After Greer football won the upper state championship against Clinton in 1994, an ecstatic group of Jackets boarded the bus and prepared for the trip back home.
But one person was missing.
As former Greer football head coach Stuart Holcombe did his head count on the bus, he noticed his Yellow Jackets were one short.
It wasn’t a player that was missing, however.
“Hey! Where is Lonnie McGee?” Holcombe shouted.
With that, several Greer players and coaches darted off the bus to go look for their beloved “Gee.” After about ten minutes of searching, they finally found McGee.
McGee had wandered off to the Clinton parking lot. He was waving cars down and directing traffic as fans left the game.
“We were all absolutely beside ourselves with laughter,” said former Greer free safety (and current Greer city councilman) Lee Dumas. “We ended up winning the state title that year, and there’s a picture of Lonnie holding the state championship trophy. He’s smiling so big in that picture, like it’s the pinnacle of his life.
“He loved us, and we truly loved him even more.”
Dumas couldn’t have painted a better picture if he tried. McGee did love Greer. He loved everything about the city and the community — especially Greer sports.
There were church league basketball games where “Gee” would run up and down the sidelines, blowing his own whistle and making his own calls. And who could forget McGee’s presence at Greer High football games, where he would march with and lead the Yellow Jacket band down to the field before kickoff?
Not to mention some of the most iconic photos ever taken of McGee, which showed him conducting the band with his trademark whistle in his mouth.
Whatever was happening on the field or in the gyms in the city of Greer, you could bet your bottom dollar McGee would be there.
And once you met Gee, you were his friend.
“It didn’t matter where you came from, when you walked through the gates of a game, Lonnie was going to talk to you and make you smile,” said Red Watson, Greer Parks & Rec assistant director. “If you came to a game in Greer, and you didn’t know Gee, you absolutely knew him by the time you left.
“And you didn’t ever forget him.”
Monday night at Greer City Stadium was all about not forgetting McGee.
Greer Mayor Rick Danner made sure that point was driven home.
“I know every single person here today is here because they loved Lonnie,” said Danner. “Lonnie will always be dearly missed. But he will never, ever be forgotten.”
In front of a large crowd — a crowd that included several of McGee’s family members — Greer officially named the city’s football field in McGee’s honor.
“Being out here and seeing all of these people come out to celebrate the life of my cousin, that feeling is absolutely amazing,” said Craig Johnson, McGee’s cousin. “As men, in life, we try to go out every day and do good things so we can leave a good name, a good legacy, behind. With Gee, it was never about that.
“He didn’t ever think about a legacy or a name. Everything Lonnie did was fully out of love. And that love was contagious.”
Johnson delivered a touching speech to honor his cousin at the field dedication. Two more of McGee’s family members were also in attendance — Perry and Michael Dennis.
“I’m overwhelmed with support and love, I really am,” said Perry. “I’m almost shedding tears. Greer truly is special for doing this and for how they have continued to show support for Lonnie. He would’ve loved this so much.”
“I really think this just lets you know how big a presence he was,” said Michael. “He had a special touch. And everyone in Greer got to feel it. He touched everybody’s life. He was a stranger to no one.”
And of course, the ceremony wouldn’t have been complete without the Greer High “G-Force” Marching Band on the field to play a medley of songs in McGee’s honor.
When McGee was still here on Earth, he and that Yellow Jacket band went hand in hand.
With McGee’s hands flying and his whistle blowing, the energy he brought to Friday night football games in Greer warmed the soul.
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.
To hear those Greer High fight songs played by the band McGee loved most, on his special day, touched all in attendance. And even if McGee wasn’t there physically this time, his presence was felt by all.
McGee loved Greer with everything in him.
But this time, he 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. “And I know deep down, what I tell people, is that heaven must have needed a drum major.
“That’s why God called him home.”
For more coverage of Greer-area athletics, follow @GreerNewsSports on X.
