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Rita Rae Scanlon,
retired nurse
Rita Rae Scanlon, 41, of Bowie, Md. and formerly of Frankford, died Sunday, June 26, 2005, at the Washington Hosptial Center in Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Scanlon was a retired registered nurse.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Charlie and Edna Franklin; and brother, Michael Fisher.
She is survived by her husband, Brian T. Scanlon; her mother, Charlotte Franklin Gum; four sons, Kevin, Steven, Colin and Dylan; a sister, Dannette Clark; and her uncle Albert and aunt Barbara.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m., Friday, July 1, in St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Bethany Beach, where friends may call from 9:3- to 10 a.m. Burial will be in Redmen’s cemetery , Selbyville.
Arrangements by Melson Funeral Services, Frankford.
Rose M. Thomas,
computer programmer
Rose M. Thomas, 86, of Ocean View and formerly of Baltimore, Md., passed away Monday, June 27,, 2005, at Beebe Medical Center, Lewes.
She was a computer programmer for Lockheed-Martin Aircraft Company in Baltimore, retiring after more than 30 years of service. She was a very active member and past president of the ladies auxiliary of Mason-Dixon VFW Post 7234, Quillen’s Point, Ocean view, and a founder of their Friday night dinners. She as also a member of the Lord Baltimore Ladies Club Ocean View Chapter.
Rose was preceded in death by her husband, William, in 2004.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 9, at Bethany chapel of Melson Funeral Services, West Avenue, Ocean view.
Memorial contributions are suggested to American Heart Association, Sussex Chapter, 600 N. DuPont Hwy., Georgetown DE 19947.
Charles R. Wilson,
retired teacher
Charles R. Wilson, 78, of Milton, died Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, at his residence.
Mr. Wilson was born March 29, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pa., son of the late Russell & Clara (Loynd) Wilson.
Mr. Wilson retired after teaching health and physical education for 31 years in the Bridgeton High School and the Lower Cape May Regional High School systems. He was the former athletic director for Lower Cape May Regional High School and past president of the Cape Atlantic League.
He was also a member of the South Jersey Coaches Association and New Jersey Track Officials.
And, for more than 50 years he was a past master and member of the Masonic Lodge, Evening Star Lodge 97, Bridgeton, N.J.
Mr. Wilson served in the Army Air Corps during WW II.
Mr. Wilson is survived by his wife, Helen E. (Porch) Wilson; a daughter, Pamela G. Beckman and husband Chris of Rehoboth Beach; two sons, Steven C. Wilson and companion Doreen DiCarlo of Cape May, N.J., and Charles P. Wilson of Milton; two grandchildren, Christine Beckman of Rehoboth Beach and Daniel Wilson of New Jersey; three great-grandchildren; a sister, Janet C. Ortolf of Vero Beach, Fla.; and a brother, Richard A. Wilson and wife, Carol J., of Hockessin.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Oct. 3, at 3 p.m., at Lewes Presbyterian Church, 133 Kings Highway, Lewes. Interment will follow in the Churchyard cemetery.
Friends may call Sunday, Oct. 2, from 7-9 p.m., at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes where Masonic Services will begin at 7:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Lewes Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 616, Lewes, DE 19958.
Margaret Harmon Banks,
retired domestic worker
Margaret Harmon Banks, 104, of Milton died of heart failure Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005, in Bayhealth-Milford Memorial Hospital, Milford.
Mrs. Banks was born Sept. 5, 1901, in Milton. She was a domestic worker.
Mrs. Banks was a member of Bethel A.M.E. Church, where she was a Sunday school teacher and missionary worker.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Marce and Victoria Hood Harmon; her husband, Elijah Banks; and a son, Richard M. Banks.
She is survived by three sons, Nolan Banks and Alton Harmon, both of Milton, and Milton Banks of Rochester, N.Y.; three daughters, Pearl Cirwithian of Milton, Joyce Jones of Ellendale and Marie Ealy of Philadelphia; three sons-in-law; two daughters-in-law; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; great-great-great-grandchildren; and a host of other family and friends.
Services will be noon Monday, Oct. 3, in Bethel A.M.E. Church, Milton, where friends may call two hours earlier.
