LANCASTER, SC ~ Mrs. Carolyn Hart Breland, 84, of Lancaster passed away November 29, 2019 at Morningside of Lancaster.  Mrs. Breland was born in Graniteville, SC and raised in Holly Hill, SC, a daughter of the late Thomas Jehu Hart and Marjorie West Hart who provided a loving, Christian home.

Mrs. Breland earned an Associate's Degree from Mars Hill College and a Bachelor's Degree in Education with a minor in Music from Winthrop College.  She completed a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina.

After initially teaching in Rock Hill, she moved to Lancaster and taught at Rice Elementary School under Ms. Nancy Crockett and then at First Baptist Church where she taught four-year-old kindergarten.  In 1969, she opened Happy House Kindergarten where some of her innovative teaching tools included the use of learning centers, traditional holiday meal preparations, and a daily Bible verse.  Numerous articles featured in the Lancaster News at that time reported Happy House activities including incubating baby chicks, raising a classroom pet rabbit named B.R., and taking the children on field trips.  Mrs. Breland retired from the Lancaster County School District in 1996 as a Kindergarten teacher at Erwin Elementary School.  She also taught many children in Sunday School and church choir.  Her love for children was boundless.

Mrs. Breland was a charter member of Covenant Baptist Church.  She loved the Lord and her strong faith was a witness to many others.  She loved her family, friends, and life and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Mrs. Breland is survived by her husband of 63 years, the love of her life, Glenn Breland; a son, David Breland; daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Al McIntosh; daughter, Julie Breland; grandchildren, Jake and Faye McIntosh; and sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Burris Floyd.

The funeral service for Mrs. Breland will be 3:00 pm Thursday, December 5, 2019 at Covenant Baptist Church officiated by Rev. Jim Osteen.  The family will receive friends from 2:00-3:00 pm, one hour prior to the service, and other times at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Al McIntosh.

Burial will be 2:00 pm Friday, December 6, 2019 at Holly Hill Cemetery in Holly Hill, SC officiated by Mr. Neil Breland.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the South Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, 4124 Clemson Blvd., Suite L, Anderson, SC 29621 or Covenant Baptist Church, P.O. Box 578, Lancaster, SC 29721.

The family would like to thank Hospice of Lancaster and the team of Morningside of Lancaster for their wonderful care and compassion.