REV. DR. GEORGE PHILLIP WINDLEY SR.

The Rev. George Phillip Windley Sr., son of the late George William Windley and Annie Bell Moore Windley, was born on July 23, 1949, in the Bucksport – Sandridge Community of Horry County and raised in the Burgess Community of Myrtle Beach. He was born the 11th child of 13 children.
He received his formal education from St. James Elementary School, Burgess, and was a proud graduate of Whittemore High School, Class of 1967, Conway. He received a bachelor of arts degree and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Morris College, Sumter, where he served as director of Men’s Residence Hall. He also continued his biblical studies at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York.
He joined St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church at a young age and answered his call into ministry at the age of 17 and devoted his life to God. He also served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.
The Rev. Windley served as president of the Kingston Lake Sunday School Congress. He was the founder and former president of the Clarendon County Ministerial Alliance; he was a member of the Baptist E &M Convention, where he served as coordinator of the Prison Ministry and led the convention in the Prison Ministry Easter Gift Pack Giveaway. He was a member of the National Baptist Convention, USA, where he served on the Prison Ministry and Juvenile Justice Commission. He was an instructor of the S.C. Baptist Congress of Christian Education. He served as an instructor for the Morris College School of Religion, Sumter, and as director of the Pineville Extension of Morris College School of Religion for 23 years. He was the first African American Senior Chaplain with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, serving for over 30 years with the S.C. Department of Corrections.
He was blessed to serve in the following capacities: pastor of Pilgrim Ford Baptist Church, Yemassee; associate minister of the True Vine Missionary Baptist Church, Conway; pastor of St. Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church, Aynor; and pastor of St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church, Myrtle Beach (his home church).
In 1978, the Rev. Windley became the pastor of the historic Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Manning, where he served for 43 years, upon his retirement in 2023.
He was a pillar and beacon of hope for his community. He was raised in the Prince Hall family at David Temple Lodge #45, Lamar. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. He was appointed to the Clarendon County Memorial Hospital Board in 2013. In May 2013, he received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Morris College, Sumter. In May 2015, he was honored to serve on the board of trustees for his alma mater, Morris College. In October 2018, he was selected to serve as the moderator of the Black River Missionary Association. And in 2022, the Pocotaligo River Health and Rehab center named their chapel in his honor, the sacred Rev. Windley Chapel.
He leaves a lovely family to treasure beautiful memories, including his wife, his “African Queen,” Mrs. Linda Galloway Windley; two sons, the Rev. George P. Windley Jr. (Rochelle) and Mark Anthony Windley (Krystina); one daughter, Belinda Galloway Windley McKoy (Alexander); six adorable grandchildren, George P. Windley III, Gregory Andrew, Amelia Danielle, Alexander Malachi, Nicolas Josiah and Charis Janelle; three nephews he took as his sons, Lonnie Chestnut III (Jonee’), Christopher Chestnut (Nicole) and Brett Chestnut (Loren), and a niece he called his other daughter, Jennifer Finkley (and her fiancé Randy); one brother, Otis Earl Windley of Myrtle Beach; his beautiful sisters, Emma Sessions of Covington, Georgia, Rosa Jackson of Yonkers, New York, and the Rev. Carolyn Braxton of Myrtle Beach; five brothers-in-law, Jerome Woods of Lithonia, Georgia, Larue Galloway (Thelma) of Conway, Clarence Galloway (Brenda) of Conway, William P. Galloway (Rodell) of Myrtle Beach and Henderson Greene of Myrtle Beach; three sisters-in-law, Jacqueline Finkley of Myrtle Beach, Othella Contee (Daniel) of Mineral, Virginia, and Brenda Chestnut of Manning; also, all of his “No. 1” nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Chappelle Windley, and his sisters, Gladys, Annie B., Dorothy, Margaret, Mary, Emma Lee and Ida Mae.
Public viewing will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 105 Dinkins St., Manning from 5 to 7 p.m.
Funeral services will be on Monday, May 27, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Weldon Auditorium, 7 Maple St., Manning, with the Rev. Dr. Jamey O. Graham presiding and Pastor George P. Windley Jr., eulogist.
Burial will follow in Heaven’s Gate Cemetery in Murrells Inlet.
Job’s Mortuary Inc., 312 S. Main St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements.