Matthew Bialy

Matthew Bialy, 77, died Thursday (Dec. 23, 1999) at Rowan Regional Medical Center.

Summersett Funeral Home is in charge.

Laura Murph Dayvault

CHINA GROVE — Laura Murph Dayvault, 96, Care Inn Rest Home, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999).

Born Dec. 14, 1903, Mrs. Dayvault was a daughter of the late J.D. and Betty Moore Murph. She was employed by Cannon Mills Plant No.1 crash department for about 40 years before her retirement in 1970. She was a lifelong member of Midway United Methodist Church, Kannapolis. She attended Winecoff School and later attended Washington Collegiate Institute, Washington, N.C., a private school.

Her husband, J.O. “Joe” Dayvault, died Dec. 22, 1993.

Survivors include son J.O. Dayvault Jr., Charlotte; brothers Everette Murph, Kannapolis, and J.M. “Milton” Murph, Concord; and one grandson.

Services: 2 p.m. Friday, Whitley’s Funeral Home Chapel, Kannapolis, conducted by the Rev. Billy Rintz. Burial, Oakwood Cemetery, Concord.

Visitation: 1-2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Memorials: Midway United Methodist Church, 708 S. Main St., Kannapolis, N.C. 28081.

Pearlie Morton Gantt

ALBEMARLE — Pearlie Morton Earnhardt Gantt, 91, Britthaven Nursing Center, former Charlotte resident, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999).

Lady’s Funeral Home, Kannapolis, is in charge.

Mary N. Garland

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Mary Lea Noell Garland, 71, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) in a Florence hospital.

Born in Salisbury, N.C., Mrs. Garland was a daughter of the late William Luther and Sarah Cliatt Noell. She was a graduate of Boyden High School and attended Catawba College. She was a member of First Methodist Church in Elkin, N.C.

Survivors include husband Thomas M. Garland; daughters Carol Garland, Darlington, and Claudia Garland Bardi, Florence; brother William L. Noell Jr. , Salisbury, N.C.; and three grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Friday, City Memorial Park, Salisbury, N.C.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight, Belk Funeral Home, with a wake service at 8 p.m.

Memorials: Charity of one’s choice.

Esther Foster Jenkins

CHINA GROVE — Esther Foster Jenkins, 76, 715 Greenfield Road, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) at NorthEast Medical Center, Concord, following an illness of three years.

Born April 1, 1923, in Concord, Mrs. Jenkins was a daughter of the late Shepherd Harrison and Fannie Mae Livengood Foster. She retired from the wash cloth department of Plant No. 1, Cannon Mills. She was a member of North Kannapolis Methodist Church.

Survivors include husband Glenn Edward Jenkins; daughter Phyllis Marlow, China Grove; son Coite Jenkins, Kannapolis; sisters Clara Keller, West Point, Ga., Mrs. Staley (Vickie) Johnson, Kannapolis; brothers Spurgeon Foster, Baltimore, Md., and Garfield Foster, Pangburn, Ark.; and three grandchildren.

Services: 10:30 a.m. Friday, Lady’s Funeral Home Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Steve Autrey. Burial, West Lawn Memorial Park.

Visitation: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Memorials: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 5007 Monroe Road, Suite 101, Charlotte, N.C. 28205.

Peggy Ellenburg Pilot

Peggy Ellenburg Pilot, Salisbury, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) at Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte.

Lyerly Funeral Home is in charge.

Ralph Eugene Heslop

MOORESVILLE — Ralph Eugene Heslop, 62, Cornelius Road, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) at Iredell Memorial Hospital, Statesville.

Born Sept. 10, 1937, in Harrisville, Pa., Mr. Heslop was a son of the late George E. and Ruth VanDyke Heslop. He was a machinist for Thorlo Inc. and a member of Vanderburg United Methodist Church, where he was on the Pastor Parish Relations Committee.

He was a former chairman of the church council and served in numerous other positions. He was also a member of the Mooresville Masonic Lodge No. 496, where he was past master and a certified lecturer, the Oasis Shrine Temple, Charlotte, and Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, S.J.USA.

