Obituary Information

When possible, obituaries should be sent to the Herald from the funeral home. Information received will be placed in our standard obituary format.

We publish names of the deceased's spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings and children; we also include the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Obituaries - 02/28/02

Wayne Green

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Betty Drake and Kenneth Rhinehart officiated. Burial was at Old Savannah Cemetery.

A native of Haywood County, he lived in Jackson County for the past eight years. He was owner and operator of Dust Free Cleaning Service. He was a son of Ayward Green and the late Louise Shelton Green.

He was preceded in death by three brothers, Samuel, William and Terry Green.

Surviving are his wife of 18 years, Joyce Buchanan Green; three daughters, Laura Brown, Sue Sutton and Jamie Green, all of Sylva; one son, Wayne Green Jr. of Sylva; two stepsons, Billy and Marcus Ketter of Canton; three sisters, Betty Wyatt of Waynesville and Carrie Green and Debbie Rhodarmer of Canton; one brother, Troy Green of Canton; and eight grandchildren.

Emerson Bird Jr.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Rock Springs Baptist Church, of which he was a member. The Revs. Bobby Watts, Bo Parris and James "Jim Bo" Sneed officiated. Burial was in Bradley Family Cemetery on Wrights Creek.

A native of Swain County, he lived in Jackson County most of his life. He was a son of the late Emerson Johnson Sr. and Doris Youngdeer Bird.

Surviving are two daughters, April Bird of Bryson City and Letitia Bird of Wildwood, Fla.; one son, Lewis Bird of Cherokee; maternal grandmother, Elzine Tramper Bradley of Cherokee; one sister, Darlene Bird of Nashville, Tenn.; one brother, Richard Bird of Cherokee; and three grandchildren.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.

Kitty Owen

The family received friends at the residence Sunday, Feb. 17.

A native of Jackson County, she was a daughter of the late Lyndon and Kathleen Kitchin Dillard. She was formerly employed as a traffic officer at North Canton Elementary School for 15 years. She had previously been employed at McDonald's and Hardees in Canton as a biscuit maker and had received recognition as a runner-up in Hardees Regional Biscuit Bake Contest. She was currently employed at Food Lion in Canton.

She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church and also attended High Street Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Willard Owen, who died in 1985.

Surviving are one daughter, Sandra Davis of Robins Air Force Base, Ga.; one son, Dale Owen of Canton; two sisters, Lynda Stamey of Asheville and Joan Jamison of Sylva; one brother, Phillip Sims of White, Ga.; and three grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to High Street Baptist Church Building Fund, 75 High Street, Canton, N.C. 28716.

Crawford/Ray Funeral Home in Canton was in charge of arrangements.

Deidra Coe

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, at First United Methodist Church. The Revs. Larry Daniel and Bill Dudley officiated. Burial was at Chattanooga Memorial Park Cemetery.

A member of First United Methodist Church of Murray, Ky., she was a Realtor for Kopperud Realty and was recently recognized as an Outstanding New Agent. Originally from Chattanooga, Tenn., she had been active in the real estate business in several Southeastern locations.

She was preceded in death by her father, Elisha Newton Sandler.

Surviving are her husband, Isaac Coe of Murray, Ky.; two sons, Stephen and Paul Coe of Murray, Ky.; one brother, Col. Gary Sadler of San Angelo, Texas; one sister, Lisa Frost of Signal Mountain, Tenn; and her mother, Charlotte Ann LaFerry Sadler of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church Youth Group, 503 Maple Street, Murray, Ky. 42071; Community Healthcare Foundation, 803 Poplar Street, Murray, Ky. 42071; Murray High School Band, 501 Doran Road, Murray, Ky. 42071; or the Sylva Garden Club, c/o Yvonne Holland, Treasurer, 10 Josephine Street, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Murray-Calloway Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Robert Gasaway

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today (Thursday) in the chapel of Bill Moody Funeral Home, Bryson City. The Rev. Chris Rumfelt will officiate. Burial will be at Swain Memorial Park. The family was to have received friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the funeral home.

A native of Swain County, he was a 1953 graduate of Nantahala High School, served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1958 and was a retired postal worker with 30 years service.

Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Susie Douthit Gasaway of the home; one son, Steve Gasaway of High Point; one daughter, Nancy Gasaway of Boston; and one sister, Betty Hartsell of Pitts Town, N.J.

An online memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com.

