Obituaries - 12/21/00

Carrie Beck

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. The Revs. Robert Blanton and Charlie Brown officiated. Burial was in Cogdill Henry Cemetery.

A native of Jackson County, she was a daughter of the late M.J. and Addie Cogdill Henry. She was a homemaker.

She was preceded in death by one grandson.

Surviving are three daughters, Betty Bennett of Sylva and Evelyn McCall and Marie Griffith, both of Waynesville; one son, Ray Beck of Sylva; two sisters, Girlie Jones of Sylva and Dixie DeHart of Bryson City; three brothers, William L. Henry of Sylva, Lewis Henry of York, S.C., and Hobert Henry of Clyde; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the building fund at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church.

Garrett Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Elsie Cooke

Services were held at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in the chapel of Moody Funeral Home. The Rev. Clifford Parker officiated. Burial was at Old Savannah Cemetery.

A native of Gillingham, Kent, England, she was the daughter of the late Bernard and Maude Alexandria De"Carle Cornfield.

Surviving is one daughter, Yvonne Messer of Dillsboro.

Thelma Hurst

Funeral services were held 2 p.m. Tuesday, Dec.19, in the chapel of Moody Funeral Home. The Rev. Charles Dean officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers were Terry Noland, Joel Noland, Bremm Hooper, John Cathey, Marty Cathey, Ricky Cowan and Stacy Cowan.

She was a native of Bluefield, W.Va., and a long-time resident of Jackson County. Daughter of the late Alex and Dollie McCracken Whitaker, she was a member of East Sylva Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by one daughter, Sue Noland; two brothers, Roy Whitaker and Lane Whitaker; two sisters, Edna Fowler and Hattie Monteith; and her husband, Charlie M. Hurst.

Surviving are two daughters, Betty Cowan of Sylva and Pat Cassle of the home; one brother, Alex L. Whitaker of Franklin; eight grandchildren; nine great- grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

Online memorial and register is available at pemoody.com.

Wallace Jones

A native of Jacksonville, Fla., and a resident of Whittier for the past 11 years, he was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of Sylva"s First United Methodist Church and was retired from the state of Florida as a counselor for children services. He was a son of the late Abner Cleveland and Iris Grubb Jones.

He was preceded in death by one daughter, Marie Annette Jones, and one sister, Alice Jones.

Surviving are his wife of 44 years, Barbara Jones; one son, Wallace C. Jones of Jacksonville, Fla.; one stepdaughter, Roxanne Sheffield of Tallahassee, Fla.; one brother, Robert G. Jones of Corpus Christi, Texas; three sisters, Abbie Louise Gissendaner of Jacksonville, Fla., Margorie Fernandez of Miami, Fla., and Annette Thigpen of Bainbridge, Ga.; and two step-granddaughters.

Memorials may be made to First Methodist Church of Sylva.

Moody Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

William Tolley

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Steve Webb officiated. Burial followed in Hyatt Cemetery with military honors provided by the Steve Young-Deer American Legion Post # 143. Pallbearers were Tom Tolley, John Tolley, Alvin Tolley, Albert Arch, Sterling Bennett and T. Trejo.

A native of Habersham County, Ga., he had lived most of his life in Jackson County. He was a son of the late Jim and Lilly Seay Tolley. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, a retired farmer and a member of Hyatt"s Chapel Baptist Church.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one son, William Lawrence Tolley; two sisters, Lizzie Ramsey and Ruby Ann Stephens; and two brothers, Alb and Jess Tolley.

Survived are his wife, Ollie Maney Tolley; his stepmother, Laura Connor of Sylva; three sons, Leonard and Glenn Tolley of Cherokee and Daniel Tolley of Jacksonville, Ala.; three sisters, Rachel Gorley of Stem, Stella Bradley of Cherokee and lrene Davis of Whittier; seven brothers, Jerome, Jack, Dick and Dewey Tolley, all of Sylva, and Arb, John and Harold Tolley, all of Greenville, S.C.; eight grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Hazel Locust

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Johnny Swanger officiated. Burial was in Ashe Cemetery. Grandsons were pallbearers.

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, she was the daughter of the late Manuel and Jane Ammons Ashe. She was a homemaker and a member of Balsam Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Homer Locust; three daughters, Joyce Reece, Linda Williams and Rosealee Locust; one grandson; two granddaughters; two sisters; and two brothers.

Surviving are four daughters, Birdeil Edwards of Sylva, Leona Goodson of Waynesville, Annie Rogers of Cashiers and lnez Chandler of Waynesville; one brother, Carl Ashe of Gastonia; 21 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

Bonnie Ingle

Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Rev. Ed Beddingfield officiated. Burial was in Cullowhee Baptist Church Cemetery.

A native of Madison County, she lived most of her life in Buncombe County. She had been employed by Beacon Manufacturing Mills as a seamstress. She was the daughter of the late Wallace and Daisy Chandley Ray.

She was preceded in death by her husbands, Cleve H. Hurt and the Rev. Cling Ingle; one son, Fremont C. Hurt; one daughter, Ethel Hurt Brown; one half-sister, Ethel Shelton; and two infants.

Surviving are one half-brother, Lloyd Ray of Greeneville, Tenn.; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of West Care, 68 Hospital Road Sylva, N.C. 28779; or Together We Grow, c/o Sylva First Baptist Church, P.O. Drawer 1024, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Bonnie Shelton

A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, she was a daughter of the late William Randolph and Margaret Elizabeth Long Tolley. She was manager of Western Union and Trailway Bus Station.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jesse Leroy Shelton, who died Dec. 3; and two brothers, Woodrow and Bud Tolley.

Surviving are two sons, Randall Shelton of Brevard and Dennis W. Shelton of Sylva; two sisters, Marie Coggins of Sylva and Louise Torrence of Sedro Wooley, Wash.; one brother Charles Tolley of Texas; and five grandchildren.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Wayne Deitz

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Fairview Baptist Church, where he was a member. The Revs. James Griffin and Gene Booker officiated. Burial was in Evergreen Memory Gardens.

A native of Jackson County, he was a son of the late Nathaniel Jackson and Eugenia Green Deitz. He had lived in Reidsville since 1966.

He retired as pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in 1975. He was a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, was licensed to preach in 1936 and ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1938. He pastored churches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia and North Carolina. He served as a member of the North Carolina Baptist General Board during the 1960s.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Lovie Griffin Deitz.

Surviving are four daughters, Nancy D. Liles and Beverly D. Edwards, both of Grifton, Martha D. Roberson of Reidsville and Pamela D. Thomas of Raleigh; and six grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of Rockingham County, P.O. Box 281, Wentworth, N.C. 27375.

Darrell Brown

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22, in the chapel of Melton-Riddle Funeral Home. The Revs. Roy Burnette and Ed Beddingfield will officiate. Burial will be in Cullowhee Baptist Church Cemetery.

A native of Jackson County, he was a son of the late Kenneth R. and Ethel Hurt Brown.

Surviving are one daughter, Melody Colley of Landcaster, Calif.; two sisters, Winnie B. Dills of Sylva and Barbara Long of Whittier; one brother, Tommy Brown of Gulfport, Miss.; and two grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at the funeral home.

Hattie Parris

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20, at Buff Creek Baptist Church, of which she was a member. The Revs. Gerald Morris and Wayne Sorrells officiated. Burial was in Addie Cemetery.

A native of Jackson County where she lived most of her life, she was a daughter of the late James and Florence Wilson Parris. She was preceded in death by five brothers and four sisters.

Surviving is one sister, Ida Pannell of Sylva.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

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