Survivors include wife Kathleen “Kathy” Covert Heslop, whom he married Nov. 21, 1956; sons Stephen D. Heslop, Sparks, Nev., David A. Heslop, Chapel Hill; daughter Lori H. Rose, State College, Pa.; brothers Virgil E. Heslop, Girard, Ohio, and Dallas E. Heslop, Niles, Ohio,; sisters Grace Groom, Butler, Pa., Evelyn Aites, Brockton, Mass., and Margaret Blose, Harrisville, Pa.; and three grandchildren.

Services: 4 p.m. Sunday, Vanderburg United Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev. W. Gerald Davis. Burial, church cemtery.

Visitation: 2-3 p.m. Sunday, Cavin Funeral Home.

Memorials: American Heart Association, c/o Lib Cooke, 129 Pampas Lane, Mooresville, N.C. 28117, or Masonic and Eastern Star Home, 700 S. Holden Road, Greensboro, N.C. 27410.

Henry Braxton Pressley

KANNAPOLIS — Henry Braxton Pressley, 79, formerly of 204 W. 18th St., died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) at Autumn Care.

Born Oct. 20, 1920, in Union County, Mr. Pressley was a son of the late Nancy Jane Amanda Haigler and Thomas Franklin Pressley. A disabled Army veteran of World War II, he was a member of North Kannapolis Baptist Church.

Survivors include sister Velma Adams, Kannapolis; and several nephews.

Services: 3 p.m. today, Whitley’s Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Leon Hawks. Burial, Carolina Memorial Park.

Visitation: 2-3 p.m. today at the funeral home.

Memorials: North Kannapolis Baptist Church, c/o Fellowship Hall Building Fund, 312 Locust St/, Kannapolis, N.C. 28081.

Margaret Bell Smith

Margaret Bell Smith, 75, 406 Forestdale Drive, Spencer, died Wednesday (Dec. 22, 1999) at her residence.

Born March 26, 1924, in Stanly County, Mrs. Smith was a daughter of the late Margaret Greely and Price Bell. She graduated from Spencer High School and retired from K-Town Furniture Store. She was a member of Oakdale Baptist Church.

A son, George Michael Smith, died Feb. 11, 1979.

Survivors include husband George W. Smith; daughters Betsy S. Morgan, Spencer, and Carolyn S. Murphy, Atlanta, Ga.; brother James P. Bell, Charlotte; sisters Elizabeth Talbert, Concord, and Martha Rimer, Florence, S.C.; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild.

Services: 11 a.m. Friday, graveside, Rowan Memorial Park, conducted by the Rev. Robert T. Heard, Oakdale Baptist Church, and the Rev. Ruth Lenger, Spencer Presbyterian Church.

Visitation: 6:30-8 tonight, Summersett Funeral Home.

Memorials: Oakdale Baptist Church, P.O. Box 233, Spencer, N.C. 28159, or Spencer Presbyterian Church, 113 First St., Spencer, N.C. 28159.

Ethel Stewart

MOORESVILLE — Ethel Stewart, 84, Mooresville, died Tuesday (Dec. 21, 1999) following cancer surgery.

Born March 7, 1915, in Tellico, Tenn., Miss Stewart was a daughter of the late D.D. and Laura Carpenter Stewart. She was educated at Western Carolina and George Peabody colleges.

Except for a brief period in Washington, D.C., during World War II, her entire professional career was devoted to elementary education. She taught for 38 years, the majority of that time at Park View Elementary School. During her career as a teacher, she received several honors.

She was a member of First Baptist Church, the National Education Association and the North Carolina Education Association.

Survivors include brothers Gay Stewart, Salisbury, and Lawrence Stewart, Alameda, Calif.; sisters Faye Stewart, Mooresville, and Imogene Brown, Crystal River, Fla.

Services: 11 a.m. Friday, Cavin Funeral Home Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Dr. E. Harvey Rogers. Burial, Glenwood Memorial Park.

Visitation: 5-7 tonight, Cavin Funeral Home.