Jeannie LOFTON^{[1, 2]}

• Name	Jeannie LOFTON  [3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Female
  HIST	of Sumter, South Carolina Georgia sends donations City of Albany residents donate necessities for victims Volunteer Aaron Koenig lines up a pallet, above, as Sumter United Ministries employee Jacqueline Butler rolls up her sleeves andstarts lining up volunteers to carry items from a truck from Albany, Georgia Friday. RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM Posted Saturday, November 7, 2015 6:00 am BY RICK CARPENTER RICK@THEITEM.COM When Jackie woke up at 6 a.m. on Oct. 4, she stepped into ankle-deep water, a precursor of the floodwaters heading her way. She reached for something in the water and got an electrical shock. Jackie, who has asked The Sumter Item not to use her last name, said she called 911 and was told she would be put on a growing list of people needing rescue. When she finally left her home on her own about 2 p.m., water was knee deep in her home and her car was partially submerged. And the water continued to rise. Jackie lost everything except some clothes she was able to salvage. On Friday, four weeks after the flood, she was at Sumter United Ministries getting some necessities: a mattress and box springs, pillows, food and water. “When you’ve lost it all, the simple things in life mean so much more to you,” Jackie said while wiping away tears. Jackie said she was excited about being able to sleep on a mattress and box springs. She’s staying at a friend’s home that was vacant. But the kindness of strangers has overwhelmed her. “In everything I’ve been through, I know God has blessed me,” she said. “It’s not one thing that someone did for me; it’s a collection of all these things.” She said volunteers from the Latter-Day Saints have helped tear out damaged walls and siding. And Sumter United Ministries provided everything from cleaning supplies and bedding to food and water. Jackie represents one of more than 1,000 people for whom the organization has provided supplies. On Friday, a truck with 36 pallets of supplies arrived from Albany, Georgia, after a resident with Sumter connections asked the public to bring supplies. Ted Durant, an employee with Interstate National Leasing in Albany and whose mother owns local trucking company Westside Sales, wanted to do something for his hometown. The owner of Interstate National Leasing donated a tractor-trailer and told Durant he’d also pay for the fuel if Durant would ask the community to fill the trailer. Durant’s mother, Jeannie Durant, said the Albany area has been through several floods, and people in the community understand the needs afterwards. They filled the truck, and Sumter driver Anita Hodges volunteered to drive the supplies to Sumter. Ted Durant asked Sumter legislators where he could take supplies that would most benefit the community, and they suggested Sumter United Ministries. That’s just an example of the kindness that people have shown to the community. Friday’s truck was one of four that have arrived since the flood from people with Sumter connections. But there have been others with no connections who just wanted to help. Students from Wingate University came to the nonprofit to help bag food supplies for flood victims and ended up unloading two truckloads of supplies. People have donated so much furniture, Sumter United Ministries has run out of storage space. Still, United Ministries needs food, particularly canned meat, rice, pasta, canned goods and other things that people can use to put a balanced meal together, said Kathy Hunter, the organization’s director’s assistant. Some people, such as Jackie, appreciate the bare necessities. “I have a roof over my head,” she said. “Now I have a mattress and box springs.” As she teared up again, she said, “You never expect to come to a point in your life when you are homeless. It’s just devastating.”  [1, 5]
  _UID	B2124F21FCCC476FB40C35FFE0D50773D51B
  Person ID	I130878	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	10 Apr 2022

  
  

  Father	Hugh Thomas LOFTON,   b. 15 Apr 1924, Darlington, Darlington County, South Carolina d. 27 Dec 2019, at his home, (Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina) (Age 95 years)
  Mother	Ruby NESBITT   d. Bef 1 Aug 2004
  _UID	A654EE834E1A49A3A4FCC6C255619F3470AD
  _UID	A654EE834E1A49A3A4FCC6C255619F3470AD
  Family ID	F89965	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Harrell Eugene “Gene” DURANT, Jr.
  _UID	B8E91AE01C5D429984B4B7E12B342997DE23
  _UID	B8E91AE01C5D429984B4B7E12B342997DE23
  Children	1. Kimberly Michelle “Shellie” DURANT   2. Ted DURANT
  Family ID	F89962	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Sources

  [S27413] Hugh T. Lofton. [S29779] Edgar Rogerson DuRant. [S3646] DuRant-Murdaugh. [S6835] Mae R. DuRant. [S23204] Georgia sends donations - City of Albany residents donate necessities for victims.