GenealogyBuff.com - Hertford County, North Carolina Obituary Collection - 66
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com Date: Tuesday, 4 June 2024, at 1:54 p.m.
Bobby Ray Miller, Jr.
July 18, 2012
CHESAPEAKE, VA - Bobby Ray Miller, Jr., age 52, died Wednesday, July 18, 2012, in his home.
Mr. Miller was born in Hertford County, NC, on July 28, 1959, the son of Ruby Evans Miller and the late Bobby Ray Miller, Sr. Bobby worked as a medical assistant and also a presser in the dry-cleaning business.
Left to cherish his memory is his mother, Ruby Miller; two aunts, several cousins and special friend, Dr. Michael Creef.
A celebration of life graveside service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, 2012, at Hillcrest Cemetery in Colerain, NC, with the Rev. Haden Conrad officiating.
The family will assemble at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home in Ahoskie, prior to services.
Janie Railey Early
July 23, 2012
Janie Railey Early, 99, of Charlotte, NC, died on July 23, 2012, at her residence in Aldersgate United Methodist Retirement Community. Janie, the youngest of five children born to Lizzie Britt Railey and Eddie Jester Railey, was born September 18, 1912, in rural Hertford County, NC. After attending Campbell College, she moved to Ahoskie, NC, where she met Al Early, deceased, her husband of 62 years. They had two children, A. James Early III, deceased, and Jane Early Chanon who survives her.
Her strength, determination and positive attitude were a blessing. She loved her church, her family, and time spent on the golf course or at the bridge table. Thanks to the kind people at Aldersgate, she was able to play bridge the rest of her life.
Janie lived independently in Ahoskie, until she was 92. In 2005, she moved to Charlotte to be near her children. Janie was proud of her family and was always pleased with the attention given her by her devoted grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and friends. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her son-in-law, John Chanon of Charlotte and their children Paul Chanon and his wife Shea of Marietta, GA, David Chanon and his wife Amanda of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and Andrew Chanon and his wife Vicki of Durham, NC. She is also survived by her beloved granddaughter Andrea Owens and her husband Peter of Chapel Hill, NC, and her caring daughter-in-law Suzannah Early and her children Lyn Hardway and Herbert Turner. Her great-grandchildren are Nina Early; Railey, Sara Mays, Ella, Claire and Tyler Chanon; JP Barwick; and Will and Caroline Turner. Hal Liverman of Murfreesboro, NC, was like a second son to her.
Her family is deeply thankful for the love and care shown to Janie by the staff at Aldersgate, especially Edna Calphen.
A graveside service to celebrate Janie Early’s life will be held at the Ahoskie Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 30. Memorials may be made in Janie Early’s name to Ahoskie United Methodist Church, 212 Church Street W, Ahoskie, NC 27910 or Aldersgate United Methodist Retirement Community, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215.
Dr. O. Woodrow "Woody" Pittman
February 15, 1914 -- July 28, 2012
Dr. Otis Woodrow Pittman, or Woody as he was known to all, was born in Kinston, NC, on February 15, 1914, to Edward Kirby Smith Pittman and Bessie Elizabeth Tyndall Pittman. He had one sister Frances Pittman Woodard, who died several years ago. His avocations and delights developed throughout his formative years, including music, scouts, dancing, sports, beaches, Wake Forest, Shriners, Rotary, the Methodist Church, and Rachel (whom he first met when he came to Ahoskie from Wake Forest College one weekend with her brother George. Rachel arrived home for lunch on roller skates with pigtails flying!).
When he was born, Woody surely had a tenor sax in one hand and a drumstick in the other and felt the beat of swing and jazz from the beginning. Despite much banging on pots and pans, and eventually the gift of his granddaddy’s tin drum, he had no formal music lessons but had the honor and nerve to sing a solo ("I wonder what I’ll be when I grow up?") at age five for the senior graduation at Grainger High School in Kinston. He listened constantly to his father’s old recordings of John Phillip Sousa’s band and eventually got to hear the band perform live in Kinston, establishing a correspondence with the bass drummer. Before playing sax, he played drums and joined Mehegan’s Boys’ Band in Kinston. A special highlight for this band was an invitation in 1929 to journey by bus and boat to the dedication of the Wright Memorial at Kill Devil Hills. Woody even shook Orville Wright’s hand. Later some of those same close friends in Mehegan’s Boys’ Band would play music with Woody during college and thereafter.
