Happy Birthday! Manning man set to celebrate 102nd birthday

Willie Spann received a key to the city as part of his celebration

MANNING, S.C. (WOLO) —The oldest man in Manning is set to celebrate a milestone birthday.

Willie Spann, who was born in nearby Paxville on January 20, 1918, will turn 102 on Monday.

When you remind Spann of his upcoming birthday, not even he can believe how far he has come.

“102? I don’t know. I feel like I’m eighty,” Spann said.

A lot has happened since Willie was born in 1918. Times have changed, and loved ones have come and gone, but one thing keeps him going: his love of singing.

He sang tenor in a gospel group in Tennessee, meeting his wife of 62 years while singing in Virginia. For some time, his family lived in Maryland before moving back to South Carolina in 1971.

Some say the sound of his voice gives them joy. 

“To still hear him sing and get up and move about. It feels great to have him here,” said Terry Chatman, Spann’s niece.

Throughout his life, Willie spent time working as a cab driver and electrician.

Some, including his children, look fondly on his determination to work hard and be a great friend to anyone he met.

“He just greeted people, and people are drawn to him because of his personality. He’s everybody’s uncle, he’s everybody’s father, and he’s everybody’s friend. You have to be a people person, because you never know who’s life you can affect just with a smile,” said James Spann, Willie’s son.

On Friday, the city he has called home for so many years decided to pay back his kindness.

Mayor Julia Nelson gave Spann a key to the city, recognizing him for all the things he has done for the community as well as for his birthday.

Spann’s birthday celebration will take place on Saturday, January 17 at 5 p.m. at the Manning United Methodist Church.