Dallas Simmons Cone, Jr.

Dallas Simmons Cone, Jr., age 96, of Ridge Spring, went to be with our Lord on Sunday, January 18, 2015 following a short illness. He was born November 13, 1918 two days after the Armistice was signed ending World War I. He was the sixth child in a family of seven. He grew up on a 220 acre farm in the Harmony Section of Allendale County about 6 miles from Fairfax, S.C. His father was Dallas Simmons Cone, Sr. and his mother was Ada Eulala Deer Cone. His six siblings were Mildred Louise Cone (Bomar), John Henry Cone, Mary Ethel Cone (Manuel), Clyde Cone, Wilbur Harold Cone, and Lee Roy Cone. Dallas was the last to survive his family. Dallas attended the rural one room Harmony School through the seventh grade. He was the only student in his class. He then rode a school bus to Fairfax where he graduated from high school in 1936. Most of his childhood was spent during the Great Depression. Even though his family had only the bare necessities of life, he often said that he wouldn't trade his childhood for all the money in the world. Dallas grew up in a Christian home with a loving mother and father who gave their children something money could not buy. They took their children to church, gave them love and taught them by example what life is all about. He received Jesus Christ as his Savior when he was 12 years old at Harmony Baptist Church and was baptized in Cope's Mill Pond. After high school at the age of 16 he moved to Ridge Spring to work for his brother-in-law Dewitt Converse Bomar. The Bomar Co. business consisted of buying cotton in the fall, handling asparagus in the spring, and peaches in the summer. Shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 Dallas was notified to report to Fort Jackson in Columbia to be inducted into the Army. He became a pilot in the Army Air Force. He was assigned to the 14th Air Force 7th Fighter Squadron, the Chinese American Composite Wing, CACW, and was sent to Laohokow, China. He had great respect for his Commanding General Claire Lee Chennault. Dallas was a member of the renowned Flying Tigers and piloted a P-51 Mustang D Fighter Plane which he named the Sandlapper in honor of his home state. As a 1st Lieutenant he flew 23 combat missions in India and China escorting bombers and strafing Japanese supply trains, trucks, and boats as well as marching soldiers. Other missions included bombing bridges and an airfield in Shanghi which was the longest mission he flew. In 1976 Dallas received The China War Memorial Decoration awarded by the government of the Republic of China. The medal commemorates service in China with our Chinese allies in the defeat of the Empire of Japan. Following World War II, Dallas returned to Ridge Spring and was offered full partnership in what became the Bomar-Cone Company. He and his brother-in-law were cotton and produce brokers for many decades on The Ridge, supplying the Breyer Ice Cream Co. with all of the peaches they used for 10 years. In later years he wrote insurance for The Hartford Insurance Co., managed his farm on the edge of town, served as School Bus Supervisor at Ridge Spring-Monetta High School, and positioned as a substitute mail carrier for The U.S. Postal System. As a servant of the community Dallas was the last surviving charter member of the Ridge Spring Fire Department. He served as a firefighter for 37 years. He was a founding member of the American Legion Post in Ridge Spring. He was a faithful volunteer each year in the Harvest Festival Welcome Center, greeting everyone with a warm smile. In 2011 Dallas and his wife were named Citizens of The Year for outstanding contributions to agriculture and to the citizens of Saluda County. As a servant of the Lord he committed himself to a lifetime of happy service at Ridge Spring Baptist Church and was still attending and serving up until the time of his illness. He served as Sunday School Director for 53+ years, faithfully worked in the Sunday School Dept. for 68+ years, served as a deacon for 46 years under 13 pastors, served as chairman of the deacons for many of his 12 terms, sang bass in the choir for 70+ years, served as Men on Missions president for many years, taught in Discipleship Training, and helped in VBS crafts for decades. Dallas' wife of 64 years, Betty Ann Jordan, was just 8 years old when he moved to Ridge Spring at the age of 16. He would laugh and say that he had to wait until she grew up so they could get married. He is survived by his wife, Betty Ann and his four children: Susan Hinnant Cone (Sam Wheeler); Dallas Simmons Cone, III ( Debbie Thompson); Mildred Deer Cone (Eddie Webb); and Converse Bomar Cone; and his seven grandchildren: Anne Hinnant Wheeler (Paul Berry); Samuel Lide Wheeler (Susan Lee); Dallas Simmons Cone, IV (Mollie Sharpe); Meredith Ann Cone (Robert Kendrick); Amanda Lee Cone (Wyatt Rosenlund); Marion-Converse Cody Webb (Hayley Cole); and Mae-Ann Jordan Webb; and his three great-grandchildren: Emma Carol-Hinnant Berry; William Daniel Kendrick; and Merle English Wheeler. Visitation will be held in the family home, 336 Aiken Road, in Ridge Spring on Thursday, January 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. A Celebration of His Life will be officiated by Pastor John David Chambers at Ridge Spring Baptist Church in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m. followed by burial at the Ridge Spring Cemetery. The family request in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to Ridge Spring Baptist Church for repairs to the carillon bell system in the steeple, so the bells and hymns can be heard over town again.

Service:

2:00 P.M. Thursday, January 22

Ridge Spring Baptist Church



Visitation:

10:00 - 12:00 noon Thursday, January 21

family home, 336 Aiken Road, Ridge Spring