Woody’s enthusiasm for scouting began as a boy when he met in Kinston a man who was close to Lord Baden-Powell. This man began what would be the very first Wolf-Cub troop in America. Woody was a proud charter member and felt fortunate to have had this experience.
Woody’s love of music continued throughout his life and truly defined his being. He was forever humming a tune or doing a finger drum beat, and he was never ever without a tune swirling in his head. Once he could not remember the name of a tune which needed identification to win a quiz on WRCS radio in Ahoskie. Undeterred, Woody called old music buddy Benny Goodman, who had originally recorded the tune, and whistled it into the phone. Benny harmonized on the whistling and duly supplied the name. Something Woody once forgot to tell his parents was that he and three others were stowing away on a steamer to go to Europe to enjoy a brief career as buskers on street corners. Only after deportation sent them packing did Woody decide to take a post-high school gap year in New York City before entering Wake Forest where he became drum major of the marching band and performed on tenor sax and vocals in the school orchestra. This same swing band played the Carolina beaches each summer.
During World War II, Woody had his own bands in Norfolk, VA, and Washington, DC, where they played the big hotels and on the radio. He occasionally played drums in the Norfolk Symphony. One night at their regular gig at the Statler Hotel in Washington the band was surprised to have then Senator Harry Truman ask to sit in on piano. When not on the bandstand, Woody captained a bowling team, Pittman’s Penguins. He became a civilian procurement officer with the Canadian Army, through which he was in London during the blitz. After Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the US Army. He played music throughout the war, and afterwards, while obtaining his optometry degree at The Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, he played with various bands up and down the Mississippi—bands including the Dorsey brothers, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, and others.
After establishing his optometric practice in Ahoskie in 1946, Woody renewed his acquaintance with Rachel, romance blossomed, and marriage ensued. While optometry was his vocation, music was his primary avocation. Even when he traveled years later with Rachel and their daughters back to London, while the girls were touring, he was around the corner at St. James Palace listening to the rehearsal of the Queens’s Horse Guard’s marching band. Woody had his own band which played in the Anchor Room of the Carolinian Hotel at Nags Head for twenty years, and after that he had other bands and countless other gigs, including many years with the Southernaires at Atlantic Beach and a Dixieland jazz group called the Sand Fleas. Even very recently, when circumstances had greatly limited his activities, he sang along with Lawrence Welk every Saturday night.
Throughout his forty years of practicing optometry, from 1946-1986, he remained civic-minded and Methodist-minded, serving on various local, regional, and state boards. Since 1946, Woody belonged to the Ahoskie Rotary Club and was also a long-standing member of the Masons and Scottish Rite Shriners, playing bass drum and marching in numerous parades. He founded a Roanoke Chowan Sports Club back in the 1950’s and had speakers such as Charlie Justice and Bones McKinney. He performed in musical productions that were once part of the Ahoskie cultural scene, one of his favorite roles being Pish-tush in The Mikado, an event that brought Andy Griffith to town. Woody chaired various boards, including the March of Dimes, Red Cross, Hertford/Gates Board of Health, Ahoskie Planning Board, NC Optometric Society, PTA, and the Official Board of Ahoskie United Methodist Church. He was a charter member of Beechwood Country Club and Roanoke Chowan Hospital. He was the oldest continuous player in the men’s softball league in Ahoskie, and he played tennis until he hurt his hip in a fall on the courts when he was 85, whipping many a lad half his age. To the end, he remained passionate about all his avocations, interests, and delights, and he died peacefully at his home, Wynnewood, listening to big band music.
Woody’s family includes two daughters, Amy Braswell and Betsy Overton, and two sons-in-law, Ken Braswell and Larry Overton. He will forever be loved as "Goggi" by his grandchildren Wynne Overton, Anderson Braswell and wife Joanna, Shields Overton and wife Maria, Chason Braswell and wife Christine, and great-granddaughter Claire Margaret Braswell. Woody was married for 61 years to Rachel Cleo Newbern, who predeceased him January 4, 2009, and who frequently was heard to say, "Woody—WOODY." Once Grandma Mary famously replied to Rachel, "And to think, you got him!"
