John R. Jacobs

WAYNE, N.J. – John Richard Jacobs, died December 19, 2004 at St. Joseph of Wayne Hospital.

A funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Friday at Gilliam Funeral Home Chapel, Windsor. Burial will be in Chapel Hill Cemetery, Rich Square.

Josie Wilson

RICH SQUARE – Josie Wilson, a native of Northampton County, died December 19, 2004 at Pitt Memorial Hospital.

A funeral will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Second Baptist Creeksville by the Rev. John Grant. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Hunter’s Funeral Home Inc., Ahoskie, is in charge.

Wilson was a retired machinist for Boring Aircraft. He was a member of Second Baptist Creeksville.

Survivors include a son, Roosevelt Deloatch of California; two brothers, George Billy Majette of Rich Square and James David Majette of Potecasi; one sister, Sarah Discoll of Washington, D.C.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Henry L. Jones

HARRELLSVILLE- Henry Lee Jones, died December 22, 2004, at his residence.

A funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Friday at Second Baptist Church Union by the Rev. Hoyt Cooper. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Reynolds Funeral Home, Inc., Ahoskie, is in charge.

Jones was a member of Second Baptist Church Union.

Survivors include his wife, Ophelia D. Jones of Harrellsville; one daughter, Jerri J. Duck of Cofield; one brother, William Jones of Ahoskie; and five grandchildren.

Lizzie H. Ward

RICH SQUARE – Lizzie Harris Ward, 85, died December 20, 2004.

A funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Friday at Branches Chapel Baptist Church by the Rev. Tony Flood. Burial will be in the church cemetery, Rich Square. A visitation will be held from 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Smith-Whidbee Funeral Home.

David C. Pierce

WINDSOR – David Cola Pierce, 60, a native of Bertie County, died December 20, 2004 at Three Rivers Nursing Center.

A graveside funeral was conducted Wednesday at Edgewood Cemetery by the Rev. R.O. Denton Jr. Memorials may be made to the Bertie County Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 74, Windsor, NC 27983. Walker Funeral Home was in charge.

Pierce was retired from Lea Lumber Company.

Survivors include two sons, David L. Pierce and Billie Pierce, both of Windsor; two sisters, Doris Pearl Patrick of Manassas, Va., and Rose Mary Thorne of Belleville, IA; and five brothers, Lewis L. Pierce, William Henry Pierce, Paul S. Pierce, Harvey J. Pierce and John W. Pierce, all of Windsor.

Claudette K. Gardiner

MURFREESBORO – Claudette Kay &uot;Sam&uot; Gardiner, 60, a native of Albany, N.Y., died December 17, 2004 at Roanoke-Chowan Hospital.

A funeral was conducted Wednesday at Wilder’s Funeral Home Chapel, Aulander, by the Rev. Melvin Winborne. Burial was in the Veteran Cemetery, Hampton, Va.

Ms. Gardiner was a retired convenience store clerk and a member of Last Day Church of Jesus Christ in Murfreesboro.

Survivors include three sons, John Gardiner of Murfreesboro, James C. Williams Jr. of Fayetteville and Fred Gardiner Jr. of Vidalia, Ga.; two daughters, Tracy Gilliam of Newport News, and Amanda Felty of Charles City; one brother, Fred Lathwood of Florida; one sister, Paulette Lathwood of Fla.; and 15 grandchildren.

Ed Ward

TYNER – Edward Caleb &uot;Ed&uot; Ward, 80, a native of Chowan County, died December 19, 2004, in his home.

A funeral was conducted Wednesday in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home, Edenton, by the Rev. Dr. Charles Jones. Burial was in Beaver Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Warwick Baptist Church, c/o Roy C. Bunch, 442 Selwin Road, Belvidere, NC 27919.

Ward was a farmer, produce trucker and former commercial fisherman, he was a member of Warwick Baptist Church.

Survivors include a daughter, Phyllis W. Harrell of Edenton; two sons, Jerry Caleb Ward of Hobbsville and Ferma L. Ward Tyner; two sisters, Grace White of Suffolk, Va., and Avis Nixon of Edenton; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Viola Downing

NORFOLK, Va. – Viola Downing, 94, a native of Corapeake, died December 18, 2004, in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. She was the widow of George Downing.

A funeral was conducted Wednesday in Garden of Prayer Worship Center by Bishop L.E. Willis. Interment was in Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery, Chesapeake. Crocker Funeral Home, Suffolk, was in charge.

