Obituary Information

The Sylva Herald prints obituaries free of charge as a service to its readers.

When possible, obituaries should be submitted to The Herald from the funeral home in charge of arrangements. Information received will be printed in our standard obituary format. As is the case with all information submitted to The Herald, we reserve the right to edit obituary information to fit our standard format.

We publish names of the deceased's children; we also include the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We do not include in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews or special friends.

Included in a brief history of the deceased is items such as their employment, professional, civic, community and religious affiliations. We omit personal tributes.

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Obituaries - 03/27/03

Alvin Hoyle

Alvin R. Hoyle, 77, of Sylva's Locust Creek community, died Wednesday, March 12, 2003, in Harris Regional Hospital after an extended illness.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at East Sylva Baptist Church. The Revs. Charles Dean and Harry Vance officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, he was a retired businessman, having worked institutional and retail sales throughout Western North Carolina.

He was a member of East Sylva Baptist Church, having served as a Sunday school teacher and a deacon for more than 50 years. He had been chairman of the finance committee and helped lead the building program for East Sylva.

He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and son of the late Baxter and Fannie Parris Hoyle He was preceded in death by five brothers and sisters, most recently his sister, Margie Henry.

Surviving are his wife of 54 years, Amy Beasley Hoyle; three daughters, Sheila, Katie and Alva-Jo, all of Sylva; two brothers, Wayne and Paul, both of Sylva; and three sisters, Annie Ray and Doris Fisher of Sylva and Carrie Jay Norman of Brevard.

Memorials may be made to East Sylva Baptist Church, P.O. Box 516, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

James Bridges

James Edward Bridges, 62, of Whittier, died Monday, March 24, 2003, at Harris Regional Hospital.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today (Thursday) at Toe String Baptist Church. The Revs. Dan Lambert and Doug Matthews will officiate. Burial will in Toe String Cemetery. The family was to have received friends from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at Moody Funeral Home.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, he owned and operated Bridges Leather and Crafts for the past 27 years. He was the son of the late Charlie Taylor and Bonnie Griffin Bridges and husband of the late Carole Maney Bridges.

Surviving are two daughters Gretta E. Bridges of the home and Patty Bridges Lopez of Whittier; one sister, Gladys Ward of Stephens, Ala.; and one granddaughter.

Andrew Bigmeat

Andrew Allen Bigmeat, 45, of Cherokee, died Sunday, March 16, 2003, at his residence in Brighton City, Mich. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Rock Springs Baptist Church. The Revs. Bobby Watts and James "Bo" Parris officiated. Burial was at Bigmeat Family Cemetery in Cherokee.

A native of Cherokee, he was a construction bricklayer and the son of Herbert Swimmer and the late Mabel Bigmeat.

Surviving, in addition to his father, are two daughters, Sarah Perry and Kylie Perry, both of Flint, Mich.; and one son, Nathan Perry, also of Flint, Mich.

Moody Funeral Home assisted the family with arrangements.

Jerry Milam

Jerry S. Milam, 65, of Joe Wilkey Road, Sylva, died Friday, March 21, 2003, at his residence.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 23, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Jim Ed Powell officiated. Burial was in the family cemetery. Pallbearers were Josiah McCorkle, Joseph Wilkey, Chris Stephens, Virgin and Danny Brown and Abe Connor.

A native of Charlotte, he had lived in Jackson County for several years. He was a textile worker and son of the late Samuel Milam.

Surviving are his mother, Geneva Conner Wall; and two sisters, Joi Stephens and Toni Grigg, both of Charlotte.

Ida Pannell

Ida Elizabeth Parris Pannell, 100, of Sylva's Buff Creek community, died Monday, March 24, 2003, at Harris Regional Hospital after a period of declining health.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Gerald Morris officiated. Burial was in the Addie Cemetery.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, she was the last of 11 children. She was a member of Buff Creek Baptist Church, where she was Bible school worker and choir member. She was a daughter of the late James and Florence Wilson Parris.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred R. Pannell, who died in 1986.

Surviving are one daughter, Eloise P. Shuler of Sylva; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Memorials may be made to the Baptist Children's Home of North Carolina, P.O. Box 338, Thomasville, N.C. 27361-0338.

Troy Wilkie

Troy Clinton Wilkie Sr., 74, of Cherokee and Lawrenceville, Ga., formerly of Goosecreek Retirement Park, died Friday, March 21, 2003, at Northside Hospital in Atlanta.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Monday, March 24, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Delbert Burnett and Ron Terebo officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens.

A native of Jackson County, he had lived part time in Georgia and part time in Cherokee. He retired from Greyhound Bus Lines as a bus driver with 35 years of service. After that, he became an entrepreneur.

Son of the late James Daniel and Doshia Hooper Wilkey, he was a Gideon and Mason.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Margaret Wheeler Wilkie.

Surviving are his wife, Juanita Wilkie; two daughters, Sandy Stancil of Sanford and Linda Arthur of Fleetwood, Pa.; one son, Troy Clinton Wilkie Jr. of Bryson City; two step daughters, Cheryl Kempster of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Lesli Esposito of Palm Coast, Fla.; three sisters, Gertrude McDaniel of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Lucy Weaver of Gastonia and Jean Allen of Sylva; two brothers, Jack Wilkey of Easley, S.C., and Earl Wilkey of Ila, Ga.; four granddaughters; and four great-grandsons.

Ella Mills

Ella Mae Mills, 71, of Mount Vernon, Wash., died Thursday, March 20, 2003, at the home of her daughter in Camano Island, Wash.

Funeral services were held Sunday, March 23, at 2 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Wash.

She was born Nov. 8, 1931, in Jackson County and moved to Washington with her husband in 1948. She was a member of Buff Creek Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee Roy Mills; parents, Robert Glenn and Mary Alice Norris Miller; one sister, Eddie Lou Miller; and one half-sister, Patsy Miller.

Surviving are two daughters, Sue Miller and Katie Foss; four sisters, Helen Wood of Balsam, Linda Duncan of Clyde, Bobbie Jean Parris of Mooresville and Ruby Wenrich of Montana; four brothers, J.V. Miller of Wilmot, Johnny Ensley of Sylva, David Miller Rabb and Eugene Miller of Sedro Woolley, Wash.; one half-sister, Glenda Williams of California; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.