Marshall D. Smithers

KANNAPOLIS — Marshall Donavan Smithers, 83, 516 Jackson Park Road, died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999) at NorthEast Medical Center, Concord.

Born Aug. 22, 1916, in Rocky Mount, Va., Mr. Smithers was a son of the late Thomas Jackson and Mary Wootsy Donavan Smithers. He had retired three years ago as a pharmaceutical representative. A member of First Baptist Church, he was an usher and deacon.

His wife, Eleanor Duke Smithers, died March 28, 1991.

Survivors include daughter Jacquelyn Ann Smithers, Ann Arbor, Mich.; sons Wayne D. Smithers, Houston, Texas, Virgil A. Smithers, Raleigh, and Robin D. Smithers, Concord; sister Ann S. Mann, Cleveland, Ohio; and four grandchildren.

Services: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Lady’s Funeral Home Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Tom Cabaniss and Norman Brisson. Burial, Carolina Memorial Park.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight at the funeral home. At other times the family will be at the home on Jackson Park Road.

Memorials: Alzheimer’s Association, Southern Piedmont Chapter, 3420 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28215.

Pearl Rogers Lowery

KANNAPOLIS — The funeral will be Tuesday for Pearl Rogers Lowery, 89, formerly of 2404 S. Cannon Blvd., who died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999) at Transitional Health Services.

Born April 25, 1910, in Rowan County, Mrs. Lowery was a daughter of the late John W. and Mary Elizabeth Morgan Rogers. She had retired in 1974 after 30 years with Belk Department Store, Kannapolis. She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where she was a former Sunday school teacher. She had also been a member of the Clarice Women’s Club and Kannapolis Garden Club.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee M. Lowery, and a son, Joseph Lee Lowery.

Survivors include brother Luther Rogers, Kannapolis; and sisters Marie Moore and Beulah Fletcher, both of Kannapolis.

Services: 4 p.m. Tuesday, Trinity United Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev. Don Shuman and the Rev. Wendy Shenk-Evans. Burial, Carolina Memorial Park.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight, Whitley’s Funeral Home.

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

Donna Plowman Vanhoy

RICHFIELD — Donna Kaye Plowman Vanhoy, 54, 21442 Rogers Road, died Sunday (Sept. 26, 1999)at Stanly Memorial Hospital, Albemarle.

Born Dec. 13, 1944, she was the daughter of Katherine Plowman Rogers and the stepdaughter of Howard Rogers, New London. A graduate of North Stanly High School, she was manager of the Merita Thrift Store.She was a member of Mountain Creek Primitive Baptist Church.

Survivors, in addition to her mother and stepfather, include husband C. Tom Vanhoy; daughters Melissa V. Earnhardt and Amy V. Austin, both of Richfield, and Donna V. Hatley, Albemarle; half brother Boyce Helms, Concord; half sister Barbara Ann Hartley, Mount Pleasant; and five grandchildren.

Services: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Mountain Creek Primitive Baptist Church, Albemarle, conducted by Elder Joe Helms, Elder Rommie Williams and Elder Roy Speir. The body will be placed in the church prior to the service. Burial, church cemetery.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight, Hartsell Funeral Home, Albemarle. At other times the family will be at the home on Rogers Road.

Memorials: Mountain Creek Primitive Baptist Church, c/o Lane Vanhoy, 40727 Ridenhour Road, Richfield, N.C. 28137.

Edward ‘Ed’ Rook

The funeral will be Tuesday for Edward “Ed” Charles Franklin Rook, 55, Salisbury, who died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999) at his home after a period of declining health.

Born Jan. 15, 1944, in Gaston County, Mr. Rook was a son of J.A. and Sleenia Turner Rook, Reidsville. He was a graduate of Boyden High School and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. He had retired as an engineer tech with the FAA in Charlotte due to ill health.

He was a member of Calvary Baptist Tabernacle, Keller Memorial Masonic Lodge, Rockwell, Oasis Temple,Charlotte, Scottish Rites Bodies and Salisbury York Rites, Rowan Shrine Club and Livengood-Peeler-Wood American Legion Post, where he was a past commander. He was also a life member of DAV and a volunteer with the Salvation Army.

Survivors, in addition to his parents, include wife Flora Phillips Rook, whom he married Nov. 16, 1973; son Eddie Rook, Reidsville; daughter Susan Pendleton, Danville; and one grandchild.

