Greer said goodbye to local legend Lonnie ‘Gee’ McGee at last Friday’s Greer High football game. He was presented with a Greer High jersey, a plaque and the key to the city during a pregame ceremony. Gee, who has spent decades attending games, marching with the band and making friends, moved to Clinton on Saturday.Lonnie ‘Gee’ McGee leads the G-Force band one last time before moving to Clinton.

Goodbye Gee

Billy Cannada's picture
By: 
Billy Cannada

How do you say goodbye to a lifelong friend?

By throwing them a parade, of course.

That’s what the Greer Police Department and members of the Greer High marching band did for Lonnie “Gee” McGee last Friday, shortly before Greer’s second round playoff game.

Gee has become a fixture in the Greer community through the years, attending football games, cheering on the band and offering a friendly smile to anyone he sees at his favorite hangout spots downtown.

“I’ve been here 20 years and Gee’s still here,” said Sgt. Randle Ballenger with the Greer Police Department.

“For somebody that is that much a part of the community, we just couldn’t let him go without doing something for him.”

Gee led a parade, surrounded by hundreds of onlookers, down Village Road and into Dooley Field, where helped direct Greer High’s band one last time.

“Emotional is a good word,” Rob Gravley, the voice of the Yellow Jackets Sports Network, said. “You see what he was doing and you’ve seen it so many times. It always makes you smile. It’s pretty emotional to think that you might not see that again. I thought about how unfortunate it is that he has to leave Greer when there are so many people here that care about him.”

Winford Moss Jr., who attended the sendoff parade with his family, went to school with Gee.

“I’m saddened for him, but I’m also happy because they’re having this event for him,” he said. “People are just showing their appreciation for him. He’s been a great inspiration to Greer High and everybody in Greer knows him.”

Gee left Greer on Saturday, moving to the Charles Lea Center in Clinton, which provides care for those with special needs and disabilities. Gee’s aunt had been taking care of him, but was unable to do so anymore due to debilitating health.

He was supposed to leave last Wednesday, but Greer Police wanted to make sure he didn’t miss one final Greer football game, transporting him to Clinton Saturday morning.

The police department is currently making plans to bring Gee back for the Greer Christmas Parade.

“Greer will miss that friendly smile on the corner of Poinsett and Highway 14,” Ballenger said.

Gravley said interacting with Gee has been one of the highlights of Friday night football since he began calling games on the radio 26 years ago.

“Every single time we go on the air, we’re looking for him,” Gravley said. “There’s going to be a void with him not being there.

“When you see people smiling and laughing when Gee is leading the band or grabbing the wireless mic from Worm (Steven Gay) and saying stuff over the loud speaker—they’re not laughing at them. They’re smiling because he’s bringing them joy,” he said. “They love him.”

billy@greercitizen.com | 877-2076

The Greer Citizen

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