Obituaries - 01/27/00

Kenneth Queen

Kenneth Dale Queen, 44, of Rosman, died Wednesday, Jan. 19, from injuries received in an automobile accident.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, in the chapel of Moody-Connolly Funeral Home. The Revs. John Blalock and Kevin Morgan officiated. Burial was in Old Toxaway Baptist Church Cemetery in Rosman.

A native of Transylvania County, he was a son of Cecil and Geraldine Queen of Tuckasegee and Lila Mae Galloway Stanley of Rosman.

He was preceded in death by his stepfather, Ed Stanley; two sisters, Geneva Moore and Audrey Queen; and one brother, Tony Queen. Surviving, in addition to his parents, are two sons, Sean and Seth Queen, both of Rosman; five brothers, Keith Queen of Brevard, Terry Queen of Penrose, Russell Queen of Cullowhee, Hap Queen of Maggie Valley and Perry Queen of Tuckasegee; and five sisters, Brenda Morgan of Rosman, Sylvia McCall of Etowah, Gaynell Owen of Lake Toxaway, and Marvella Logan and Tina Ashe, both of Tuckasegee.

Jean Stephens

Jean B. Stephens, 59, of East Main Street, Sylva, died Friday, Jan. 21, in Harris Regional Hospital after a period of declining health.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Brian Bishop and Eddie Stillwell officiated. Due to the snow and icy weather, graveside rites conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department were presented at the funeral home. Burial was in the David Rogers Cemetery in Cullowhee. Members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department served as pallbearers.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, she was a daughter of the late Phillip Robert Sr. and Armendia Hall Bishop. She was a retired deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, with 20 years of service. She was Jackson County's first female deputy. She was a member of Moses Creek Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by one brother, Buddy Bishop. Surviving are her husband, Dallas Aldon Stephens Sr.; one daughter, Anita Stephens Cogdill of Sylva; two sons, Dallas Aldon Stephens Jr. of Sylva and Bobby Stephens of Bryson City; one sister, Mary B. Clark of Candler; one brother, Phillip Robert Bishop Jr. of Woodbridge, Va.; and six grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the David Rogers Cemetery Fund, c/o Irene Bishop Hooper, P.O. Box 2317, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723.

Irby Winkler

Irby Goult Winkler, 79, of Cullowhee, died Sunday, Jan. 23, at his residence after an extended illness.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. today (Thursday) at Cullowhee Baptist Church, of which he was a member. The Rev. Michael Vanzura will officiate. Burial will be in the North Carolina Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain.

A native of Madison County, Alton, Ill., he had lived in Jackson County for the past three years. He retired from the U.S. Army, serving in World War II and the Korean Conflict. He was a former Shriner. He was a son of the late Irby Hewitt and Jewel Hutchins Winkler.

Surviving are his wife, Eloise J. Winkler; two daughters, Becky Flury of Sylva and Stephanie Pritchett of Atlanta; five sisters, Zoeannie Braner and Jan Lentz, both of Bellville, Ill., Sally Darnell and Judy Williford, both of Phoenix, Ariz., Nancy Kitson of Destin, Fla.; one brother, Bill Winkler of St. Petersburg, Fla.; and four grandchildren.

The family was to have received friends from 5 to 8 p. m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home.

Selma Williams

Selma Brown Gossett Williams, 80, of 310 Mountain Brook Road, Sylva, died Sunday, Jan.23, at Mission-St. Joseph's Health System.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the Waynesville Chapel of Wells Funeral Home. Her nephew, the Rev. Ted Francis, officiated. Burial was in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Clyde.

She was born in Haywood County to the late Zack and Lucy Hardin Brown. She was a retired cosmetologist, a former resident of Hayesville, and had made her home in Sylva for the past 13 years. She was a member of Truett Memorial Baptist Church in Hayesville.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Hugh Gossett, who died January 1986. Surviving are her husband, Clayton C. Williams; two daughters, Audra Gossett Smith of Tabor City and Huey Dianne Thomas of Seaford, Del.; two sons, Joel Gossett of Athens, Ga., and Robert Clayton Williams of Clyde; one sister, Pauline Brown Young of Enka; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Memorials can be made to Truett Memorial Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 464, Hayesville, N.C. 28904.