A memorial service celebrating Woody’s life will be August 6, 2012, at 11 AM at Ahoskie United Methodist Church. Prior to the service, at 10 AM, the family will receive family and friends in the church library. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Ahoskie United Methodist Church, Vidant Home Health and Hospice, the Millennium Fire Department or Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Joyce Spivey Byrum
August 01, 2012
AHOSKIE – Joyce Spivey Byrum, age 72, died Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital.
Mrs. Byrum was born in Hertford County on August 30, 1939, a daughter of the late Ruth Mullen and Alvah Theodore Spivey. She was a member of Holly Springs Baptist Church. Joyce worked side-by-side with her husband for more than 40 years in their family business; and was a devoted wife, mother, and "GaGa". She will truly be missed by all.
Left to cherish her memory is her husband, A. T. Byrum, Jr. of the home; two sons, Trey Byrum and wife, Harriet, and Al Byrum and wife, Carmen, all of Ahoskie; a sister, JoAnn Herring and husband, Gene of Suffolk, VA; and two granddaughters, Avery Byrum and Allie Byrum.
A celebration of life graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2012, at Highland Memorial Gardens, Ahoskie, with the Rev. Richard Rice officiating. The family will receive friends at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home on Friday evening from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. and other times at the home.
Katy Evans Johnson
August 08, 2012
Scotland Neck, NC - Katy Evans Johnson, age 83, died August 8, 2012, at the Bryan Long Term Care Center of Our Community Hospital in Scotland Neck, NC. She was born March 29, 1929 in Murfreesboro, NC, to the late Howard L. Evans and Orpah Steed Evans.
Preceding her in death, other than her parents, is her brother H. L. Evans, Jr.
Katy attended St. Mary’s School in Raleigh, NC. She married Jim Johnson in 1949 and to this marriage was born five children.
She was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Scotland Neck, NC, until her stroke in November of 2000, when she moved to Bryan Long Term Care Center. She served on many committees of the First Baptist Church, including the Board of Deacons. She also served on several community boards including Scotland Neck Memorial Library, Scotland Neck Rescue Squad and Meals on Wheels.
When Katy wasn’t walking or riding her bike, she could be found in her kitchen baking homemade sourdough "Katy Bread". She gave loaves of bread to many people. She had lots of friends and never met a stranger.
She is survived by all of her five children, Hugh Johnson and wife, Elvira, of Pahoa, HI; Mandy Johnson of Morehead City, NC; Jamie Johnson and wife, Becky, of Ahoskie, NC; Evans Johnson of Ahoskie, NC; and Katy Too Johnson Lewis and husband, Ceaso, of Scotland Neck, NC.
She was "Grandma Katy" to eight grandchildren: Jason and Scarlett Johnson, Lt. Michael Pinar Johnson, Lauren Johnson, Tillery, Loftin, and Steed Johnson, and Ashley Lewis. She is survived by her brother, John Steed Evans and wife, Ann, of Greenville, SC; her brother, Joe Evans and wife, Lynne, of Rhododendron, OR; sisters-in-law, Elaine Garrett Evans of Honolulu, HI, and Molly Weeks Johnson of Winston Salem, NC; a special lifetime friend, Ruth K. House, and caregiver and friend, Sylvia Wiggins.
The family will receive friends on Sunday evening, August 12, 2012 from 7:00-9:00PM at the First Baptist Church of Scotland Neck Fellowship Hall.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, August 13, 2012 at 2:00PM at First Baptist Church of Scotland Neck with the Reverend Walter Byrum officiating the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Scotland Neck Meals on Wheels, Attn: Nancy Jackson, PO Box 537, Scotland Neck, NC 27874; First Baptist Church of Scotland Neck, 1015 Church Street, Scotland Neck, NC 27874, or a charity of your choice.
Sykes Funeral Service of Rich Square is handling the arrangements for the Johnson family.
John Thomas "Bug" Casper
August 11, 2012
AHOSKIE – John Thomas "Bug" Casper, age 66, of Evergreen St., died Saturday, August 11, 2012, at Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital.
Mr. Casper was born in Hertford County on May 22, 1946, a son of the late Mary Lee Pierce and Curtis Casper. He worked as an auto mechanic and owned and operated Casper’s Auto from 1993 until 2004.
