Columbia: Joseph Carson Avent, Jr. died of lung cancer at home on December 19, 2005. Carson was born on July 21, 1941 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, son of the late Joseph Carson Avent and Ann Avent. Carson graduated from Moss Point High School and the University of Mississippi. As a high school student, he served as a doorman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Avent was an U.S. Army Officer and served in Vietnam. He was in the accounting and human resources departments of International Paper Company, E.F. Hutton, and Chrysler Capital. Mr. Avent owned a golf business for ten years in Wilmington, N.C. Surviving are: his wife of 38 years, Elizabeth Lawton Avent of Columbia; a son, Joseph Carson Avent III of Charleston; a sister, JoAnn Gallardo of Tuscan, Ark.; a stepmother Lorraine Avent of Moss Point, Miss.; a stepsister, Phyllis Dunn of Moss Point, Miss.; and a brother-in-law, Jim Lawton and his wife Lynn of Statesville, N.C. Funeral services will be at the graveside in Pennyroyal Memorial Gardens in Georgetown at eleven o'clock Wednesday, December 21, 2005. Officiating will be Rev. Jimmy Rogers. The family will receive friends at the cemetery following the service and later at home in Columbia. The family wishes to gratefully acknowledge the support of the staff of Ascension Hospice, especially nurse Gail Deal. Memorials may be made to Ascension Hospice, P.O. Box 3077, West Columbia, S.C. 29171. The Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Funeral Home: Georgetown Chapel of Mayer Funeral Home 222 Saint James Street Georgetown, SC US 29440