Frances Eason

SUNBURY n Frances L. Eason, 90, a native of Gates County, died November 1, 2005 at Chesapeake General Hospital.

A funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. John AME Zion by the Rev. Samuel L. Buck Jr. Burial will be in Drake Memorial Cemetery, Sunbury. Hertford County Undertakers, Winton, is in charge.

Survivors include two sons, Walter L. Eason of Suffolk, Va., and Winfield Eason of Sunbury; three daughters, Geraldine Cash of Otisville, NY, Alma Jacqueline Goodman of Washington, D.C., and Maxine Raysor of Sunbury; one brother, Milton Henry Lassiter of Suffolk; 18 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

Lillian Spivey

WINDSOR n Lillian Spivey, 89, a native of Bertie County, died November 4, 2005 at Three Rivers Health & Rehab.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Cherry’s Funeral Home, Windsor, is in charge.

Loretta Parker

FRANKLIN, Va. n Loretta Jean Bazemore Parker, 68, a native of Hertford County, died October 30, 2005 in Obici Memorial Hospital.

A funeral was conducted Wednesday in Cool Spring Baptist Church. Burial was in the church cemetery. Miller Funeral Home, Gatesville, was in charge.

Mrs. Parker was retired from Lipton Tea in Suffolk. She was a member of Beulah Baptist Church.

Survivors include four daughters, Gayla Lou Francis of Franklin, Julie Ann Evans of Courtland, Robin Lynn Davis of Carrsville and Cindy Leigh Story of Sunbury; two sons, Charlie Cecil Parker II of Chesapeake and John Carlton Parker of Franklin; a sister, Carol B. Ellis of Sedley; a brother, Dan Bazemore of Eure; 15 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Judy S. Saunders

BLACK CREEK – Judy Simpkins Saunders, 59, Williamson, W.Va., died November 1, 2005, at Obici Hospital in Suffolk. She was the widow of Johnnie R. Saunders.

Mrs. Saunders was a retired banker with more than 25 years service in the Franklin area and a member of Black Creek Baptist Church.

Survivors include three sons, David Saunders, and Steve Saunders, both of Black Creek, and Darryl Saunders of Wendell; five sisters, Sue Brinkley of Murfreesboro, Karen Byrum and Debbie Smith, both of Suffolk, Paula Frank of Zuni and Alice Hyatt of Severn; two brothers, Mike Simpkins of Suffolk and Elliott Simpkins of Ivor; and five grandchildren.

A funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday in the chapel of Wright Funeral Home, Franklin, with the Rev. Greg Kitts. Burial will be in Black Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to the Black Creek Baptist Church Building Fund, 34163 Vicksville Road, Franklin, VA 23851.

George Demery

George Washington Demery “Duke” (66) of Bertie County, NC died Friday, October 28, 2005 at Craven Regional Medical Center, New Bern, NC.

He was born on July 8, 1939 in Bertie County, NC.

He was a retired farmer.

He leaves to cherish his memories:

(1) brother n Clyde Demery of New Bern, NC;

Special nephew n Ricky Cooper of Ahoskie, NC and Special Niece-in-law n Yolanghi Cooper of Ahoskie, NC;

host of other relatives and friends.

Services were held at Hunter’s Funeral Home Chapel, Ahoskie by Rev. Larry Cooper on Friday, November 4, 2005 at 2:00 PM.

Cremation was held following services. Hunter’s Funeral Home n Ahoskie handled services.

Deyon B. Speller

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. n Deyon B. Speller, 50, died October 31, 2005.

A funeral will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gilliam Funeral Home Chapel, Windsor. Burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery, Windsor.

Elbert Cray Hill, Jr.

Elbert C. Hill, Jr., age 85, died at Reston Hospital on Wednesday, November 3, 2005, following a sudden illness.

In recent years Mr. Hill resided at Sunrise Assisted Living in Sterling, Virginia and will be missed by his many friends there.

He is survived by his daughters, Eleanor Hill of Great Falls, Virginia and Susan Hill, of Gainesville, Florida and his grandson, Bryan Gross of Great Falls, Virginia.

Mr. Hill was born July 19, 1920 in Ahoskie, North Carolina, the first son of Elbert Cray Hill and Ella Mitchell Hill.

He attended Wake Forest University where he excelled in Mathematics, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics in 1940.

He taught high school Mathematics and summer school as a surveying instructor from 1940-1942.

From 1942 until 1947, he served in the United States Army Air Corps, earning the rank of First Lieutenant.

Because of his skill in mathematics, Mr. Hill was chosen for the initial Aviation Cadet Class Meteorology program at the University of Chicago, which was designed to train the weather officers needed to brief Army Air Corps bombing raids during World War II. Mr. Hill served as a weather officer at various locations in the United States and the Southwest Pacific.

He married Florence Strzycki, of Chicago, on July 19, 1945 in Victoria, Texas. They were married for 54 years, until her death in 1999.

Following his discharge from the military, the couple moved to Miami, Florida, where they lived for more than forty years.

Mr. Hill served as a Mathematics instructor at the University of Miami in early 1947.

He then began a career at the U.S. Weather Bureau/National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center in Miami that spanned four decades.

During his tenure there, he served as an aviation forecaster, guidance and hurricane forecaster, data automation coordinator, and lead forecaster. He once briefed then pilot Charles Lindbergh as he was passing through the Miami airport on his way to the islands. At one point in the late 1970s, he wrote an extremely rare, but accurate, forecast for snow in the city of Miami.

