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 - 05/01/03

Rorbert Turner

Robert Lee Turner, 61, of 94 Vero Mountain Road, Sylva, died Friday, April 25, 2003, at his residence after a brief illness.

Funeral and burial service were at Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Black Mountain at 2 p.m. Monday, April 28. The Rev. Roy Burnett officiated, with military honor guard by the William E. Dillard Post 104 of the American Legion.

He was a native of Suffolk, Va., and a former resident of the eastern shore, Outer Banks area of North Carolina. He had been a resident of Sylva for the past four years.

Son of the late James and Virginia Neville Turner, he retired from the U.S. Navy (Seabees) after 25 years and service during the Vietnam War.

Surviving are his wife, Bonnie Brown Turner of the home; one daughter, Bonnie Turner Randall of Waterford, Conn.; one son, Robert Lee Turner Jr. of Pensacola, Fla.; four sisters, Nina Lewis of Sylva, Virginia Byrd of Vero Beach, Fla., Ruth King of Pensacola, Fla., and Marie Turner of Hertford; two brothers, James Edward Turner III of Foley, Ala., and Russell Barnnett of Vero Beach, Fla.; and three grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Seabee Memorial Scholarship Association, Inc, P.O. Box 6574, Silver Springs, Md. 20916.

Moody Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. An online memorial and register is available at www.pemoody.com.

Maggie Moses

Maggie Adelene Moses of Sylva died Thursday, April 24, 2003, at Skyland Care Center.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

She was the daughter of the late Roy Rollins Mills and Mamie Monteith Mills. She was of the Baptist denomination.

She was preceded in death by husbands Jack Kennedy, Thomas Symonds and Alvin Moses.

She was a graduate of Memorial Mission Hospital School of Nursing and was a nurse. She trained as a flight nurse in the U.S. Air Force and served as a first lieutenant. After military service she worked in Veteran Administration hospitals in Chicago and Oteen, from which she retired due to health reasons.

Surviving are her one daughter, Stephanie S. Moses of Sylva; and one sister, Pauline Collins.

Memorials may be made to WestCare Hospice, 68 Hospital Road, Sylva, NC 28779; or Scotts Creek Baptist Church, Steeple Road, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Moody Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. An online memorial and guest registry is available at www.pemoody.com.

Edward Hall

Edward Eugene Hall, 66, fomerly of Sylva, died unexpectedly Friday,18, 2003, in the Philippines.

The body is being returned to Sylva for services and burial.

A native of Jackson County, he had lived the past three years in the Philippines. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, he was a N.C. Highway Patrolman and Jackson County deputy.

He was a member of Old Savannah Baptist Church and son of the late Dexter and Vinnie Cagle Hall.

Surviving are two daughters, Sandy Maney of Waynesville and Donna Hall of Winston-Salem; three sons, David Hall of Balsam, Steve Hall of Sylva and Lyndon Hall of Waynesville; four sisters, Ruth Norman, Stella Hall and Rose Ashe, all of Sylva, and Lettie Cobb of Greensboro; four brothers, Albert Hall of Sylva, R.D. Hall of Raleigh, Jim Cagle of Lymon, Wash., and Clarence Hall of Sylva; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

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

Edward Blanton

Edward Mark Blanton, 81, of Bryson City's Ela community, died Tuesday, April 22, 2003, at Swain County Hospital.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the chapel of Bill Moody Funeral Home. The Rev. Larry Foster officiated. Burial was in Thomas Memorial Cemetery.

He was born in Jackson County and had been a resident of Swain County for 42 years. He was the son of the late Jesse James and Ella Mae Bradley Blanton. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he retired from the Bryson City Singer Furniture Manufacturing Plant and a was member of Ela Missionary Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Pearlie Laws Blanton, who died in 1990.

Surviving are his wife, Violet Rosier Blanton; one son, Cecil Blanton of Wasilla, Ark.; two daughters, Lois Smith of Arden and Glee Banner of Weaverville; two sisters, Lucille Gunter of Anchorage, Alaska, and Ruby Tolbert of Whittier; four stepsons, Eddie Greenwell of Eustis, Fla., Larry Greenwell of Weirsdale, Fla., Bill Greenwell of Laverne, Calif., and Charles White of Silver Springs, Fla.; one stepdaughter, Judy Merritt of Okahumpka, Fla.; 16 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Ela Missionary Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1273, Bryson City, N.C. 28713; or Thomas Memorial Cemetery, c/o Margaret Bradburn, 105 Boxwood Drive, Whittier, N.C. 28789.

