Obituary Information

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 - 04/24/03

Jerome Franson

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville.

He was born in Los Angeles on July 15, 1942, to Axel E. and Evelyn Franson, both of whom preceded him in death. He grew up on a working dairy farm outside of Braham, Minn.

He taught high school in Illinois and Minnesota before beginning a long tenure as professor of education at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. In 1988, he became senior fellow at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee. He remained at NCCAT until July 2000, when an automobile accident ended his professional career.

Surviving is his wife, Judy.

Memorials may be made to the Jerome D. Franson Endowment Fund, c/o the Development Foundation of NCCAT, 276 NCCAT Drive, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723.

Norma Bradley

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 20, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Johnny Ray Davis officiated. Burial was in Wilmot Community Cemetery.

A native of Missouri, she had lived in Jackson County since 1971. She was a member of Wilmot Baptist Church and daughter of the late Marion Lee and Clara McGee Horn.

She was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister.

Surviving are her husband, C.L. Bradley; one daughter, Linda Extine of Whittier; one son, Donald Bradley of Sylva; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Johnny Ensley

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19, in the chapel of Moody Funeral Home. The Rev. James "Bo" Brown officiated. Burial was at Robinson Cemetery. Pallbearers were Pete Silvers, Jeff Womack, Jason Gunter, Bob Roach, Charlie Proctor and Edwin Wilkey.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, he was retired from the N.C. Forest Service after 30 years service as an equipment operator. He was co-owner of Ensley Construction with his son, Marty Ensley.

He was a son of the late Rufus Ensley Jr.

He was preceded in death by one brother, James H. Ensley.

Surviving are his mother, Georgia Wilkey Ensley of Sylva; his wife of 38 years, Shirley Denton Ensley; two sons, Marty W. Ensley of Sylva and Steven A. Ensley of Sylva; and two grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Glenville-Cashiers Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 919, Cashiers, N.C. 28717.

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

Muriel Ashe

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Jim Ed Powell officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens.

She was a native of Jackson County, where she lived most of her life. She was a cook and co-owner of Cullowhee Cafe with her husband for more than 25 years. She was a member of Lovedale Baptist Church, where she was a former Sunday school teacher. She was a daughter of the late Maxwel and Willie Biddix Gosnell.

Surviving are her husband of 42 years, Arnold Ashe; two daughters, Cindy Jarman of Garden City, S.C., and Kathy Lamb of Sylva; three sons, Derek Brown of Asheville, Mark Ashe of Atlanta and David Ashe of Cullowhee; four sisters, Jean "Bo" Ashe and Yanna Gosnell, both of Tuckasegee, Elaine White of Jensen Beach, Fla., and Mary Prior of Sylva; five brothers, Robert "Buck" Gosnell of Dillsboro, Joe Gosnell of Tuckasegee, Michael Gosnell of Cullowhee, Danny Gosnell of Michigan and James Patrick Gosnell of Atlanta; and six grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Hospice, 132 Sylva Plaza, Sylva, N.C. 28779; or American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 925, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Sherri Rosier

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Chris Ehrlich officiated.

A native of Duval, Fla., she had lived in Jackson County for several years. She was a cosmetologist, having worked at Wal-Mart. She was the daughter of Everette Eugene Heffner of Jacksonville, Fla., and Irene Ward Heffner of Jacksonville, Fla.

Surviving, in addition to her parents, are her husband of 10 years, Ben Rosier; one son, Tony Santiago of Cullowhee; and one brother, Everette Eugene Heffner Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.

Mildred Appleton

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Monday, April 21, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Bishop Ellison Rudd officiated. Burial was in Alice Bradley Cemetery, Hoot Owl Cove. Pallbearers were Allen Mills, Timothy Mills, Dexter Smith, Vincent Jackson, John Parker, Lewis Parker and Henry Robert Youngdeer.

A native and lifelong resident of Swain County, she was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She was daughter of the late Roy and Alice Crowe Bradley.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dexter Appleton.