Left to cherish his memory is his loving wife, Brenda Evans Casper of the home; his daughters, Rose "Doodle" Casper of the home, and Sherry C. Brinkley and her husband, Stephen of Ahoskie; his son, Chris Casper and his wife, Stephanie of Ahoskie; a brother Frankie Casper; and grandchildren, John Michael Harrell, Haley Casper, Brianna Brinkley and Courtney Brinkley. Bug was predeceased by a brother, Jesse Lee Casper.
The family will receive friends at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home, Ahoskie, from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. A celebration of life service will be conducted at the funeral home on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. with the Revs. Paul Ange and Jeff Cockrell officiating. Burial will follow in Ahoskie Cemetery.
Edward Owen Brown
August 18, 2012
COLERAIN, NC – Edward Owen Brown, age 90, of Morris Ford Road, died Saturday, August 18, 2012, at Windsor House in Windsor, NC.
Mr. Brown was born in Bertie County on September 14, 1921, a son of the late Minnie Perry and Issac M. Brown. Edward lived most of his adult life outside of North Carolina. After graduating from Mars Hill High School, he attended East Carolina College in Greenville for three years before being called into service during World War II. Ed signed up for the Navy and was shipped to Great Lakes, IL for training. While stationed there, he went to Yeoman school. After completion of school, he was shipped to Norfolk and assigned to a destroyer. His shipped sailed through the Panama Canal for a tour of duty in the South Pacific. Ed remained in the area around Tokyo for a short time after the war ended before returning to San Diego, CA, for discharge.
Soon after discharge, Ed came home for one month, found out that farming was not for him and returned to southern California. He worked various jobs for a few years before going to work for Ford Motor Company in Los Angeles. After 30 years with Ford, he retired and continued living in southern California. Mr. Brown built a new home in Fallbrook, CA, about midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, known as the avocado capital of the world, and he grew acres of the avocado fruit.
In August of 2007, Ed returned to North Carolina to live with his sister Joy. "The only thing better, " he said, "would have been for Joy to come to southern California, but that was not in the cards."
Left to cherish his memory are his sisters, Viola B. Outland and her husband, Felton Outland, Sr., of Sunbury, NC, and Joy B. Sumner of Colerain, NC. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Brown was predeceased by his sisters, Evelyn Leggett and Barbara Wiggins, and brothers, Ralph Brown, Eugene Brown, Carroll Brown, and Marshall Brown.
A celebration of life graveside service will be conducted on Monday, August 20, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. in Highland Memorial Gardens, Ahoskie, with the Rev. Bob Johnson officiating. The family will receive friends at the home of Joy Brown. Memorial donations may be made to Mars Hill Baptist Church, 1325 Meadow Rd., Colerain, NC 27924; or to Trap Volunteer Fire Department, 1404 Meadow Rd., Colerain, NC, 27924.
Garrett-Jones Funeral Home is serving the Brown family.
Elizabeth Cullins Parker
August 24, 2012
COMO, NC - Elizabeth Cullins Parker, age 85, of Ebo Road, died Friday, August 24, 2012, at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Mrs. Parker was born in Nansemond County, Suffok, VA, on April 3, 1927, a daughter of the late Seth and Sue Goodman Parker. She was a member of Buckhorn Baptist Church. Elizabeth retired as Nutrition Site Manager with the Hertford County Office of the Aging after 25 years of service. She was also a retired hairdresser. She was the widow of William Thomas Cullins and Paul Thomas Parker
Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Pat Duke and friend, Gerald Harvey, and Debbie Cowan and husband, Jerry all of Murfreesboro, NC, Tracey White of Como, NC, and Dawn Pomeroy and husband, Raymond of Conway, NC; two sisters, Ola Paige Drewry of Courtland, VA, and Virginia Williams of Franklin, VA; and two brothers, Harold Parker and John Thomas Parker, both of Suffolk, VA. Mrs. Parker is also survived by sixteen grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and several stepchildren. She was predeceased by a granddaughter, Christina Futrell.
A celebration of life service will be conducted on Monday, August 27, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. at Buckhorn Baptist Church with the Rev. Josh Parsons officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home, Ahoskie, from 7:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 26, and other times at Mrs. Parker's home. Memorial donations may be made to Buckhorn Baptist Church, P.O. Box 67, Como, NC, 27818.
William Hughlette Mosley, Jr.
