Archived
Lillian Fox
Mrs. Lillian Fox, 91, passed away March 30, 2007, in Auburn, Wash.
She was born in Watertown, N.Y., on July 3, 1915, and lived in Woodville, N.Y., as a child.
Mrs. Fox was a longtime member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She met her husband, Silas, in nurses training in Fletcher, N.C., where she
graduated as a registered nurse.
She lived in upstate New York, Maryland, North Carolina, Missouri,
Michigan, California, Oregon, and Washington.
She served as a registered
nurse until she retired in 1983.
Following retirement, she and her husband
volunteered in many church mission building projects, serving in whatever
capacity was needed, cooking, cleaning, roofing, painting, remodeling, etc.
She is survived by her son, Fred Fox and wife, Susie, of Calistoga, Calif.; her daughter, Beverly and husband, Michael Hastings, of
Auburn, Wash.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Urn Committal will be on April 13, 2007 at 1 p.m. at Roseberg National Cemetery, Roseberg, Ore. Memorial service will be on April 14, 2007, at 3 p.m. in the Myrtle Creek, Oregon, Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Please visit our website at www.yahnandson.com to sign the family’s online guest book.
Arrangements entrusted to Yahn and Son Funeral Home in Auburn, WA.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) William David Lutz
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William David Lutz, 86, of Wildcat Rocks Road, Seven Devils, died Tuesday morning, April 3, 2007, at Watauga Medical Center.
He was born in Mount Holly, N.J., a son of the late William Leon and Sophia Stadler Lutz.
Lt. Col. Lutz was retired from the United States Army, where he served in the artillery division. He was also a retired Aeronautical Engineer from NASA. He was a member of Holy Cross Episcopal Church.
Surviving are his wife, Jean Neil Lutz; one daughter; Toni Miller and husband, Bill, of Green, Ohio; one son, William David Lutz, Jr., and wife, Beth, of Lawrence, Kansas; two granddaughters, Cara Lisa Adams and husband, Alexis, and Ann Marie Miller; one grandson, Nicholas Miller; and one great-grandson, Collin Miller.
Memorial services will be conducted Saturday afternoon at 4 o’clock at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. Officiating will be Father John Zellner. Inurnment will follow in the Holy Cross Columbarium.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Lutz family.

Mary Eunice Query
Miss Mary Eunice Query, 97, of Central Street, Hudson, died Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care.
She was born Sept. 1, 1909 in Caldwell County to the late James Franklin and Perry Lee Long Query.
Miss Query was a member of Hudson United Methodist Church. She attended public schools in Hudson and graduated from Davenport High School in Lenoir. She received an A.B. from Duke University in English and Social Studies, an A.B. in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in Education from Appalachian State University.
Her 42 years of service include two years as an elementary teacher in Lexington, five years as a high school teacher in Hudson, two years as assistant librarian at High Point High School, six years as librarian at Lenoir High School, two years as librarian of Caldwell County Public Library, and twenty-five years as library science instructor at Appalachian State University.
Honors include naming of the Instructional Material Center at Appalachian in honor of Miss Query and Mrs. Ila Justice, professor Emerita of Library Science status at Appalachian, the Distinguished Alumni Award by the School of Library Science at University of North Carolina, the Mary Peacock Douglas Award, North Carolina’s most prestigious award recognizing contributions to school librarianship, and the 1999 Hudson Woman of the Year Award.
Miss Query established the following scholarships to aid students in their educational pursuits: the North Carolina Library Association Query-Long Scholarship; the Appalachian Scholarship in honor of her former students and colleagues in the Library Science Department at Appalachian; a scholarship for the study of youth librarianship at the School of Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the Query-Hickman scholarship at Caldwell Community College in honor of her brother and sister. Scholarships established in her honor include the Appalachian State University Eunice Query Scholarship and the Eunice Query Scholarship at Caldwell Community College.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, William Hunter Query; and a sister, Lucille Query Hickman.
Funeral services will be held Friday, April 6, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. at Hudson United Methodist Church conducted by the Rev. Timothy Brittain. Interment will follow at Hickman Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m., prior to the service, at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to: Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, 902 Kirkwood St., Lenoir, N.C. 28645; American Heart Association, North Carolina Affiliate, Inc., P.O. Box 4390, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514-1508; American Cancer Society, 6000 Fairview Rd., Suite 200, South Atlantic Division, Charlotte, N.C. 28210; Grace Lutheran Church (Boone)- Building Fund, 115 E. King St., Boone, N.C. 28607; Hudson United Methodist Church Library Fund, PO Box 726, Hudson, N.C. 28638; any of the Query scholarship funds: Foundation of CCC&TI, PO Box 600, Lenoir, N.C. 28645; North Carolina Library Association, 1811 Capital Blvd., Raleigh, N.C. 27604; UNC Development Office, PO Box 309, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514; ASU Foundation, PO Box 32007, Boone, N.C. 28608-2007; or to the church or charity of one’s choice.
Greer-McElveen Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.

