COTTAGEVILLE: Mr. Howard L. Preacher, husband of Veronica "Mary" Ackerman Preacher, passed away Wednesday afternoon at the Veterans Victory House in Walterboro. He was 76.

Mr. Preacher was born in Ruffin, SC December 6, 1940 a son of the late Chalmers Leon Preacher Sr. and Clarice Ulmer Preacher. He was a United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War, and was a retired Maintenance Control Director at the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort. He was a member of the Rehoboth United Methodist Church, was an auctioneer, and was a talented carpenter.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his siblings: Chalmers Leon Preacher, John Thomas Preacher, Joyce P. Castor, Shirley P. Judy and Deborah P. Jones.

Graveside funeral services, with military honors, will be held Saturday afternoon at 1:00 in the Ackerman Cemetery at Red Oak. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6-8 PM at Parker-Rhoden Funeral Home of Walterboro.