'But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit:' Pauper burial held for Aiken County residents (2025)

In death, Robert McHugh of North Augusta finally met one of his twin sons.

McHugh's son, Dylan Spicer, attended the annual pauper's burial ceremony held Oct. 24 at the Graniteville Cemetery in which McHugh and 15 others were laid to rest.

Robert was looking forward to meeting his sons, Donna Pippen, McHugh's friend, landlord and employer, said after the ceremony concluded with the playing of "Amazing Grace" by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office Pipes and Drums.

But, it didn't happen before McHugh died Aug. 3, 2023.

"We never got to meet him," Spicer said. "We never really knew him until a couple of years ago. Then, we started talking some but we never actually got a chance to meet in person."

Driving in from the Nashville area was difficult, Spicer continued.

"I don't know how to feel about someone you've never met," he said. "It's the first and last time of meeting somebody. I'm glad I got to come out here."

In addition to his sons, McHugh, 54, is survived by his partner, Leslye McCullough.

"He was my partner, best friend, [we] stuck together through thick and thin," McCullough said Thursday. "We shared a lot of our lives together. He was a preacher. He never met a stranger. He was a jack-of-all trades."

McHugh loved to tinker and fix things and he could do anything he sat his mind to, McCullough continued. He was also a wonderful cook.

His best dish: baked chicken with his own sauce he called "chicken au jus."

McHugh's special sauce included Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, ketchup and some spices, McCullough said.

"That was the best stuff," McCullough continued. "[The chicken] would just fall off the bone. [He] was always cooking, baking things."

McHugh was "very dear and close to us," Pippen continued.

"He was industrious," Pippen's husband, Stephen, said. "There wasn't anything he wouldn't try to fix. He didn't always get it fixed but he would certainly try. He was the type to try to take it apart and try to make it better."

McHugh was hard working, reflective and prayerful, Donna added.

"He was a good Christian," Stephen said.

The others laid to rest Thursday morning wereLeon Jasinski, Ranae Burns, Roberta Lambert, Ronald Lange, John Read, Larry Lewis, James Kenny, Jimmy Tanner, Robert Phillips, Charles Wright, Alfred Kapazira, James Clifton, David Krall II, Charles Anderson and Wade Gable.

Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables and his office organize the annual ceremony.

It's not the job of the people working in the coroner's office to judge the people that come to them, Ables said afterward.

Instead, they are required to treat each person with respect and part of that respect includes burying the remains of those who haven't been claimed by family members or whose family can't afford a burial, Ables continued.

Ables read Romans 8:9-10 during the ceremony.

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

The Rev. Keith Glover of The Well provided the funeral sermon.

The ceremony was held 27 days after Tropical Storm Helene ravaged Aiken County.

"We talk about the storms in life so I went to [the Book of] Mark," Glover said.

Specifically, Mark 4:35-41 in which Jesus and his disciples board a boat and a storm arises while Jesus is asleep. The nervous disciples wake Jesus and Jesus calms the storm.

"You may face storms in your life but know that as long as you turn to God, He will help bring comfort," Glover said. "He will help bring peace. A peace that surpasses your understanding... You got to trust God."

Also assisting with the ceremony were Napier Funeral Home, Cannon House Florist and Gifts, Castings and More, the Graniteville Cemetery Association, Hatcher Funeral Home, Shellhouse-Rivers Funeral Home and T.J. Farrier and Track.