Services: 11 a.m.Tuesday, Calvary Baptist Tabernacle, conducted by the Rev. Steve Holshouser. Burial, Brookhill Memorial Gardens, Rockwell.

Visitation: 7-8:30 tonight, Lyerly Funeral Home. At other times the family will be at the home.

Memorials: Calvary Baptist Tabernacle, 3760 Stokes Ferry Road, Salisbury, N.C. 28146; or Hospice of Stanly County, 960 First St., Albemarle, N.C. 28001-3350.

Cecil James Livengood

Cecil James Livengood, 77, 325 Victoria St., died Sunday (Sept. 26, 1999) at Rowan Regional Medical Center after a year of illness and two weeks of serious illness.

Born Aug. 12, 1922, inRowan County, Mr. Livengood was a son of the late Cletus Christian and Maggie Jane Myers Livengood. He was educated in the Rowan County schools.

A farmer, he was also a tender in the slasher room at Cannon Mills, Plant 1, for 39 years. A member of Gay’s Chapel United Methodist Church, he was a member of the Methodist Men and the Good Shepherd Sunday School Class.

His wife, Katherine Brown Goodman Livengood, died in August 1996.

Survivors include sons James Richard Livengood and Benny Livengood, both of Salisbury; daughters Margaret McIntyre, Cleveland, and Peggy Cook, Salisbury; sister Dorothy Hopkins, Salisbury; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Services: 2 p.m. Tuesday, Gay’s Chapel United Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev.Don Newman, the Rev. Jack Luther and the Rev.David Colson. The body will be placed in the church at 1:30. Burial, church cemetery.

Visitation:7-9 tonight, Summersett Funeral Home.

Memorials: Rowan Regional Home Health and Hospice, 825-A W. Henderson St.,Salisbury, N.C. 28144; or Gay’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Cemetery Fund, 5545 Woodleaf Road, Salisbury, N.C. 28147.

Gypsy Patton Foster Nixon

The funeral will be Tuesday for Gypsy Patton Foster Nixon, 89, Salisbury, who died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999)at her home after an extended illness.

Born July 24, 1910, in Clio, W.Va., Mrs. Nixon was a daughter of the late Robert C. and Melissa Myers Patton. A homemaker, she was educated in the Clio, W.Va., schools. She was a member of Gateway Church of Christ, St. Albans, W.Va., and attended Wyatt’s Grove Baptist Church, Richfield.

Her first husband, Harold W. Foster, died June 22, 1961, and her second husband, Edgar W. Nixon, died in 1980.

Survivors include sons Harold R. and Donald A. Foster, both of Phoenix, Ariz., Garland R. Foster, Charleston, W.Va., and Larry L. Foster, Salisbury, with whom she made her home; 15 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

Services: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Wyatt’s Grove Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. David Jones and a nephew, the Rev. Robert Underwood. The body will be placed in the church at 10. Another service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Cotton Tree Community Church, Walton, W.Va., with burial at Montgomery Memorial Park, London, W.Va.

Visitation: 7-8:30 tonight, Summersett Funeral Home. The family will also receive friends 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at Myers Funeral Home, Elkview, W.Va.

Memorials: Wyatt’s Grove Baptist Church, 12323 Bringle Ferry Road, Richfield,N.C. 28137.

Paul Lamont Rusher

Paul Lamont Rusher, 81, of Maitland, Fla., formerly of East Spencer, died Friday (Sept. 17, 1999) at the VA Medical Center, Tampa, Fla.

The body will be brought to Lyerly Funeral Home for arrangements.

Ray Von Burris

ALBEMARLE — Ray Von Burris, 75, 35849 City Lake Drive, died Sunday (Sept. 26, 1999) at Stanly Memorial Hospital.

Born Feb. 17, 1924, in Stanly County, Mr. Burris was a son of the late Ernest Lee and Azzie Raye Morton Burris. He had retired after almost 40 years at Wiscassett Mills, where he had been a supervisor.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, first in Germany and later in Japan.

He was a member of Plyler Baptist Church, where he had been a deacon, church treasurer and a Sunday school officer.