Intherani Aldis

Intherani Nayagam "Rani" Aldis, 59, of Mitchell Road, Sylva, died in Malawi, Africa, Friday, April 18, 2003, of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

A Hindu service was held in Blantyre, Malawi, on Thursday, April 24. Plans for a memorial service in Sylva are pending.

At the time of her death, she was living in Malawi with her husband, William Aldis, M.D., the World Health Organization representative to Malawi. He was also severely injured in the accident.

A native of Malaysia, she was born to K.M. and Annapackiam Nayagam in Kuala Lumpur. She became a U.S. citizen in 1981. A graduate of the Guilford School of Nursing in England, she was a registered nurse and was on the staff of Harris Regional Hospital and Mountain Trace Nursing Center. She practiced nursing on four continents and at the time of her death was a nurse for the British and American embassies in Lilongwe, Malawi. She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Sylva.

Surviving, in addition to her husband, are one daughter, Vimala of Bangkok, Thailand; two sons, Rajendra of Washington, D.C., and Ravindra of Northfield, Mass.; her mother; three brothers, Rajendran Nayagam and Mahendran Nayagam, both of Johor Baru, Malaysia, and Vijendran Nayagam of Big Stone Gap, Va., formerly of Sylva; and two sisters, Nesamalar Vasudevan of Johor Baru and Vimala McMillan of London, England.

Otto Hooper

Otto David Hooper, 76, of 2480 McConnells Highway, Rock Hill, S.C., died Sunday, April 13, 2003, at his home.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, at Eastview Baptist Church. The Revs. Rick Martin and William Shytle officiated. Burial was in Grandview Memorial Park.

Born in Jackson County, he was a son of the late Thomas Ruben and Dollie Mae Gosnell Hooper. He was a member of Eastview Baptist Church, a life member of Masonic Lodge 416, a member of York County Antique Power Club and was retired from Bowater Corp. He was a former employee of Mead Paper Corp. in Sylva.

He was preceded in death by one son, Robert Daniel Hooper.

Surviving are his wife of 59 years, Mary Smith Hooper; one son, Charles Alfred Hooper of Rock Hill; one daughter, Doris Jean Rawls of Meahanicsville, Va.; one brother, Thomas Leon Hooper of Waynesville; four sisters, Mamie Raby of Franklin, Velma Plemmons and Lois Ensley of Sylva and Naomi Green of Anchorage, Alaska; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be sent to Hospice Community Care, 325 S. Oakland Ave., Rock Hill, S.C. 29730.

Esther Abel

Esther Catolster Abel, 50, of Abel Road, Canton, died Saturday, April 26, 2003, in Cherokee Indian Hospital after a brief illness.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at Macedonia Baptist Church, of which she was a member. The Revs. James Bo Parris and Wayne Carson officiated. Burial was in the family cemetery on Old Macedonia Road.

A native of Jackson County, she had lived the past 10 years in Canton. She was employed at Maggie Valley Country Club as a breakfast cook.

She was a daughter of the late John Taylor and Melinda Catolster. She and her husband, John Abel, lived out west for number of years and she had worked at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Phoenix. She and her husband ran a soup kitchen for the homeless and the elderly.

Surviving, in addition to her husband, are one daughter, Melinda Cook of Arkansas; one son, James Albert Screamer of Canton; four sisters, Maggie Armachain, Sallie Smoker, Rosie Salajar and Nannie Hornebuckle, all of Cherokee; four brothers, Richard Catolster, Marvin Taylor, Elisha Taylor and Ricky Taylor, all of Cherokee; and six grandchildren.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Daemian Mancini

Daemian Thomas Mancini, infant son of Thomas Glen Mancini and Chelsa Peterman of Franklin, died Tuesday, April 29, 2003, in Harris Regional Hospital. Graveside services were held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at Newmans Chapel. The Revs. Wren Worley and Roy Conner officiated. Burial was in the church cemetery.

Surviving, in addition to his parents, are his grandparents, Ray and Gail Peterman of Otto, Kathy and Robert Matthews of Whittier and Harry Thomas Mancini of Canton; great-grandmother, Faye Jewell Queen of Algonac, Mich.; one sister, Jasmine Mancini of Sylva; and one half-brother, Anthony Jacob Hawkins of Whittier.

Macon Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.