HINTON — Kenneth C. “Hank” Wills, 70, of Elk Knob Road, Hinton, died Thursday, April 27, 2006, at the VA Medical Center in Beckley following a long illness.
Born April 25, 1936, in Hinton, he was the son of the late Hubert and Rosalie Hill Wills.
Kenneth was a former member of the Hinton Police Department and served as chief of police for several years. He was a United States Army veteran, having served in the 101st Airborne Division. Kenneth had lived most of his life in Summers County and was a Protestant.
He was preceded in death by a son, Matthew Shannon Wills; three brothers, Hobert F. Wills, Luther G. Wills and Willie “Bill” Wills; a sister, Odessa Lee Gill; mother-in-law, Gertrude Buckland; a brother-in-law, Charlie Ray Buckland; and a sister-in-law, Geraldine Wills.
Survivors include his loving wife, Juanita Carol Buckland Wills; a daughter, Sandra Lemon and husband, James, of Hinton; two sons, Dennis Wills and wife, Lisa, and Kenneth Wills Jr., all of Hinton; five grandchildren, Jennifer and Jeremy Lemon, and Brian, Shanna and Brandon Wills; four brothers, Earl Wills and wife, Decredia, of Warrington, Va., Raymond Wills of Columbus, Ohio, and Donald Wills and wife, Drema, and Bobby Wills and wife, Juanita, all of Reedsville, N.C.; father-in-law, Charlie T. Buckland of Hinton; and three sisters-in-law, Melba Jean Buckland and Ruby Wills, both of Hinton, and Letha Wills of Virginia.
Service will be 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 1, at Pivont Funeral Home Chapel, Hinton, with Pastor George Cook and Minister John McCain officiating. Burial will follow in Upland cemetery.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be Ricky, Doug and Jeff Wills, Paul and Stephen Brown, and Joey Smith.
Honorary pallbearers will be Harold Richmond, Meredith Bennett and Jim Gill.
Arrangements by Pivont Funeral Home, Hinton.
Betty Adkins
CYCLONE — Betty Adkins, 66, of Cyclone, passed away Sunday, at her residence.
Evans Funeral Home in Oceana is serving the family.
Tony Bava
RICHLANDS, Va. — Tony Bava, of Richlands, Va., formerly of Gunter Road, Beckley, died Sunday, April 30, 2006, in Clinchville, Va., Medical Center. He was 84 years of age.
Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley.
Barry Lynn Dixon Sr.
LINDSIDE — Barry Lynn Dixon, Sr., 54, of HC 81 Box 21, Lindside, formerly of Mercer County, died Saturday, April 29, 2006.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Wickline Funeral Home in Lindside. Friends may call today from 6 until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Wickline Funeral Home of Lindside.
John Patrick Gillooly
ATLANTA, Ga. — John Patrick Gillooly, 65, of Atlanta, Ga., formerly of Beckley, died Sunday, April 30, 2006, at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
Ethel M. Hayes
RONCEVERTE — Ethel M. Hayes, 93, died April 29, 2006.
Graveside services will be 2 p.m. today at the Riverview cemetery in Ronceverte.
Arrangements by Morgan Funeral Home, Lewisburg.
Howard A. ‘Daddy Jack’ Jackson
ALLOY — Howard A. “Daddy Jack” Jackson, 87, of Alloy, died Friday, April 28, 2006.
Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Waters Funeral Chapel at Summersville. Friends may call at the funeral chapel one hour prior to the service on Tuesday.
Arrangements by Waters Funeral Chapel at Summersville.
Xerdie Elizabeth Massey
RONCEVERTE — Xerdie Elizabeth Massey, 61, died Saturday, April 29, 2006.
Service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist Church. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home, Ronceverte.
Arrangements by Wallace & Wallace, Ronceverte.
Elsie Rae Smith Reed
COAL CITY — Elsie Rae Smith Reed, 92, of Coal City, died Sunday, April 30, 2006, at the home of her daughter, Wanda Matherly, following a long illness.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
Alice ‘Sarah’ Rutland
Alice “Sarah” Rutland, of 243 Smoot Ave., Beckley, passed away Sunday, April 30, 2006, at the Raleigh General Hospital, following a long illness.
Services entrusted to Ritchie and Johnson Funeral Parlor, Beckley.
Georgie Joann Vaught
MATOAKA — Georgie Joann Fleck Vaught, 41, died Friday, April 28, 2006.
Service will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Rowland H. Bailey Funeral Chapel of the Bailey-Kirk Funeral Home, Princeton. Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at Bailey-Kirk Funeral Home, Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Hubbard Hospice House, 1001 Kennawa Drive, Charleston, W.Va. 25311.
Arrangements by Bailey-Kirk Funeral Home, Princeton.
Taylor Marie Watson
Taylor Marie Watson, 4, of Fairmont, earned her wings and went to be with Jesus on Saturday, April 29, 2006 following a long illness.
She was born August 15, 2001 in Fairmont; she was the daughter of John Paul Watson Jr. of Fairmont and Angela Cheryl Bradley Watson formerly of Beckley.
Taylor was baptized Methodist by faith and attended Oakhurst Church of Christ.
