Johnnie Hiott, Sr., a lifetime resident of Walterboro and co-owner of Hiott’s Pharmacy with his brother Eddie, passed away on May 21, 2026 at the age of 91. Hiott was a very active member of the community and was the oldest member of the Walterboro Civitan Club where he was a past President. He also was a member of the Colleton County Hospital Board of Directors, the Walterboro Wildcat Booster Club, and the John C. Calhoun Academy Booster Club. Mr. Hiott was a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Walterboro where he served as a Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, and Church Historian. He also enjoyed researching at the Colleton Genealogical Society.
In June of 2025, I had the I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Hiott at the pharmacy that still bears his name. We sat at the lunch counter and spoke about Walterboro, how the pharmacy came about, and how it grew over the years. The following is an excerpt from that article.
Hiott was born Colleton County, son of Plant Hiott and Mary Caroline Beach. His dad was a plumber, during World War II at the Walterboro Air Base. Hiott had two brothers Eddie, David, and a sister Jackie. David and Eddie went to pharmacy School.
Hiott grew up working in Droids Grocery Store located in front of Dr. Flowers office. Where the filling station is now, used to be a grocery store. Hiott says, “I worked there nine years. I started when I was nine years old and left when I went to college. My brother David took over my position and worked there until he went to college.”
Hiott continues, “I didn’t have really an interest in pharmacy but my brother Eddie who was eight years older than me did. He worked for People’s Pharmacy when he finished pharmacy school. He worked his way through pharmacy school with a job at the old Roper Hospital in the pharmacy department. Others working at Roper lived in the Old Bennett House, right around the corner from Old Roper Hospital, and I lived there also. As long as I worked at Roper, I also got free meals. If I wanted breakfast, lunch, and supper. I just walked to the cafeteria there. I studied at the Medical University. I stayed right, right around the corner, and worked right around the corner. The pharmacy school was right across the street from me, and everything was right there. I really didn’t need a car. However, Pharmacy School doesn’t teach things like English and other subjects that you would get in any college. Students had to go to the Citadel as day students early in the morning. We did that for two years, and I would either catch a ride with somebody or catch a bus. It worked out really well. I was also real active in fraternity down there, and we had a little basketball team. I played on part time. It was right enjoyable.”
Hiott continues, “After I got out of school, I’d go to the pharmacy department and do whatever I could do. Not only did we fill a lot of prescriptions, but we also stocked the floors of the hospital with alcohol and cleaning supplys. I did that for two and a half years.” His brother Eddie convinced him to return to Walterboro, “My brother said, is there some way you could work it where you could commute from Walterboro and go back and forth to school every day and help me a little bit, maybe late in the afternoon? I quit my job in Charleston and moved back to Walterboro, and I commuted to Charleston with Jack Vaughn Lee, Richard Detroville, who was going to the Citadel, and Harry Cone.” Hiott said that arrangement worked until a freighter hit the Ashley River Bridge. There was just one bridge connecting West Ashley with Charleston and it knocked out that bridge for two years. That added significant time to the commute.
As time went by, Eddie bought out Heatons Pharmacy. Jimmy Heatons ran the drug store, and his parents worked for the school system. There were a number of pharmacies on Washington Street,” We were next to Ackerman Beach Drugstore, and Heatons was next door. There was Kline’s Drug Store that my uncle Morris Funderburk ran. The current Hiott’s location is where Peoples Pharmacy was since the late 30s.” Harry Cone also had Rexall Drugs and Marty Cohen ran Colleton Drugs also on Washington Street.
Hiott met his wife, Joan, at the soda fountain, he explains, “She spilled a milkshake one day when I was working and messed up her dress real bad with strawberry milk. I had to carry her home to change clothing and that’s where we got started. We were married 67 years when she died. I grew up in Grace Advent Christian Church. When I married Joan, we decided that I would change my membership to First Baptist Church, and so I’ve been there about 70 years now. I’m not the oldest one in the church, because I know Ralph Warren’s half year older than me. He and I went to school together, and after he retired, he was in my Sunday School class.
It was hot weather the day I got married and the air conditioning First Baptist wasn’t working, and Reverend Jones officiated at our wedding. We went on a short honeymoon to the mountains, and when I got back, I had greetings from Uncle Sam and ordered to report to Fort Jackson for pre-induction. I tried to get a commission as a pharmacist in the service, but there just wasn’t any openings. About that time, they started a six month program where you would go to active duty for six months, and then you’d come back for the National Guard or Army Reserve for six years. I joined that and went to Fort Jackson in 14 weeks then to Fort Sam Houston for medical training.”
After the military, Johnny came back to Walterboro and went into business together with Eddie. “We moved next door. It was a little bigger and seemed like it had something that we didn’t have in that other building. And then we were over there for good many years until they purchased the old Peoples Pharmacy where Eddie had worked previously. We already had bought out Padget’s Pharmacy and Ackerman Beach Pharmacy. Ackerman Beach Pharmacy closed after their Pharmacist Chalky died while fishing during a hurricane, they never found him. We had eight drugstores on Main Street when I got out of pharmacy school, and now we have one downtown us, and that’s it.”
Hiott’s was based on customer service and delivery, the pharmacy offered charge accounts and city delivery was a part of that, “The first car we had was delivery wagon, was English Ford Field wagon, and it was white and black. When we sold out this business, the first thing the new owner did was put in a computer. Eddie wanted to retire. He was 65. He said, I’ll still work part time if we needed him. And he did work part time, but I wasn’t ready to retire. I wasn’t ready to draw that Social Security and stuff. I kept working. I worked for about eight years after selling out.”
Hiott’s Pharmacy still exists today, proud to continue to display the Hiott name. The same personal service with delicious food and deserts is still served up daily. When you step into the pharmacy you really step back into time, a slower pace with a family feel. To quote a phrase from a television show, “It’s where everybody knows your name.”
Dr Hiott still made it to the pharmacy about twice a week. He would stop in to take part in the coffee club. The group continues to evolve with people stopping in the pharmacy each morning around 10:15 for coffee and conversation. It’s a great way to relax, enjoy the company, and relive the past. Members of the Coffee club served as honorary pallbearers at the funeral. Johnnie Hiott left a lasting legacy in Colleton County; he will be truly missed.
