KINGSTREE, SC — The community of Kingstree, South Carolina is pausing to remember two lives — Earl Jerome Fulton and Keeron Quintrell McElveen — two young men whose stories, though different, are connected by a shared love of basketball, community, and the enduring spirit of Kingstree.
While their paths crossed through family, friendship, and the courts that bring this small town together, both left an impact that is still felt today.
Keeron Quintrell McElveen (1997-2016)
Keeron Quintell McElveen was born on November 19, 1997 in Kingstree, South Carolina to Roslyn Peterson and Therion McElveen.
On Thursday, October 13, 2016 at the age of 18, he entered into eternal rest after a car accident on I-77 in Columbia, South Carolina. He was just 18 years old.
Keeron attended the public schools of Williamsburg County and was a honor graduate of Kingstree Senior High School, Class of 2016. He loved sports and loved people. He was a Freshman at Claflin University in the Sport Management Degree Program.
He grew up as a member of St. Michael United Methodist Church, participated in all the children and youth programs of the church, and gave his life to Christ. He was known as a young man who loved life and always treated everyone with respect no matter who you were or where you came from.
Whether on the basketball court, in the classroom, or in the church pews, Keeron was the kind of young man who would do anything that was asked of him — a friend to everyone.
Earl Jerome Fulton
Earl Jerome Fulton was a beloved son of the Kingstree community, born to Willie “C J” Fulton. As noted in his father’s obituary, Earl Jerome Fulton preceded his father in death, a loss that left a lasting mark on his family.
Like Keeron, Earl was part of a family deeply rooted in Kingstree and in the fellowship of St. Paul United Methodist Church. His life, too, was intertwined with the community’s love of basketball — the game that has long been a gathering place, a teacher, and a bond for generations of young men in Williamsburg County.
Connected by More Than a Game
In Kingstree, basketball is more than a sport. It’s after-school practice at Kingstree Senior High, it’s pickup games that turn strangers into brothers, it’s the dream of playing beyond high school, as Keeron did as he prepared for a career in Sport Management.
For Earl and Keeron, basketball represented community, discipline, and joy. It is that shared passion that now connects their memories in the hearts of those who knew them.
The community continues to honor both young men — remembering not just how they died, but how they lived: with love for sports, love for people, and love for God.
As Kingstree remembers Earl Jerome Fulton and Keeron Quintrell McElveen, the message is one of legacy, faith, and the unbreakable bonds of a hometown that never forgets its own.
They will be dearly missed and forever remembered on and off the court.
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