Burial will be in Bethel A.M.E. cemetery.
Arrangements by Young’s Funeral Home, Milford.
Joan Chapman Wilhoit
avid golfer, bridge player
Joan Chapman Wilhoit, 72 of Wilmington, and formerly of Victoria, Texas, passed away Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at the Stonegates Health Center in Greenville.
She was born Feb. 13, 1933. She was the daughter of the late Fred F. Chapman and the late Mary Hughes Chapman of Wilmington. Joan was born and raised in Wilmington and was a graduate of Wilmington Friends School, attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She also lived in Orange, Texas, Wilmington, N.C., and Bethany Beach, before returning to Wilmington.
She was a generous, kind and loving person, and a devoted mother. In her free time she enjoyed playing golf and bridge.
Joan is survived by a son, Michael C. Wilhoit of Austin, Texas; brothers, Fred H. Chapman of Lewes, and W. Donald Chapman of Stow, Mass.; her sister, Anne “Nancy” C. Berl of Wilmington; and a number of loving nephews and nieces.
Her family would like to thank the staff at Stonegates for their thoughtful and professional care.
Visitation will be held at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine Church, 10 Old Church Road, Greenville, Saturday Oct. 1, at 10 a.m., followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m.
Burial will take place in the adjoining cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society, 92 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720.
Arrangements by Chandler Funeral Homes.
Hazel Passwaters Fox,
Lewes native
Hazel Passwaters Fox, 82, of Miami, Fla., passed away Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005.
A resident of Miami since 1946, she as a former secretary for the War Department under President Franklin Roosevelt.
She was born Jan. 1, 1923 in Lewes, the daughter of the late Caroline Passwaters Jones.
She was the wife of the late Terry Fox who played football for the Unibersity of Miami, 1946-47 and for the Miami Seahawks.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Terrance P. and Charlene Fox; two daughters, Valerie Anne Fox and Patrice E. Davidow, all of Miami; three grandchildren, Jennifer, Nathan and Natalie; and three great-grandchildren, Maximillian, Oliver and Emily Rose.
Roger I. Wells,
retired mechanic
Roger I. Wells, 69, of Lewes, died Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at home.
Mr. Wells was born in Red Bank, N.J. He was a mechanic at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant in Forked River, N.J. and was a veteran of the United States Navy.
He is survived by his son, Jason R. Wells of Lewes; a brother, David, of Red Bank, N.J.; and a sister, Patricia Wilson, of Lady Lake, Fla.
Services will be held at noon, Friday, Sept. 30, at the Chapel of Melson Funeral Services, Long Neck Road, Long Neck, where friends may call after 11 a.m. Burial will be private.
Arrangements by Melson Funeral Services, Long Neck.
Joyce Dale Hafko,
Millsboro homemaker
Joyce Dale Hafko, 71, of Millsboro, and formerly of Baltimore, Md., died Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, at home.
Mrs. Hafko was born in Baltimore, the daughter of the late Melvin and Pearl Walton.
She was a homemaker.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John Hafko.
She is survived by four sons, Terry, Barry, Bryan and Gary; two brothers, Huyette and Leonard Walton; and a granddaughter, Jessica Hafko.
Services will be private.
Arrangements by Melson Funeral Services, Long Neck.
Rev. Dr. Leroy Davis,
priest, scholar
The Rev. Dr. Leroy A. Davis, 70, of Lewes, died Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005, peacefully at home with family and friends.
Dr. “Roy” Davis, as he was known, was born Dec. 28, 1934 in Buffalo Center, Iowa.
A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, Dr. Davis was an Episcopal priest for 45 years. He was known as a scholar and received his Ph.D. in education from Ohio University.
A parish priest for many years in Ohio and Delaware, Dr. Davis went to Turkey in 1991 to teach in a project sponsored by their Ministry of Education. He later taught at the University of the Yucatan in Mexico.
Known as a skilled linguist, Dr. Davis also tutored students in Spanish and Greek.