Mrs. Downing was a member of Garden of Prayer Worship Center, Norfolk, where she was a member of the Missionary Circle, Hospitality Committee and Pastor’s Aid Committee and was president of the Usher Board.

Survivors include a goddaughter, Merdell Simmons of Windsor; and two sisters, Nina Pugh of Norfolk and Katie Bennett of Portsmouth.

Geanie M. Staton

SUFFOLK, Va. – Geanie M. Staton, died December 19, 2004.

A graveside service was conducted Tuesday with burial at Highland Memorial Gardens, Ahoskie. Rogers Funeral Home was in charge.

Survivors include her husband, James Staton; four daughters, Patricia Elliott of Portsmouth, Sylvia Thomas of Bamberry, S.C., Marschell Reeves and Angela Gardener both of Portsmouth; a brother, Harold Smith of San Francisco, Calif.; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Rev. Johnnie Rountree

GATES – Rev. Johnnie Rountree, 62, a native of Gates, died December 21, 2004 at Louise Obici Hospital, Suffolk, Va.

A funeral will be conducted at 12 noon Tuesday at New Piney Wood Chapel Baptist Church by the Rev. Richard Curry. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Hunter’s Funeral Home, Inc., Ahoskie, is in charge.

Rev. Rountree was a member of New Piney Wood Chapel Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Ida Rountree of the home; a son, Kenneth Rountree of Gates; a brother, Alexander Moore of Norfolk; three sisters, Rebecca Fentress of Chesapeake, Edith Moore of Virginia Beach and Audrey Nixon of Chesapeake; and two grandchildren.

Thelma W. Watson

HARRELLSVILLE – Thelma Mae Wynn Watson, 79, a native of Hertford County, died December 21, 2004 at Pitt Memorial Hospital, Greenville.

A funeral will be conducted at 12 noon Monday at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Harrellsville, by the Rev. Robert Lewis. Burial will be in Philippi Baptist Church Cemetery, Cofield. Hertford County Undertakers, Winton, is in charge.

Survivors include her children, Gwendolyn Green of Roosevelt, N.Y., Jean Watson of Harrellsville and Diane Watson-Dallas of Chicago, IL; sisters, Queenie Wynn of Los Angeles, CA, Beulah Smith and Janice Terry, both of Ahoskie; and four grandchildren.

Henry W. Lewis

Henry Wilkins Lewis, died on December 19, 2004 in Chapel Hill, NC. He was born in Jackson, North Carolina, November 7, 1916, the son of Edmund Wilkins and Jane Williams Lewis. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1937, a member of Phi Beta Kappa. As a student he was editor of the college annual, The Yackety Yack. He received a law degree from Harvard in 1940, was admitted to the bar in North Carolina, and began the practice of law with Eric Norfleet in Jackson.

Lewis served in the U.S. Army from June 1941 to February 1946, he entered as a private and was discharged as a captain. After Officer Candidate School he served at Third Army Headquarters, with the 99th Infantry Division, XVIII Corps. Hq., and Army Ground Forces Hq.

Following military service Lewis began a long tenure with the Institute of Government in the University at Chapel Hill. At first he worked primarily with the administration of the state election law, but soon he took over all the Institute’s work with the property tax. An early objective was to develop a much needed system by which county officials might appraise real property for tax purposes. He produced a trial guide for the process that was made available on a restricted basis. After a couple of years Lewis was informed that, without his knowledge or permission, the United States occupation forces in Japan had translated the manual into Japanese so that it might be used in appraising property in the City of Osaka.

In sessions of the North Carolina General Assembly from 1947 to 1955 Lewis was a member of the Institute of Government’s reporting staff and headed it in the last three of those sessions. He wrote an Introduction to County Government and comparable local government studies. He served as counsel for the North Carolina Election Laws Commission (1967), the North Carolina Commission for the Study of Local and Ad Valorem Tax Structure (1970), and the North Carolina Commission for the Study of Tax Exemptions and Classifications (1973).

In 1968 and 1969 Lewis took leave from the Institute to serve as vice-president of the multi-campus University of North Carolina responsible for liaison with the Board of Trustees and its Development Committee. He also worked with administration of public television and with the student unrest common on campuses in the late 1960’s.

