‘Heaven gained a great soul, but unfortunately we lost a great Brave’

Friends of Dewey Small shared countless stories Thursday about the Surfside Beach man, most recalling his selflessness and genuine personality.

Unfortunately, each wishes he was still around to realize how much he was truly loved.

Small, 39, died Wednesday after falling from a tree he was seeking to remove from a Socastee property.

News of his death spread quickly among friends and classmates, many taking to Facebook during their moment of grief.

“My heart weighs heavy tonight,” Small’s friend and fellow Socastee alum Mikey Skinner posted on Facebook, “we all lost one of the best guys we will ever know.

“Literally would do anything for anyone. My heart goes out to his family. Thankful enough to call him one of my good friends. … Love you brother.”

Small’s legend began during his days at Socastee High School, where he starred as a running back under football coach Randy Gold.

“I played with him (in football) for about a year, and he was small in stature but you couldn’t question his toughness or heart,” said North Myrtle Beach basketball coach and fellow Socastee alum Alvin Green. “That was one of the things I most respected about him. He had a ‘No Fear’ attitude, but a smile that tended to light up a room.”

Despite being talented on the gridiron, his best days actually came after hanging up his helmet and shoulder pads. Extremely useful with his hands, Small could be called upon to perform an assortment of odd jobs.

“I can’t recall anyone I’ve ever know with as much of a giving spirit as he had,” said Socastee alum Richie Altman. “There was a time I needed something and he volunteered to bring his truck from Stone Mountain, Ga., and bring it to Summerville for me. You can’t say too much more about the guy except he was about as true as they come.”

Said Green: “Towing, landscaping, whatever … he did it all. Once he saw he could do more than one thing, he tapped into his potential and became successful at whatever he put his mind to.”

He was particularly committed to landscaping and lawn care, owning a business based out of Murrells Inlet. Still, it won’t be Small’s work that most will miss, but his lively spirit and extreme positivity.

“Whenever I saw him, it was all love,” Green said. “He was always smiling, clowning and joking. He was one of those cousins that you love to see, because he’d have you laughing the entire time.

“We’ve lost a lot of people from Socastee recently, but this one hurts terribly. Heaven gained a great soul, but unfortunately we lost a great Brave.”

In memory of Small, a GoFundMe page was established in his honor.

He is survived by his parents, Dewey and Sarah Jane Small, as well as four brother and three sisters, two nephews and a niece.

Services for Small will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Belin United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 9:43 PM with the headline "‘Heaven gained a great soul, but unfortunately we lost a great Brave’."