Surviving are three sisters, Erma Louise Otter, Helen Jackson and Gunnie Bradley, all of Cherokee.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, Jackson County Chapter, P.O. Box 925, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

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

Pearl Sawyer

A memorial service will be held following the morning worship service Sunday, April 27, at St. John's Episcopal Church. Father Henry Burton will officiate.

A native of Randolph County, Ga., she had lived in Jackson County since 1999. Daughter of the late John and Elizabeth Andrews Calhoun, she attended St. John's Episcopal Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ed Sawyer, who died in 1968.

Surviving are her daughter, Rubye S. Hamilton of Sylva; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to St. John's Memorial Gardens, 18 Jackson Street, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

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

Edward Hall

His body is being returned to Sylva for funeral services and burial.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home will announce arrangements.

John Reece

John W. "Johnny" Reece, 52, of Monteith Gap Road, Cullowhee, died unexpectedly Tuesday, April 15, 2003. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, April 18, at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Clifford Parker, Eddie Stillwell and Ricky Conner officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers were John Frizzell, Sidney Burrell, Brandon Gregory, Mark Taylor, Mark Smathers, David Rankins, Allen Moss and George Nicholson.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, he was a retired logger and member of Tilley Creek Baptist Church. He was a son of Ellen Reece of Waynesville and the late Fred Reece.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Pet and Joe Reece, and one son, Brian Reece.

Surviving, in addition to his mother, are his wife of 35 years, Waynefica Shuler Reece; two daughters, Tammy Smathers of Whittier and Connie Reece of Bryson City; two sons, Mark Reece and Keith Reece, both of Sylva; two sisters, Della Ledford of Tuckasegee and Lola Ledford of Canton; and 12 grandchildren.

James Hoyle

Services and a potluck gathering were held at the family home at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19. Burial was at Hamilton Cemetery.

He was born April 28, 1941, in Cullowhee, son of Glen and Edith Watson Hoyle. He was raised and attended school in Cullowhee until 1958 when he moved to Oregon to work in the lumber mills.

In 1964 he move to Skagit County, Wash., where he met Myrna Lee; they were married in Reno, Nev., in 1965. They made their home in Mount Vernon, Wash., until moving to Birdsview in 1995.

He worked in the timber industry as a rigging operator, a choker setter and a heavy equipment operator.

He was preceded in death by his father, Glen; and two sons, Kenneth and Richard Hoyle.

Surviving are his wife, Myrna; one son, James G. Hoyle of Sedro Woolley; two daughters, Rebecca Bell of Sedro-Woolley and Lorna Hoyle of Acme, Wash.; his mother, Edith Hoyle; one brother, David Hoyle; one sister, Eloise Frady, all of Cullowhee; and five grandchilden.

Lemley Chapel was in charge of arrangements. An online guest register is at www.lemleychapel.com.

Scott Sather

Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Clio. Pastor Erwin Kositzen officiated. Burial will be at 3 p.m. Friday, April 25, at Arlington National Cemetery.

He was born June 21, 1973, in Flint, Mich., to Rodney and Karin Brown Sather. He graduated from Clio High School in 1991.

He joined the USAF in 1992 and served as a combat controller. He was stationed at Pope Air Force Base with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. His previous assignments included McChord AFB, Washington; Royal Air Force-Mildenhall, England; RAF Alconbury, England and Lackland AFB, Texas. He was the recipient of numerous meritorious awards and commendations, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

He married Melanie Mull of Sylva on July 16, 2002. She was living in Fayetteville at the time of her husband's death.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Myron Sather, Elmer Strickert and Herb Henderson.

Surviving, in addition to his wife and parents, are three brothers, Derek, Jason and Jason "J.C."; two sisters, Lisa and Becky; and grandparents, Alice Sather, Bill and Shirley Brown, Florence Stickert, Edward and Ernedene Craft and Gloria Henderson.

O'Guinn Family Funeral Homes was in charge of arrangements.

Back to Archive: 04/24/03.