Paul Ernest Walters

It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the passing of Paul Ernest “Ernie” Walters - our beloved “Pops” - aged 78, at home in Kingston Plantation on Friday, March 28, 2025 surrounded by his family. His life was a blessing to us all. Born on January 14, 1947, in Lewistown, PA, he was the 5th son of the late John S. Walters Sr., a pillar of the local community, and Pauline (Smith) Walters, a loving mother and grandmother. As a child, Ernie helped his father in the contracting business to build homes and churches in Mifflintown and all around Juniata County in central Pennsylvania. 

On May 20, 2003, he married his beautiful wife Sheryl Clanton “Gaga” Walters with whom he was blessed to share over 20 years of marriage. He had two devoted sons, Phillip and Michael and two loving step-daughters, Christine and Ashley. He is survived by Phillip and Jaime Walters and their children Alexander and Avaline (and Ernie's dog Monkey), Michael and Nicole Walters and their children Michael Jr and Redden, Christine Lee and her daughter Elizabeth, and Ashley and Bobby McClellan. He was the second youngest of eight children, survived by his brothers Dane and Jim and his wife Patty, his nephew Lynn, and his sister Mary Ann. He was preceded in death by his sister Arlene and his brothers Donnie, Lester, and John Jr. 

Ernie was a prolific athlete, wrestling and playing baseball all the way through the collegiate level. After he stopped competing personally, he moved to Maryland and dedicated himself to coaching and officiating. Wrestling was always his first love, and he was inducted into the Maryland State Wrestling Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport. In addition to wrestling, he also coached high school baseball, golf, soccer, and football, as well as Little League baseball. He played both golf and tennis recreationally, winning multiple South Carolina state tennis titles between 2005 and 2023 and one outright Myrtle Beach Golf Trip title in 2003. He founded the Rebel Invitational wrestling tournament, now approaching it’s 50th year in Hagerstown, MD, and co-founded the Myrtle Beach Golf Trip with a group of friends who would become his Band of Brothers in 1989. He was named the permanent commissioner of Myrtle Beach Golf Trip upon his retirement from daily activities, and named to the Myrtle Beach Golf Trip Hall of Fame in 2012. He recorded his only hole in one early on New Year’s Day - quite possibly the first hole in one in the United States - in 2015. 

He attended Shippensburg State University in Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree and the University of Maryland College Park for his Master’s degree. He worked at South Hagerstown and Boonsboro High School in Maryland and Marion High School in South Carolina as both a teacher and Vice Principal. He was named Washington County Teacher of the Year in 1987 in an area-wide poll by WQCM radio station. Between coaching and teaching, he impacted the lives of thousands of children and young adults up and down the East Coast. 

Funeral services will be held at McMillan-Small Funeral Home in Myrtle Beach at 910 67th Ave North on Monday, March 31st, with a reception beginning at 10:00am and a memorial service starting at 11:00am. He will be buried at Mt. Elon Baptist Church at 1132 West Lydia Hwy in Hartsville, SC with a graveside service beginning at 3:00pm. Ernie’s memory will forever be cherished by those of us who were blessed to be a part of his life and we look forward to greeting his friends and loved ones. 

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