A house RESOLUTION

 

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE PASSING OF Frank Ladson OF Sumter COUNTY AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Frank Ladson at the age of eighty-eighty on Sunday, April 27, 2025; and

 

Whereas, born in Sumter on July 12, 1936, Frank was the oldest of seven children born to Josh Ladson, a foreman for the railroad system, and Julia Singleton Ladson, a home keeper. He was reared in Sumter in a loving home with his siblings: the late Lucille George, Mereese Ladson, and James Ladson, and still living Ike Ladson, Catherine Fogle, and Julia Davis Moten. When Frank was nine years old, he lost his father and had to become the man of the family; and

 

Whereas, during his early childhood Frank accepted Christ as his lord and savior while attending Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. An excellent student and active in sports, Frank worked numerous jobs, including working at the former Sunset Country Club and Cut Rate Pharmacy and Diner; and

 

Whereas, he graduated from Lincoln High School in 1954, and upon graduation, he joined the United States Navy. He graduated from basic training and was stationed at Moffett Field, California. His next assignment was in New York as a Navy recruiter, where he met his future wife, Dorothy Bethune; and

 

Whereas, together with his beloved wife, Dorothy, he had one son, Franklin Ladson, who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Air Force. Franklin and his wife, Sue, blessed his parents with the affection of two loving grandchildren, Joshua Robert Ladson of Columbia and Julia Danielle Ladson of Charlotte, North Carolina; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Ladson's military career moved them to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. Orders for Okinawa, Japan, meant he had to leave the family behind to serve as a corpsman with the fleet marines, deploying to Vietnam numerous times. Then his family joined him in Sasebo, Japan, where he was assigned to the USS Gannet, a mine sweeper, specializing in special mine countermeasure operations in the South China Sea and supporting United States naval operations along the coast of Vietnam; and

 

Whereas, the family moved back to San Diego and then to Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia, his next duty station. They followed his assignments to Subic Bay Navy Base in the Philippines and back to the Washington, D. C. area, where Mr. Ladson was appointed senior Non-Commissioned Officer at a naval medical facility. Next, they moved to Rota Naval Base in Rota, Spain, where he was assigned as the Command Master Chief for the hospital, and then to the Naval Hospital in Beaufort as the Command Master Chief; and

 

Whereas, after thirty-one years of distinguished service to his country, Mr. Ladson retired from the Navy in 1985, and he and Dorothy moved to Paxville to be close to their families. They enjoyed gardening, fishing, spending time there with their family and friends, and especially traveling to visit their son and his family at the various Air Force bases where he was stationed in the United States and Europe; and

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and legacy of Frank Ladson and for the example of dedicated service and excellence he set for all who knew him. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express their profound sorrow upon the passing of Frank Ladson of Sumter County and extend their deepest sympathy to his loving family and his many friends.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Frank Ladson.

----XX----