George Dewey Ward
Mr. George Dewey Ward, 102 , of Morganton Blvd, Lenoir, went home to be with his Lord and Savior and his beloved wife of 78 years, on Friday, March 30, 2007 at Gateway Nursing Center.
He was born Oct. 27, 1904 in Watauga County to the late Lorenzo Ward and Belva Cook Ward.
Mr. Ward was a skilled carpenter and a member of Hartland Baptist Church. He loved baseball and was an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves.
Survivors include four sons, Dale Ward and wife, Mildred, Larry Ward of Fountain Inn, S.C., Kenneth Ward of Lenoir, Bob Clement and wife, Debra, of Lenoir; one daughter, Myrtle Ward of Lenoir and daughter-in-law, Eunella Ward, of Lenoir; 15 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Jettie Shull of Boone.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Viola Tester Ward; two sons, Zane Ward and Gary Ward; one daughter, Rebecca Ward Huffman; two grandsons, Randy Ward and Nathan Ward; three brothers, Howard Ward, Gibson Ward, Carl Ward; and one sister, Cleo Shull.
Services were held Monday, April 2, 2007, 2:00 p.m. in the Pendry’s Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Steve Parker officiating. Interment follow in the Blue Ridge Memorial Park. The family received friends from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 2, 2007 at Pendry’s Funeral Home prior to the service.
Serving as pallbearers were Kelly Huffman, Marty Huffman, George L. Ward, Jr., Nolan Ward, Terry Ward and Curtis DeHart. Honorary pallbearers were Tim Ward and Richard Holloway.
Memorials may be made to Hartland Baptist Church building fund, 3730 Hartland Rd., Morganton, N.C. 28655 or Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, 902 Kirkwood St., Lenoir, N.C. 28645
Condolences may be placed online at www.pendrysfh.com
Pendry’s Funeral Home & Crematory, Lenoir, N.C. is assisting the family with arrangements.

April 4, 2007 edition

John Edward Combs
Mr. John Edward Combs, 76, of Old US Highway 421, Zionville, died Sunday, April 1, 2007.
He was born June 12, 1930 in Watauga County, a son of John Eli and Caroline Belcher Combs.
After graduation from Cove Creek High School, Mr. Combs served four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. In 1952 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he was employed by General Motors for 30 years. Following retirement, he returned to the Mabel community in 1982 to enjoy his final years in the mountains of his boyhood. He loved the hills, the people and the outdoors. John will be missed by his family and friends.
Survivors include one son, Bryan Combs of Arden; two grandchildren, Nicole Combs of Arden and Brent Combs of Ohio; one nephew, Mark Combs of Asheville; and one niece, Gladys Siebigteroph of Germany; and his girlfriend, Ann Jordan, of Deep Gap.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Frank Combs.
Services will be conducted Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Austin & Barnes Funeral Home Chapel, officiated by the Rev. Randall Greene, the Rev. Kent Eller and the Rev. Rick Cornejo. The family will receive friends Thursday afternoon from 1 until 2 o’clock, one hour prior to services, at the chapel. Military graveside rites and burial will follow at Mount Lawn Memorial Park & Gardens.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Combs family.