He returned to the University of Chicago in 1961 where he completed graduate coursework in Meteorology.

Mr. Hill was a longtime member of the American Meteorology Center, serving as councilor, secretary, and vice chairman of the Miami chapter.

He served a term as a member of the American Meteorological Society National Committee on Weather Forecasting.

In the 1960s, Mr. Hill pioneered the early use of computer technology in weather

forecasting.

He was the author of many computer programs that were widely used by the National Weather Service.

He planned and led the National Hurricane Center’s initial

use of computers in weather forecasting.

He is credited with creating operational computer programs generating streamline and contour charts, mean layer and shear charts, and the NHC67 hurricane forecasts. His work laid the foundation for today’s extensive use of computer models in hurricane forecasting.

In 1971, the United States Department of Commerce recognized Mr. Hill’s importance in the evolution of modern forecasting. He was awarded the Department’s Silver Medal because “his achievements have enabled the National Hurricane Center to embark upon an entirely new and more objective approach to weather prediction…in the forecasting of hurricanes”. His work, the citation noted, employed “techniques not found elsewhere in the entire meteorological profession [and] paved the way for important improvements in forecasting skills in the tropics”. In 1978 Mr. Hill was awarded the American Meteorological Society National Award for Outstanding Service by a Weather Forecaster “for his innovative use of computer technology in the preparation of routine analyses and forecasts in the Miami area, and the creation of many programs that have proved so successful that they have been adopted by other weather services both nationally and internationally.”

He retired in 1980 following 37 years of active federal service. In 1989, he settled in Eagle Lake, Florida until, after his wife’s death, he moved to Sterling, Virginia, near his daughter’s home.

Throughout his retirement years, Mr. Hill enjoyed time with his family and friends and never lost his lifelong love of Mathematics and his great interest in hurricane forecasting.

There will be

a visitation for Elbert Hill at 12 p.m. on Monday, November 7,

followed by a 2 p.m. funeral service and burial at Ott-Laughlin Funeral Home at Glen Abbey Memorial Gardens, 2198 K-Ville Avenue, Auburndale Florida, 33823.

Shelia R. Bond

AHOSKIE – Shelia Roberson Bond, 37, a native of Hertford County, died November 2, 2005 at Pitt Memorial Hospital, Greenville.

Mrs. Bond was a member of Freedom of Praise Christian Center.

Survivors include her husband, Darrell Bond of Bertie County;

son, Thomas A. Reynolds of Ahoskie; daughter, Demetria A. Reynolds of Ahoskie;

parents, Saint “Pee Wee” Roberson and Isabelle J. Roberson of Ahoskie; four brothers, Keith D. Roberson of Ahoskie, Terence D. Roberson of Delaware, Trevoris Lamont Slade of Suffolk, VA and Mark Scott of Bronx, NY; and two sisters, Jackie Roberson Beverly of Henderson and Pamela Hall of Colerain.

A funeral will be conducted at 2 p.m. Sunday at Newsome Grove Baptist Church by Pastor Joseph Smith.

Burial will be in the church cemetery. Hunter’s Funeral Home, Ahoskie is in charge.

Reva Davis

DURHAM n Reva Harrison Martin Davis, 91, formerly of Conway, North Carolina, a resident of Spring Arbor Assisted Living in Durham for the past five years passed away November 2, 2005.

She was married 50 years to the late Haywood Glenn Davis, who died on December 1, 1987.

The daughter of the late Winnie Parker Belch and Jessie Harrison Martin, she was born on April 22, 1914 in Conway, North Carolina.

A distinguished homemaker, cook and gardener, she devoted her life to the loving care of her family, her friends, her community and her church family.

She is survived by two daughters, Peggy Davis Edmondson and Betty Davis Powell of Durham, NC; three grandchildren, James Glendale Edmondson and wife, Tara Penick Edmondson of Richmond, Va., Mary Beth Edmondson Moore and husband, Thomas Bryant Moore of Wilmington, NC and Jill Harrison Powell Haynie and husband, Reed Morrison Haynie of Washington, DC; and one great-granddaughter, Parker Snow Edmondson of Richmond, Va.

She is also survived by one sister, Etheleen Belch Reid and husband, Jerry Reid of Elizabeth City; and one brother, R.D. Belch of Conway, NC and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held November 5, 2005 at 2 p.m. at Conway Baptist Church with the Reverend Willie McLawhorn officiating. Burial will follow in the Conway Cemetery.

The family will receive friends in the Conway Baptist Church Social Hall after the graveside service.

Flowers are welcome or memorials in her name may be made to Conway Baptist Church, Conway, North Carolina 27820.

Arrangements being handled by Massey Funeral Home, Jackson, North Carolina.

Jimmie G. Clark

KERNERSVILLE – Jimmie G. Clark, 71, a native of Hertford County, died November 1, 2005.

Clark was a

pipefitter, he had worked for the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. from 1952 until coming to Kernersville in 1969. He was a 36-year member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 421 (formerly LU640). He was a member of the Kernersville Masonic Lodge No. 669 AF&AM.

Survivors include his wife, Marjorie Rawls Clark; daughter, Kimberly Watson; son, Tim Clark; one grandson; sisters, Jean Morton and Marie Cooke; and a brother, Ivey Clark.

A funeral is scheduled for noon Saturday at the Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Home. Interment will be in Mount Gur Cemetery. Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Home is in charge.