Polly Wolffer

Polly Wolffer, 74, of Cope Creek Road, Sylva, died Saturday, Jan. 22, in Memorial Mission Hospital after a brief illness.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at Scotts Creek Baptist Church, of which she was a member. The Revs. Lloyd Fish and Rich Peoples officiated. Burial was in Old Field Cemetery. Pallbearers were Greg Ward, Phillip Reese, Ward Stiles, Dorsey Ward, Mark Connor and James Milas Ward. Honorary pallbearers were Hugh Moon, Edwin Norton, Ray Ashe, Dan Hooper, Ralph Bumgarner, Bill Clayton, Millard Monteith, Eddie Ensley, Darrell Ensley and Dan Ward.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, she retired from GTE with 37 years of service. She was a daughter of the late Glen Ward Sr. and Carrie Buchanan Ward. She was preceded in death by an infant sister, Erma Sue Ward.

Surviving are her husband of 55 years, Cliff Wolffer; one daughter, Jo Wolffer of Franklin; two sisters, Nell Warren of Sylva and Pat Karkosky of Katy, Texas; four brothers, Jim Ward of Sylva, Glen Ward Jr. of Canton, Ed Ward of Ocala, Fla., and Darnell Ward of Germany; two grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made to Old Field Cemetery Fund or the Old Field Church Fund, c/o Scotts Creek Baptist Church, 97 Steeple Road, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Paul Hunter

Paul Green Hunter, 70, of Cashiers, died Sunday, Jan. 23, at Britthaven Nursing Center of Franklin.

Funeral services were at 2 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 26, at Hamburg Baptist Church. The Rev. Johnny Norris officiated. Burial was in Hamburg Cemetery.

Born in Tuckasegee, he was a son of the late Claude and Sibbie Speed Hunter. He retired from Cashiers Plastic Corp. and was a member of Cashiers Baptist Church.

Surviving are four sisters, Frances Hoyles of Lakeland, Fla., Dora Lee White of Seneca, S.C., Phoebe Queen of Brevard and Delia Neely of Cashiers; and two brothers, James Hunter of Carnesville, Ga., and Grover Hunter of Cashiers.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Gregg Davis Jr.

M. Gregg Davis Jr., 90, of Sylva, died Sunday, Jan. 23. Burial will be in Sebring, Fla., under the direction of Morris Funeral Home.

A native of Ocala, Fla., he moved to the Miami area when he was 8 years old. After graduating in the first class at the University of Miami, he pursued a career in education, serving as both a teacher and a principal.

His teaching career was interrupted during the war years when he worked first for a defense contractor, then for an insurance agency. He returned to the classroom in 1952 and remained there until his retirement in 1968.

While he was in Miami, he served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Riverside Baptist Church. Upon his retirement in 1968, he relocated to Sebring, Fla., where he was also a deacon and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church.

His wife of nearly 60 years, Gertrude, died in 1990. In 1993, due to declining health, he moved to Jacksonville, Fla., to live with his son. In 1996, he moved with his son to Whittier, where he resided first with his son, then at Ensley Adult Care Home in Sylva.

Survivors include one son, Mann G. Davis III of Whittier; one daughter, Caryann Allan of Ocala, Fla.; seven grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.

Malcolm Medlin

Malcolm Medlin, infant son of Maleisha Medlin, died Thursday, Jan. 20.

A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the service.

Lloyd Johnson

Lloyd B. Johnson, 90, of the Soco community of Cherokee, died Tuesday, Jan. 25, in Cherokee Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. today (Thursday) in the chapel of Moody Funeral Home. The family was to have received friends from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, at the funeral home.