April 2, 2007
Jacqueline Irene Greene Matheson
Mrs. Jacqueline Irene Greene Matheson, 82, of Meadowood Drive, Lenoir, and a former resident of Blowing Rock, died Wednesday morning, March 28, 2007 at the Lenoir Health Care.
She was born August 11, 1924 in Watauga County, a daughter of Commodore and Rosa Teague Greene.
Mrs. Matheson was a homemaker.
Survivors include one daughter, Kay Walker of Lenoir; three sons, Larry Wayne Greene and Jess Allen Walker, both of Lenoir, and Charles Michael Greene of Blowing Rock; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren; one sister, Lillian Critcher of Boone; one step-daughter, Judy Matheson of Blowing Rock; and three step-sons, Rick Matheson of Boone, Doug Matheson of Blowing Rock and Jerry Matheson of Foscoe.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Jess Walker; her second husband, Lenn Matheson; one grandson, Christopher Walker; three brothers, Alfred, Hardin and Bob Greene; and two sisters, Lena and Ellen Hatten.
Services were conducted Saturday morning at 11 o’clock at the Austin & Barnes Funeral Home Chapel, officiated by the Rev. Terry Hunt and the Rev. Dwayne Tester. The family received friends Saturday morning from 10 until 11 o’clock, one hour prior to services, at the funeral home. Burial followed at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Blowing Rock.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Matheson family.

George Dewey Ward
Mr. George Dewey Ward, 102 , of Morganton Blvd, Lenoir, went home to be with his Lord and Savior and his beloved wife of 78 years, on Friday, March 30, 2007 at Gateway Nursing Center.
He was born Oct. 27, 1904 in Watauga County to the late Lorenzo Ward and Belva Cook Ward.
Mr. Ward was a skilled carpenter and a member of Hartland Baptist Church. He loved baseball and was an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves.
Survivors include four sons, Dale Ward and wife, Mildred, Larry Ward of Fountain Inn, S.C., Kenneth Ward of Lenoir, Bob Clement and wife, Debra, of Lenoir; one daughter, Myrtle Ward of Lenoir and daughter-in-law, Eunella Ward, of Lenoir; 15 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Viola Tester Ward; two sons, Zane Ward and Gary Ward; one daughter, Rebecca Ward Huffman; two grandsons, Randy Ward and Nathan Ward; three brothers, Howard Ward, Gibson Ward, Carl Ward; and one sister, Cleo Shull.
Services will be held Monday, April 2, 2007, 2:00 p.m. in the Pendry’s Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Steve Parker officiating. Interment will follow in the Blue Ridge Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 2, 2007 at Pendry’s Funeral Home prior to the service.
Serving as pallbearers will be Kelly Huffman, Marty Huffman, George L. Ward, Jr., Nolan Ward, Terry Ward and Curtis DeHart. Honorary pallbearers will be Tim Ward and Richard Holloway.
Memorials may be made to Hartland Baptist Church building fund, 3730 Hartland Rd., Morganton, N.C. 28655 or Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, 902 Kirkwood St., Lenoir, N.C. 28645
Condolences may be placed online at www.pendrysfh.com
Pendry’s Funeral Home & Crematory, Lenoir, N.C. is assisting the family with arrangements.

Robert E. ‘Bob’ Whitley
Mr. Robert E. “Bob” Whitley, 76, of Greensboro, N.C., died Wednesday, March 28, 2007, at his home with his wife and children by his side. He had fought a long and courageous battle against cancer.
He was born Jan. 27, 1931, in Guilford County, to the late “Zeke” and “Lib” Whitley.
Mr. Whitley served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He retired from Southern Bell in 1983 and for the last 30 years became a master basket maker and craftsman. However, the most important part of Bobs’ life was his family. He was very proud to be a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Bette Whitley; a son, David Whitley and wife, Melinda; daughters, Dawn Whitley, Paige Jones and husband, Randy, and Karen Owens and husband, Mike; grandchildren, Justin, Sarah, Abbey, Brian, Lauren, Kaylie, Kristen, Annie, and Matt; and a great-grandchild, Gage.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two grandchildren, Brandon and Kyle Whitley.
Services were conducted Saturday afternoon, March 31, 2007, at 2 p.m. at Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church. A private interment followed visitation.
Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church at 2600 Pisgah Church Road, Greensboro, N.C. 27455.
Hanes-Lineberry North Elm Street Chapel is assisting the Whitley family.