, cards, phone calls, and visits. Connie’s family would like to thank the staff at the Harmony Collection care facility, the Rice Estate retirement community, the Blake at Woodcreek Farms, and Lutheran Hospice for their attentive care during her final three years.

A memorial service will be held on October 26, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Swallow Savannah Cemetery in Allendale, South Carolina.