Taylor was a very loving child who never met a stranger and always wanted to give hugs and kisses. She had an “infectious belly laugh” that family and friends could never forget. She enjoyed diapering her baby dolls, working puzzles, painting and watching various childhood DVDs. One of her favorite DVDs was “The Wiggles,” where she attempted to sing and imitate the various movements even with her difficulty in standing and walking.
She attended the East Dale Pre-School for physically challenged children. She adored her pet “wiener dog” (Dachshund) called “Taylor’s Little Angel” that she received as a Christmas gift in 2005 from her Uncle, Aunt and cousin from Beckley.
In addition to her parents, she is survived by her maternal grandparents, Charles and Palma Bradley of Beckley; paternal grandparents, John and Norma Watson of Fairmont; great-grandparents, Thelma Drake of Fairmont, and Pauline and Samuel Gilardi of Fairmont; uncles and aunts, John and Sally Shannon of Toledo, Ohio, and Christopher Dean Watson of Fairmont; several cousins, great-uncles and aunts also survive.
She was preceded in death by her great-grandparents, Woodrow and Katherine Mullins, Myrtle and John Dovin, Howard H. and Ursla Bradley, Wilbert (Whitey) Drake, and James W. Watson.
Friends and family may call at the Ford Funeral Home, 201 Columbia St., Fairmont, today from 2 until 9 p.m. Local funeral services will be held in the funeral home on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at 10 a.m. with Evangelist Randy Cook officiating.
Following these services, visitation will resume at the Blue Ridge Memorial Funeral Home, 5251 Robert C. Byrd Drive, Beckley, WV 25801, on Tuesday from 5 until 9 p.m.
A celebration of her short life will be held in the funeral home on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 at 10 a.m. with Rev. Craig Stevens officiating. Entombment will follow at the Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Beckley.
Pallbearers will include Randy Burdiss, Shane Mullins, Chris Watson and Chad Knoll.
The family would like to thank the entire staff at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, where Taylor received aggressive treatment for 7 months in 2004, checkups every 3 months.
In addition, the family would like to thank Chad Bolen, from Memphis, formerly of Beckley, for his generosity of giving Memphis Grizzlies basketball tickets to Taylor, who loved basketball and seeing the Grizzlie mascot. Also the family would like to thank Hospice Care of Morgantown.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale St., Memphis, TN 38105-2794.
Arrangements by Ford Funeral Home, Fairmont.
Luther Garland Wills
HINTON — Luther Garland Wills, 77, of Hinton, went to be home with the Lord on Monday, April 24, 2006, at his home.
Born May 27, 1928, in Summers County, he was the son of the late Hubert H. and Rosalie Hill Wills.
Mr. Wills was a member of River Valley Baptist Church, and retired as the street foreman for the City of Hinton.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Geraldine V. Graham Wills; two brothers, Bill and Hobert Wills; and a sister, Odessa “Dessie” Gill. Following his death, his brother, Kenneth Wills, died on April 27, 2006.
Survivors include three sons, Luther T. Wills of Hinton, Lacy W. Wills of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Roger D. Wills of LeRoy; four brothers, Raymond Wills of Columbus, Ohio, Donald and Bobby Joe Wills of Reedsville, N.C., and Earl Wills of Warrington, Va.; six grandchildren, Jarrod of Hinton, Lisa of Ohio, Candice and Bradley of Florida, and James Garland and Veronica of Dunkirk, Md.; eight great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews also survive.
Service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at Ronald Meadows Funeral Parlors Chapel, Hinton, with Pastor Bill Jenkins officiating. Burial will follow in Upland cemetery near Hinton.
Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral parlor.
Arrangements by Ronald Meadows Funeral Parlors, Hinton.
Fred Hamrick
Fred Hamrick, 98, of Austin Avenue, Beckley, died Thurday, Oct. 6, 2005, in a Beckley hospital following a long illness.
Born March 14, 1907, in Blue Sulphur Springs, he was the son of the late John and Katheryn Allen Hamrick.
Mr. Hamrick had been a resident of Beckley for the past 35 years and was formerly from Oceana. He was a retired sawmill worker, having worked for Hammer Lumber Co. He was a member of Memorial Baptist Church in Beckley.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Lusher Hamrick; a son, Carl; four grandchildren, Sandy, Tina and Jennifer Hamrick, and Danny Ayers; two brothers, Robert and Keith Hamrick; and three sisters, Evelyn Hamrick, Rose Neal and Mattie Bowman.
Survivors include two sons, Ashby Hamrick and wife, Florence, of Illinois and Gary Hamrick and wife, Jennifer, of Beckley; four daughters, Barbara Mills of Beckley, Betty Tilley and husband, Calvin, of Bethel, Ohio, Joyce Bowden and husband, David, of Mount Airy, Md., and Judy Hatcher and husband, Pete, of Daniels; 19 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Ernest Hamrick of Beckley; and two sisters, Marie Dickerson of Goldsboro, N.C., and Hope Yost of Charleston.
Service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Melton Mortuary Chapel, Beckley, with the Rev. Paul Blizard officiating. Entombment will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens Mausoleum, Beckley.
Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley.
Betty Holloway
BEAN STATION, Tenn. — Betty Holloway, 66, of Bean Station, passed away on Friday, Oct. 7, 2005.
Service will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mary’s Chapel United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Westside Chapel Funeral Home, Morristown, Tenn.
Arrangements by Westside Chapel Funeral Home, Morristown.