Obituary of Isola Sherrerd Hartness

Mrs. Isola Sherrerd Hartness, wife of George Bowman Hartness, died Friday, December 14, 2012. She was the daughter of the late Mr. Henry Dusenbury Sherrerd and Ella Bates Sherrerd of Haddonfield, N.J. She graduated from Penn Hall College in Chambersburg, Pa. Mrs. Hartness was a member of the Columbia Garden Club, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, the William Capers Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Columbia Art Association, the South Caroliniana Society, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Decorative Arts Trust and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Mrs. Hartness organized a highway tree-planting program throughout all the schools and garden clubs in the greater Columbia area. In addition to her garden club work she created and maintained her own large garden, which was used for many Columbia Museum of Art activities. One of these events generated over $100,000.00, the largest contribution received by the museum at that time. Mrs. Hartness is remembered for originating exceptional holiday Christmas tree exhibits at the Columbia Museum of Art, of which her husband was founding president. Along with her husband, she founded the Decorative Arts and Architecture Symposium in Columbia, an annual program of the Columbia Museum for many years. Mrs. Hartness was also co-founder and owner of One Thousand Gervais, a gallery devoted primarily to the antiquities of the 18th and 19th centuries. For years she operated her own interior design business. Mrs. Hartness is survived by her husband, Mr. George Bowman Hartness, her daughter Sherrerd Hartness of Greenville, SC and two grandsons, Blake Hartness Patterson and Brooks Thomas Patterson. She was predeceased by two beloved children. Her son, George Bowman Hartness, Jr. and her daughter, Carlotta Whitley Hartness. Services are private. The family will receive close friends and family on Sunday, December 16, 2012 from 1:00 to 3:00pm. For those who so wish, memorials may be made to: The Coastal Conservation League, 328 E. Bay Street, P.O. Box 1765, Charleston, S.C. 29402