August 28, 2012
Mr. William Hughlette "Hugh" Moseley, Jr., age 82, died at Vidant Roanoke Chowan Hospital on Tuesday, August 28, 2012.
Mr. Moseley was born to the late Nellie Page Moseley and William Hughlette Moseley.
He graduated from Jackson High School and attended N.C. State University for two years.
Mr. Moseley went in the Navy and served his country for four years.
He was married to Frances Edwards Moseley in 1951, and to this marriage was born three children.
Mr. Moseley worked as truck driver and then was promoted to plant manager for the Maola Milk and Ice Cream Company where he worked approximately twenty years.
He went to work and retired with Eastern Fuels as the regional manager for Red Apple Markets. Following retirement Mr. Moseley worked for a period of time at Valley Pine Golf Course, Tuscarora Greens and Beechwood Country Club. He loved working at the golf course and also enjoyed playing golf. Mr. Moseley was a member of the Powellsville United Methodist Church in Powellsville, NC. Other than his love of golf, Mr. Moseley enjoyed woodworking.
Preceding him in death besides his parents are two brothers, Page and Keith Moseley.
Survivors include his wife, Frances "Fran" Edwards Moseley of the home, three sons, William Glenn Moseley and his wife Deborah of Panama City, FL, Gregory Wayne Moseley and his wife Mary Anna of Bear Grass, NC, and Garry Allen Moseley of Greenville, NC, two sisters, Jane Chamblee and her husband Willie and Barbara Perry and her husband Gene all of Ahoskie, NC, two sister-in-laws, Ann Moseley of Ayden, NC, and Janet Moseley of Tampa, FL. Also surviving are five grandchildren, Neil Moseley, Chrissie Reynolds, Kelly, Marissa and Sara Moseley, two great-grandchildren, Elizabeth and Ryan Reynolds.
Funeral service will be conducted on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 11 A.M. at the Chapel of Garrett-Jones Funeral Home in Ahoskie, NC, with the Rev. Walter Johnson officiating. The interment will follow at Highland Memorial Garden in Ahoskie, NC.
The family will receive friends at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home in Ahoskie, NC, on Friday evening from 7:00-8:30 P.M.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Powellsville United Methodist Church, 209 Bethlehem Church Rd, Powellsville, NC 27967 or American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718.
William H. "Billy" Joyner
September 01, 2012
AHOSKIE – William Harrison "Billy" Joyner, age 86, of Hwy 561, died Sunday, September 02, 2012, at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC.
Mr. Joyner was born in Hertford County on March 14, 1926, a son of the late Ruth Britton and William Thomas Joyner. He was a member of St. Johns Baptist Church. Billy was very proud that he a navy veteran of World War II, serving in the Pacific Theater on the USS Adams and the USS Quick.
In 1950, he married his sweetheart, Marian Bodiford Joyner, and started his family and business. Marian predeceased him in 2006. He was a business man in Ahoskie for many years, being owner and operator of Joyner’s TV Service, and later, Radio Shack, until his retirement.
Left to cherish his memory is his daughter, Judy J. Perry and husband, Pat, of Ahoskie, NC; his sons, Freddy Joyner and wife, Hilda of Clayton, NC, Al Joyner and wife, Jackie of Lake Lure, NC, and Gary Joyner of Gatesville, NC; his grandchildren, Jesse Sumner and wife, Leigh, Ashton S. Weller and husband, Brian, Matt Joyner, Victoria J. Wiley and husband, Justin, Will Joyner and Lee Joyner; and great-grandchildren, Katelyn Sumner, Brett Sumner, Bailey Sumner, Madison Weller, Caroline Wiley, Addison Wiley and Kamdyn Wiley. He is also survived by a sister, Eloise Belch of Ahoskie, NC; and five brothers, Eugene Joyner of Richmond, VA, Jimmy Joyner of Hampton, VA, Julian Joyner, Hunter Joyner and Roy Joyner, all of Ahoskie, NC.
A celebration of life service will be conducted on Thursday, September 6, 2012, at St. John's Baptist Church, at 2:00 p.m. with the Rev. Garry Medford officiating. Burial will follow in Job Cemetery with military honors. The family will receive friends at Garrett-Jones Funeral Home, Ahoskie, from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 5. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Gary B. Joyner Medical Assistance Fund.