Nancy Allison

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) in the chapel of Moody Funeral Home. The Rev. Dennis Burrell will officiate. Burial will be in East Fork Cemetery. A native of Jackson County, she lived most of her life in Macon County. She retired from Angel Community Hospital after 35 years. She was the daughter of the late Coleman Burch and Minnie Sophie Buchanan Allison.

She was preceded in death by three brothers, Otis, Wilford and Claude Allison.

Surviving is one brother, Coleman Scroop Allison of Franklin.

An on-line memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com.

Lillie Stephenson

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Rev. Robert Clegg officiated. Burial was in Sawmill Hill Cemetery.

A native and lifelong resident of Swain County, she was a homemaker. She was a daughter of the late John and Easter Mason McMahan.

She was preceded in death by two husbands, Fred Johnson and Ellis Stephenson.

Surviving are two sisters, Bertha Bumgarner of Bryson City and Alice Duncan of Charlotte.

Bill Moody Funeral Home in Bryson City was in charge of arrangements.

An online memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com.

Lavinia Arnold

Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Liberty Baptist Church. The Revs. J.E. Smith and Wanda Moore officiated. Burial was at Fairview Memorial Gardens.

A native of Jackson County and former resident of Sylva, she was a lifelong member of Liberty Baptist Church, a Sunday school teacher and a member of the Eastern Star. She was a daughter of the late John and Elizabeth Norman Alston and wife of the late Jesse W. Arnold.

She was preceded in death by two brothers and two sisters.

Survivors include several nieces and nephews.

Moody Funeral Home assisted the family with services.

Lucy Luther

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, in the chapel of Macon Funeral Home. The Rev. Forman Bradley officiated. Burial was in Riverside Baptist Church Cemetery in Bethel. Pallbearers were Mike Wheatley, Michael Wheatley, Danny Barnes, Christopher Barnes, Andy Nicholson and Tyler Nicholson.

A native of Haywood County, she was a daughter of the late Frederick and Daisy Pruett Burke. She retired from Sylco in Sylva, where she worked as an inspector. She was of the Baptist faith.

She was preceded in death by one sister, Ruby Lindsey.

Surviving are one son, Phillip Neal Luther of Hickory; two daughters, Kathy Barnes of Franklin and Phyllis Wheatley of Sylva; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Charley Ledford

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Bethabara Baptist Church. Burial was at Ledford Cemetery.

A native and lifelong resident of Swain County, he was the last known member of the Cherokee 3 and Co. Son of the late Noah Sr. and Geneva Teesateskie Ledford, he was a musician.

He was preceded in death by three sisters, Annette Marie Brown, Virginia Lee Blythe and Polly Marie Ledford; and two brothers, Jake Allen Ledford and John Richard Ledford.

Surviving are one son, Michael Shawn Knight of South Carolina; one daughter, Charlene Swayney of Sylva; three brothers, Noah Ledford Jr., Daniel Lee Ledford and Lloyd Leslie Ledford, all of Cherokee; four sisters, Ruth Helen Long, Vera Ann George, Betty Jane Cucumber and Golinda Ledford, all of Cherokee; and one grandson, Benjamin Swayney of Sylva.

Bill Moody Funeral Home, Bryson City, is assisting the family with services.

An on-line memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com.

James Haskett

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) at Lovedale Baptist Church. The Revs. Cecil Frady, Eddie Stillwell and Mike Farmer will officiate. Burial will be in Fairview Memorial Gardens with military rites conducted by a detachment from Fort Bragg.

He was a native and lifelong resident of Jackson County and son of the late Rev. Bill Ed and Laura Shook Haskett.

He was a member of Lovedale Baptist Church, where he served as a trustee, on the building committee and as an usher. He was a decorated U.S. Army veteran of World War II, where he was a prisoner of war for 14 1/2 months, and was the third man on the beach at Anzio. He was past founder and officer of WNC Chapter of Ex-POWs, a member of the Sylva American Legion Post 104 and owner and operator of Parkway Restaurant in Sylva for 30 years.

He was preceded in death by one sister, Minnie Cabe.

Surviving are his wife of 55 years, Flora Stephens Haskett; one daughter, Carolyn Norman of Waynesville; two sons, Larry Haskett of Tuckasegee and Craig Haskett of Sylva; three brothers, Odell and Vernon Haskett, both of Sylva, and Orville Haskett of Winston-Salem; one sister, Ethel Haskett of Maryland; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Broyhill Children's Home, 111 Sneed Drive, Clyde, N.C. 28721.

The family was to have received friends at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home, where the body will remain until placed in the church 30 minutes prior to the services.

Helen Henson

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Raymond Alexander

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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