During his tenure at the Institute of Government Lewis progressed through the academic ranks to become Professor of Public Law and Government, and in 1975 he was honored with a Kenan Professorship. In 1973 he became Director of the Institute of Government, a post he held until retirement at the end of 1978.

From 1957 to 1978 Lewis was a member of the Advisory Board of the Ackland Art Museum and served on its Visiting Committee from 1987 to 1999. He was a trustee of the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television from 1980 to 1988. Lewis was a founding member and director of the North Caroliniana Society, a life member of the Friends of the UNC Library and a Wilson Library Fellow. In 1993 he was awarded the University General Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal.

From 1977 to 1999 Lewis assumed responsibility for family farm and forestry management in Northampton County; he was a director and vice president of the Wilkins Texas Corporation for many years; from 1979 to 1987 he was a director of Peoples Bank and Trust Co., in Rocky Mount (now RBC Centura). From 1974 to 1980 Lewis, an alumnus, served on the board of the Virginia Episcopal School and chaired its academic committee.

Always interested in the history of the North Carolina-Virginia border country of which he was a native, Lewis was an active member of the stimulating Roanoke-Chowan Group throughout its existence and served as its convenor from 1962 to 1965. He was a member of the Jamestowne Society and the historical societies of Northampton County, N.C. and Southampton County, Va.

An Episcopalian, Lewis was often elected to the vestry of the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. Between 1948 and 1993 he represented that parish in 33 sessions of the Convention of the Diocese of North Carolina; he was elected to the Standing Committee of the diocese for 25 years of the 34 years between 1957 ad 1991. Between 1967 and 1985 Lewis represented the Diocese of North Carolina as a lay deputy in six sessions of the triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

Survivors include a sister, Jane Lewis Zollicoffer of Henderson, N.C.; sister-in-law, Janie Parker Lewis of Jackson, N.C.; a nephew, Allison C. Zollicoffer of Durham, N.C.; nieces, Elizabeth Lewis Abernethy of Washington, D.C., Sallie Lewis Futrell of Jackson, N.C., Laura Lewis Rogers of Raleigh, N.C., Jane Zollicoffer Hollowell (Jennie) of Oriental, N.C.; Fannie Zollicoffer Mallonee of Richmond, Va.; and Ellen Zollicoffer Jackson of Raleigh, N.C.

A service will be held at the Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, N.C. at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 27, 2004; burial will follow at the Church of the Saviour, Jackson, N.C. at 3 p.m.

Carlton M. Hill

COLERAIN – Carlton Miles Hill, 74, of 109 Perrytown Road, died Monday, December 20, 2004 at Roanoke-Chowan Hospital. He was born in Bertie County on September 6, 1930 to the late Joe and Mammie White Hill and was predeceased by brothers: Rudolph and Garner, and a sister, Becky. Mr. Hill was a member of Perrytown Assembly of God and retired from NC Department of Transportation as a traffic service foreman.

Funeral services were held Wednesday, December 22, 2004 at 2 p.m. at Perrytown Assembly of God by the Rev. David Baker. Burial followed in Hillcrest Cemetery, Colerain.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy Mitchell Hill of Colerain, NC; two sons, Kevin Hill of Colerain, NC and Brian and wife, Leslie Hill of Windsor, NC; three brothers, Joe Hill and Haywood Hill, both of Windsor, NC and Jim Hill of Virginia Beach, VA; two sisters, Nadine H. Bazemore and Alease H. Askew, both of Windsor, NC; one stepsister, Letha Mae Outlaw of Ahoskie, NC; and one grandson, Ethan Hill.

The family received friends from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Walker Funeral Home. Memorial gifts may be made to the Perrytown Vol. Fire Department or the Perrytown Assembly of God Church.

Paula N. Stradley

Paula Nicholson Stradley, 66, of Murfreesboro, NC, died Tuesday, December 21, 2004.

Mrs. Stradley was born in Halifax County, a daughter of the late George Edward Nicholson and Nannie Belle Parks Nicholson. She was a member of Murfreesboro United Methodist Church and had retired as a teacher’s assistant. Mrs. Stradley was preceded in death by her husband, William Harrison Stradley.

Surviving are, her sons, Bill Stradley of Boone and Paul Stradley of Franklinton, NC; brother, Steve Nicholson of Ahoskie; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, December 24, 2004, at Murfreesboro United Methodist Church with the Reverend Bob Hagerty officiating. Interment will follow in Meherrin Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the residence. Garrett Funeral Home, Murfreesboro, is serving the family.