18 MONTHS AGO, God called Lonnie McGee home.
Lonnie McGee, known affectionately around town simply as “Gee,” was a staple in the Greer community.
McGee loved Greer more than anyone has ever loved anything. He adored the city and the community — especially Greer sports.
There were church league basketball games in Greer where “Gee” would run up and down the sidelines, blowing his own whistle and making his own calls.
But who could forget McGee’s larger-than-life presence at Greer High football games, where he would march with and lead the Yellow Jacket band down to the field before kickoff?
Some of the most iconic photos ever taken of McGee show him conducting the Greer High band on Friday nights with his trademark whistle in his mouth.
“There’s a picture of Lonnie holding the state championship trophy in 1994,” recalled former Greer High free safety and city councilman Lee Dumas. “He’s smiling so big in that picture, like it’s the pinnacle of his life. He loved [Greer football], and we truly loved him even more.”
In January of 2025, heaven came calling for McGee. Greer leaders quickly moved to name the city’s football field in his honor.
Greer High football games have never quite felt the same without Gee smiling, laughing, and dancing for all to see.
McGee was a window into what so many aspire to be. When folks saw McGee dancing and laughing, running and jumping down the sidelines, they got a peek at a life lived with abandon — a life free of care, unbound by worry.
At McGee’s field dedication ceremony in October 2025, his presence was felt. Greer High’s band played a medley of Lonnie’s favorite songs.
Only this time, Gee was leading his favorite band from a different place. A place even better than Greer.
“I’ll never forget at his memorial service, all the pallbearers had whistles like Lonnie’s and blew them while walking into the church,” said Perry Dennis, a close family member of McGee. “And I know deep down, what I tell people, is that heaven must have needed a drum major.
“That’s why God called Lonnie home.”
18 days until high school football is back.
