SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE DEAD AT 74

A long-serving member of the State House of Representatives died Saturday after suffering a heart attack at his Gaffney home.

Rep. Olin Phillips (D-Cherokee) was found unresponsive by his wife about in the early morning hours and was taken to Upstate Carolina Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Phillips was a businessman and had served District 30 in Cherokee County since 1979. House Democrat Leader Harry Ott remembered Phillips as a quiet man who knew the rules of the House well.

“I don’t remember Olin ever having a cross word with anybody in the 10 years I served with him,” said Ott. “He wasn’t one to go to the podium and make an emotional speech but he was always working to get things done.”

Oddly enough, Phillips had just turned 74 on Christmas Day. Funeral services are scheduled for 3 p.m. today at East Gaffney Baptist Church.