Survivors include wife Violet Lee Bowers Burris; daughters Mrs. Jamie (Iris) Smith, Statesville, and Pearlie Rae Burris of the home; twin brother MacDon Burris, Albemarle; sister Hazel Burris Clontz, Albemarle; half sisters Karla Wilhoit and Joyce Rowland, both of Albemarle; and a granddaughter.

Services: 4 p.m. Tuesday, Hartsell Funeral Home’s Lefler Memorial Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Alvin Melton and the Rev. Marvin Honeycutt. Burial, Plyler Baptist Church cemetery with full military rites by the Stanly County DAV.

Visitation: 7-9 tonight at the funeral home. The rest of the time, the family will be at the 35849 City Lake Drive home.

Memorials: Plyler Baptist Church, 25958 Austin Road, Albemarle, N.C. 28001 or American Heart Association, 1300 Baxter St., Suite 101, Charlotte, N.C. 28204.

Charles Austin Prucha

MOORESVILLE — Charles Austin Prucha, 88, 231 W. Statesville Ave., died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999) at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center.

Born March 22, 1911, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mr. Prucha was a son of the late Velma Tong and William Trucha. He had been a jewelry mold maker.

His wife, Josephine Greco Prucha, died Feb. 3, 1992.

Survivors include sons William Prucha, Gloucester, Va., Carlo Prucha, Etowah, Charles Prucha Jr., Mooresville, and Bernard Prucha, New York City; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Services: 7 tonight, Neill Funeral Home Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Carlo Greco. The body will be cremated.

Visitation: Following the service at the funeral home.

Maude Johnston Webster

MOORESVILLE — Maude Johnston Webster, 77, 212 Oak Tree Road, died Saturday (Sept. 25, 1999) at Genesis ElderCare.

Born Feb. 24, 1922, in Mecklenburg County, Mrs. Webster was a daughter of the late Lula Alexander and John Johnston. She was a homemaker.

Survivors include husband John Webster; sons Ray and James Webster, both of Mooresville; daughters Nancy Moore and Shirley Nichols, both of Mooresville; brother Alfred Johnston, Elkin; 10 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Tuesday, Community Baptist Church, Mount Mourne, conducted by the Rev. J.R. Speace and the Rev. Lawrence Ownbey. Burial, church cemetery.

Visitation: 7-8:30 tonight, Neill Funeral Home.

Memorials: Community Baptist Church, 1102 Langtree Road, Mount Mourne, N.C. 28123.

Edith Neel Gardner

A graveside service will be held Tuesday for Edith Neel Gardner, 83, 820 Klumac Road, formerly of North Fulton Street, who died Friday (Sept. 24, 1999) at Presbyterian Hospital, Charlotte.

Born Dec. 21, 1915, in Salisbury, Mrs. Gardner was a daughter of the late Dr. John Malcolm and Minnie Glenn Neel. She was educated in the Salisbury schools and at Salisbury Business College. She had been employed by Rustin Furniture in Greensboro.

She was a homemaker and a lifelong member of Maupin Avenue Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Her husband, Joseph Allen Gardner, died Oct. 27, 1984.

Survivors include daughter Josephine Gardner Phillips, Raleigh, and one granddaughter.

Services: 2 p.m. Tuesday graveside service, Chestnut Hill Cemetery, conducted by the Rev. Fred H. Crisco, pastor of Maupin Avenue ARPChurch.

Visitation: None. Summersett Funeral Home is in charge.

Memorials: Maupin Avenue ARPChurch, 100 Maupin Ave., Salisbury, N.C. 28144.

Mildred Lyons

The funeral will be Wednesday for Mildred Ann Weddington Lyons, 72, Salisbury, who died Friday (Sept. 24, 1999) at Lancaster Community Hospital, Lancaster, Calif., after six weeks of serious illness.

Born Aug. 24, 1927, in Rowan County, Mrs. Lyons was a daughter of the late Robert Lee and Geneva Lorene Hess Weddington. Educated in the Concord schools, she had retired from A&P. She was a member of Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, and an associate member of St.Paul’s Lutheran Church, Salisbury.

Her husband, William Roddie Lyons, preceded her in death.

Survivors include son Richard Lyons, with whom she made her home; a brother, the Rev. Guion Thomas Weddington, Taylorsville; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Services: 11 a.m. Wednesday,St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Salisbury, conducted by the Rev. Marcus B. Hovis III. Burial, church cemetery.

Visitation: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Lyerly Funeral Home. At other times the family will be at the home.