Obituary of Muriel McCall

West Columbia- Funeral services for Muriel Robinson McCall, 73, of West Columbia, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, July 19, 2012, at Fellowship Baptist Church of West Columbia. Officiating will be Rev. Avery Paris and Rev. Ralph Garofano. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, July 20 at Grimes Cemetery in Grays, SC. Visitation will be held between 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, at Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington. Memorials may be made in her honor to Shriners Hospital for Children, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605 or to the ASPCA, 121 Humane Lane, Columbia, SC 29209. Ms. McCall passed after a long illness at home with her daughter, Marla McCall Castillo, and son-in-law, Ricardo Castillo, on the morning of July 16, 2012. She was the daughter of the late Robert Lee Robinson and Thelma Louise Thomas of Grays, SC. She received her bachelor and master degrees in education from the University of South Carolina after graduating as valedictorian from Grays High School. After settling in the Columbia area, she began a long career as a business teacher at Swansea High School and Midlands Technical College. While at Swansea, she was selected teacher of the year and sponsored the Swansea Tiger yearbook for 25 years. She is remembered by many for her avid love of animals, especially her adopted cats and dogs. She was known as a quiet, compassionate, humorous Christian, attending Fellowship Baptist Church for nearly 40 years. Surviving are her daughter and son-in-law of Irmo; her sister, Mary Ann Rowell of Grays; and granddaughters, Brandy and Sonovia Castillo. Her extended family also included Pearce and Bettye McCall, Nic Castillo, Ree and Sam Clark and three nieces. Special thanks are given to John Halfacre and members of Clayton Memorial UU Church. The family especially appreciates many health professionals who cared for her: Lynn Polk, Shauna Marchant, Vital Care Ambulance Service, Columbia Dialysis, TriCounty Hospice, Heartland of Columbia, and the Palliative Care Team and MSU Staff at Palmetto Richland Hospital.