Sylvia Bobo Jenkins

Sylvia Bobo Jenkins, 89, of Clinton, passed away on Sunday morning, November 17, 2024, at the Presbyterian Communities of SC in Clinton, SC. Sylvia was born on January 29, 1935, in Greenville, SC, a daughter to the late Beatrice Coward Bobo and Rev. Preston Bolt Bobo, Sr. She was married to the late Hoyt Madison Jenkins, who passed away on March 11, 2020. 

Sylvia was a member of Cane Creek Presbyterian Church in the Santuc community of Union County, SC. 

Sylvia was a 1953 graduate of Rock Hill (SC) High School. She then attended High Point College in High Point, NC, where she graduated in 1957, earning her bachelor’s degree, achieving a double major in Religious Education and Social Work. Her minor was in Psychology. She then attended Scarritt College in Nashville, TN from 1959-1960, studying Missionary preparation. After spending years in the missionary field, she graduated from Winthrop College in 1979, earning her master’s degree in Elementary Education. 

Sylvia’s employment career was vast and varied. She was employed with the Department of Social Service in Spartanburg, SC from 1957-1959 as a child welfare worker. From 1960-1965, she worked in Korea for the Board of Missions for the Women’s Division of the Methodist Church. Returning to Union County, SC in 1966, Sylvia was a teacher in the Union County Schools until 1979. After receiving her master’s degree, Sylvia worked as a teacher for the South Carolina Department of Corrections-Dutchman Correctional Institute from 1981-1994. 

Sylvia’s Mission activities led her to serving people across the globe. She and her husband, Hoyt, served at the Pusan Christian School in Pusan, Korea and served with the Newberry First Baptist Church building team in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Illinois. She and Hoyt also served the people of Appalachia for three summers as a cook for the underserved people through the Mennonite Central Committee Program in Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and New York. For three additional years, Sylvia and Hoyt worked with the Kako Retreat Center in Kako, Alaska, helping to provide religious camps and retreats for Eskimos and Indians living west of the Yukon River – 400 miles from Anchorage. 

Sylvia is survived by two brothers, the Rev. Kenneth Gordon Bobo and Preston Bolt Bobo, Jr.; and a host of nieces, nephews, extended family, and dear friends. 

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Sylvia will be held 3:00 p.m. Sunday, December 1, 2024, at Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, 120 Cane Creek Church Rd, Union, SC 29379. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, 120 Cane Creek Church Rd, Union, SC 29379. 

Floyd’s North Church Street Chapel is in charge of arrangements.