LEXINGTON — Harold E. Abrams Jr., 53, West Center Street Ext., died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001) at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, Winston-Salem.

Services: Memorial, 2 p.m. Saturday, Davidson Funeral Home chapel.

Visitation: 12:30-1:30 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. The family will receive friends at Friendship United Methodist Church fellowship hall after the service.

Memorials: Hospice of Davidson County, P.O. Box 1941, Lexington, NC 27293; or Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.

Russell C. Black

STATESVILLE — Russell Clarence Black, 89, 309 Turnersburg Road, brother of Donald Franklin Black, Lexington, died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001) at Iredell Memorial Hospital after a serious illness.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday, Hebron Baptist Church. The body will be placed in the church at 10:30. Burial, family plot in Oakwood Cemetery.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight, Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home.

Memorials: Hebron Baptist Church, 175 Hebron Road, Statesville, NC 28625.

Condolences may be sent by e-mail to: www.legacy.com .

Andrew Grooms

ROSWELL, N.M. — The funeral will be Saturday for Andrew Grooms, 20, of Roswell. A student at Catawba College, Salisbury, N.C., he died Sunday (Oct. 28, 2001) at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C., from injuries sustained in a fire.

Born Oct. 16, 1981, in Roswell, Mr. Grooms was a son of Andrew and Eileen Homschek Grooms. He was a member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. He spoke German and French and had pen pals in 30 countries.

Survivors, in addition to his parents, include brother Brian Grooms, of the home; maternal grandparents Fred and Anna Homschek, Canton, Ga.; and paternal grandmother Margaret Grooms, Ruidoso.

Services: Memorial, 11 a.m. Saturday, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, conducted by the Rev. Bob Williams.

La Grone Funeral Home Chapel and Crematory is in charge.

Thomas W. Hart

KANNAPOLIS — Thomas William “Coot” Hart, 86, 120 Kennedy St., died Tuesday (Oct. 30, 2001).

Born Dec. 5, 1914, in Mecklenburg County, Mr. Hart was a son of the late Otha and Hannah Withers Hart. He retired from Cannon Mills after 40 years.

Survivors include wife Lila Belle Hart; daughters Deborah Washington Foster and Valerie Lipscomb, both of Kannapolis; sons Jackie and David Eugene Washington, both of Kannapolis; sisters Mary Rico, New York City, and Lula Carson, Mooresville; 15 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Services: 2 p.m. Saturday, South Harding Street Church of God, conducted by Junior Bishop Tyrone Washington. Burial, Carolina Memorial Park.

Visitation: 1-2 p.m. Saturday at the church.

Bryant-Lytle-Young Funeral Home is in charge.

Kyle Wayne Hooks

KANNAPOLIS — Kyle Wayne Hooks, 67, 806 Mount Olivet Road, died Thursday (Oct. 1, 2001) at NorthEast Medical Center, Concord.

Born July 26, 1934, in Rowan County, Mr. Hooks was a son of the late Herman L. and Myrtle Deal Hooks. He retired from General Motors Inc. parts division, Charlotte, and was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church.

Survivors include wife Janice Carpenter Hooks; son Michael Wayne Hooks, Kannapolis; and one grandson.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday, Whitley’s Funeral Home chapel, conducted by the Rev. Don Shuman and Sarah Weaver. Entombment, Carolina Memorial Park Mausoleum.

Visitation: 6-8 p.m. today at the funeral home. At other times the family will be at the home on Mount Olivet Road.

Memorials: Trinity United Methodist Church, 416 E. First St., Kannapolis, NC 28083.

Joe DeWitt Kelly

NEW LONDON — Joe DeWitt Kelly, 74, 228 E. Gold St., died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001) at Stanly Memorial Hospital, Albemarle.

Born Nov. 2, 1926, in Stanly County, Mr. Kelly was a son of the late DeWitt and Gladys Cooper Kelly. He graduated from Asheboro High School and Catawba College, where he was a member of the baseball team and earned the nickname “Fireball.”

He played semi-pro baseball with the Wiscassett Spinners and with the U.S. Navy team during his service in World War II.

A teacher and coach in the New London and North Stanly schools, he taught and coached girls’ and boys’ basketball from 1950-1954 at Greenwood School, Lemon Springs. He began his coaching and teaching career in Stanly County in 1955 at the old New London High School. In 1962, he went to the newly constructed North Stanly High School, where he coached football, boys’ baseball and basketball.

During his 28 years of coaching basketball, he won 668 games. The baseball stadium of North Stanly was named in his honor. He was a member of the N.C. High School Coaching Association for 25 years.

His fellow teachers selected him Teacher of the Year several times. He was inducted into the Stanly County Hall of Fame in 1998.

The director of the Optimist Little League program, he was a member and deacon of New London First Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday school.

Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Mattie Barringer Kelly; son Joe D. Kelly Jr., New London; daughters Mary Kelly Chandlee, Wakefield, R.I., and Camilla Kelly Quinn, New London; brother Jim Kelly, Beltsville, Md.; sisters Margaret Macho, East Stroudsburg, Pa., and Mildred Andrew, Albemarle; and eight grandchildren.

Services: 3 p.m. Sunday, New London Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Tim Swaringen and the Rev. Jason Lee. The body will be placed in the church at 2:30. Burial, New London Cemetery.

Visitation: 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Stanly Funeral Home.

Memorials: Joe D. Kelly Scholarship Fund, North Stanly High School, c/o Martha Wolf, 40206 U.S. 52 Hwy. N., New London, NC 28127.

‘Dot’ McFarland

GRAYSON, Ga. — Dorothy K. “Dot” McFarland, 61, Grayson, a native of Salisbury, N.C., died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001).

A retired registered x-ray technician, Mrs. McFarland was a member of Grayson United Methodist Church.

Survivors include husband of 25 years Brent McFarland; sons Ron Doby, Salisbury, N.C., and Ryan McFarland, Batavia, Ill.; brother Charles Kluttz, Winston-Salem, N.C.; and four grandchildren.

Services: Memorial, 5 p.m. Saturday,Eternal Hills Funeral Home chapel, Snellville, conducted by Dr. Philip D. Schroeder.

Visitation: At the funeral home after the service.

Lucy Poteat Rusher

The funeral will be Saturday for Lucy Poteat Rusher, 89, 103 Prestwick Court, who died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001) at Rowan Regional Medical Center after several years of declining health.

Born Dec. 11, 1911, in Burke County, Mrs. Rusher was a daughter of the late Thomas T. and Minnie Butler Poteat. She attended Laura Sunderland Boarding School, Concord, and graduated from East Spencer High School.

At one point, she was employed with N.C. Finishing Co. and later worked for Leisure Lads Manufacturing.

For the majority of her life, she was a member at Christ Lutheran Church, East Spencer, where she was involved with WELCA, a member of the choir and council, and a Sunday school teacher. More recently, she was a member of Wittenburg Lutheran Church.

Survivors include husband Worth B. Rusher, whom she married March 17, 1935; son Bobby L. Rusher, Salisbury; daughter Joyce Rusher Cline, Salisbury; brother Dewey Poteat, Lowell; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday, Wittenburg Lutheran Church, conducted by the Rev. Bob Voelker and the Rev. Linda Voelker, co-pastors, and the Rev. Edward Harper, a former pastor and of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Dallas. Burial, Rowan Memorial Park.

Visitation:7-8:30 tonight at Summersett Funeral Home and from 10-11 a.m. Saturday in the Wittenburg Lutheran Church fellowship hall.

Memorials: Wittenburg Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 345, Granite Quarry, NC 28072; or American Heart Association, c/o Betty Brisson, memorial chairwoman, 140 Regency Road, Salisbury, NC 28147.

Pauline Morris Shaver

Pauline Morris Shaver, 69, Salisbury, died Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2001) at Rowan Regional Medical Center after two weeks of serious illness.

Born May 15, 1932, in Stanly County, Mrs. Shaver was a daughter of the late Travis Filmore and Lillie Marks Morris. She was educated in the Stanly County schools.

A homemaker, she was a Baptist.

Her husband, Fred Shaver, preceded her in death.

Survivors include daughter Paula Marshall, Winston-Salem; sisters Gladys Russell, Albemarle, Flossie Brock, Troy, and Hazel Goodman, Salisbury; and two grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday, Lyerly Funeral Home chapel, conducted by Dr. J. Wilford Lyerly of Mount Airy. Burial, Brookhill Memorial Gardens, Rockwell.

Visitation: 7-8:30 tonight at the funeral home.

Memorials: American Cancer Society, Rowan Chapter, 414 S. Main St., Salisbury, NC 28144.

Ricole Simpson

Ricole Simpson, 41, 507 N. Long St., died Friday (Nov. 2, 2001) at Rowan Regional Medical Center.

Born Nov. 13, 1959, in Essex County, N.J., Ms. Simpson was a daughter of the late Willie Thomas and Chariel Simpson. She was educated in the Essex County, N.J., schools and was employed as a cook at a Captain D’s Seafood Restaurant.

Survivors include sons Kenneth, Enice and Brad Simpson, all of Salisbury; daughters Chariel Dye and Desiree Smith, both of Kannapolis; and five grandchildren.

Services: The body will be cremated. No services will be held.

Visitation: The body may be viewed on Saturday at Rowan Funeral Service.

Lillie Smith Stout

Lillie Mae Smith Stout, 77, 1116 Crestview Ave., died Thursday (Nov. 1, 2001) at Rowan Regional Medical Center after a day of serious illness.

Noble and Kelsey Funeral Home is in charge.

Edward J. Straub

Edward J. Straub, 90, Salisbury, died Thursday (Nov. 1, 2001) at Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation.

Summersett Funeral Home is in charge.

Yesterday's obits