Dr. Davis spent three years working in Church World Service in Elkart, Ind., for the National Episcopal Church. Dr. Davis served as a priest in the Diocese of Delaware for churches throughout Sussex county. He led many spiritual growth groups and, in the opinion of many of those students, changed lives. Following a family history of educators, he enjoyed teaching human development and psychology at Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown. Dr. Davis remained active and involved in life to the end. A man with wide ranging interests, Dr. Davis and his wife Marsha shared a love for international travel and gardening. He also enjoyed photography, amateur radio, carpentry, and last, but not least, his two special cats, “Cricket” and “Chu Cho.”
Dr. Davis grew up in Rochester, Minn. and graduated in 1952 from Rochester High School. He received his first college degree at Hamline University in St. Paul.
The son of Marion H. Davis and Arnold M. Christopherson, Dr. Davis is survived by his wife of 35 years, Marsha L. Davis; two daughters: Tammy Raetz and Heather Davis, both of California; three step-children: Col. John Moore and his wife Amanda of Fort Polk, La.; Susan Parobek and her husband, James, of Louisville, Ky.; and Kathryn Moore-Hughes and her husband, Mark, of Newark; his sister, Helen Kolb of Rochester; and nieces and nephews. There are 10 grandchildren.
A Eucharist service will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes Saturday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. There will be no viewing.
The family requests that remembrances be sent to Delaware Hospice’s Capital Campaign Fund for the planned Delaware Hospice facility. Mail gifts to Delaware Hospice, 600 N. Dupont Hwy., Suite 107, Georgetown, DE 19947. Internment will be in Ohio at a later date.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium
Dr. Donald Cowan,
retired dentist
Dr. Donald Richard “Don” Cowan, 78, of Dover passed away Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005, in his home, with his family at his side.
Dr. Cowan was born Oct. 26, 1926, in Mount Vernon, N.Y., son of the late Llewellyn Williams Cowan and Ella Winnifred Tilley Cowan.
He was raised in New Jersey, where the family spent happy times at the shore in Belmar. At the age of 8, he and his family began vacationing on Vinalhaven Island in Maine. Exploring Penobscot Bay with his family and friends began a lifelong love of the ocean, boats and sailing.
Dr. Cowan served in the Navy’s Aviation Corps as an electronic technician’s mate in World War II.
He completed his B.A. from Rutgers University after the war and then studied at Yale Divinity School before turning to the field of public health and receiving his master’s degree from Yale University in 1953.
After teaching and serving as a hospital administrator, Dr. Cowan went to dental school, earning his degree from the University of Buffalo in 1962, and then, came to Delaware to establish a practice and join the state’s Division of Public Health, first as director of the Office of Dental Health, and later, director of the Bureau of Specialized Health Services and finally as director of the Bureau of Disease Control. He retired from the Division in 1991, but continued for some years after to work in private practice and as a dentist for disadvantaged children.
During his 24 years with the Division of Public Health, he was most proud of his work to establish and maintain nine dental clinics throughout the state to serve children under Medicaid and the Head Start program. He single-handedly designed the program, and then, fought for its funding, trained personnel and established a transportation system to get schoolchildren to the clinics. He received the American Dental Association’s highest award in 1994 for providing excellent access to dental care for Delaware’s needy children. During his tenure, more than 100,000 children received comprehensive dental treatment via the clinics, which remain in place today.
Dr. Cowan was ever curious. He was a thinker and a doer, someone who read widely and deeply and asked life’s larger questions. He sailed and canoed and played tennis and explored. His humor, intelligence and true interest in others made him a wonderful person to talk to, rely on, live and laugh with.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Dolores Conrad Cowan of Dover; three daughters and two sons-in-law, Jennifer Cowan and Stephen Kogler of Lewes, Jessica Cowan and Sanjaya Krishna of Reston, Va., and Lesley Cowan of Lewes; a brother and a sister-in-law, Paul and Mary Cowan of St. Helena Island, S.C.; two grandchildren, Max Kogler and Anjali Krishna; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be private.
Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Delaware Hospice, 911 S. Du Pont Highway, Dover, DE 19901; or to The Salvation Army, PO Box 123, Dover, DE 19903.
Arrangements by Torbert Funeral Chapels, Dover.
