ITMANN — Heather Nicole Sizemore, 11, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Born Feb. 4, 1994, at Welch, she was the daughter of Donnie Ray Sizemore of New Richmond and Rosilie Hall Sizemore of Itmann.
Heather was a fifth-grade student at Mul-lens Middle School and was a faithful attendant of Sweet Home Baptist Church where she was an active member in the Youth Group.
Her maternal grandparents, Thomas and Zina Amol Hall, and paternal great-grandparents, Zida and Isabell Adkins, preceded Heather in death.
In addition to her parents, those left to cherish her memory are a sister, Hali Lynn Heizer at home; paternal grandparents, Ronnie and Gladys Sizemore of New Richmond; a maternal great-grandmother, Betty Metzger; several aunts and uncles, Chrissy Sizemore Lowe of Lashmeet, Roxie Hatfield and husband, Lou, of Oceana, Sheila Carter and husband, Rob, of North Carolina, Shirley Trent and husband, Jess, of Oceana, Ruby Parsons of Bud, Benny Hall and wife, Rita, of Matheny, Kenny Hall of Matheny, Jimmie Vance of Glen Fork, Paul Vance and Billy Green of Ohio; cousins, Kevin and Mike Mullins of Lashmeet, Thomas, Kenny and Rebecca Hall of Oceana, Ron “Pug” Morgan of Oceana, Robbie Carter of North Carolina, Amanda Hatfield and husband, Richard, of Matheny, Benji Hall of Logan and Margaretta Honeycutt and husband, Bobby, of Bald Knob; great-uncle and aunt, Tom Brunk and Debbie of Ohio; extended family in Ohio; and special grandma and grandpa, Linda and Larry England of Mullens.
Service will be 11 a.m. Sunday at Sweet Home Baptist Church, Maben, with Pastor Larry L. England and Ricky Lusk officiating. Burial will follow in Hall Family cemetery, Matheny.
Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at Tankersley Funeral Home, Mullens, and one hour before service Sunday at the church.
Pallbearers will be family and friends.
Arrangements by Tankersley Funeral Home, Mullens.
Sula Soter
Sula Soter of Beckley died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, at Greystone Inn.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
Mary Morrison Buckland
RICH CREEK, Va. — Mary Morrison Buckland, 90, of Rich Creek, Va., passed away Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005.
Graveside services will be 2 p.m. today at Peterstown cemetery.
Arrangements by Broyles-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, Peterstown.
Verna Delphia Coleman Evans
SCARBRO — Verna Delphia Coleman Evans, 93, of Scarbro, Rt. 1, died Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005, at Heartland of Charleston.
Service will be 2 p.m. Monday at Broyles-Shrewsbury Funeral Home Chapel, Peterstown. Friends may call 1 p.m. until time of the services at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Broyles-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, Peterstown.
James M. Bowles
JUMPING BRANCH — James M. Bowles, 56, died 9:50 p.m. Friday, June 9, 2006, in CAMC Memorial Division, Charleston, following a long illness.
Born Dec. 19, 1949, at Hinton, he was the son of Marjorie O’Bryan Bowles of Hinton and the late Lester A. Bowles.
Mr. Bowles was a retired locomotive engineer for CSX Transportation, a member of the United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
He was preceded in death by an uncle and aunt with whom he made his home, Marion and Vergie O’Bryan.
Surviving besides his mother are his wife, Catherine Fox Bowles; a son, Gregory J. Bowles of Allentown, Pa.; a daughter, Christi R. Bowles of Morgantown; three brothers, Kenny Bowles and wife, Pinky, of Erie, Mich., Eddie Bowles and Randy Bowles and wife, Michelle, of Nimitz; four sisters, Freda Wallbaum and husband, Joe, of Parkersburg, Iowa, Lila Meadows and husband, Jay, of Brooks, Sherri Cook and husband, Robert, of Jumping Branch and Terri Jones of Lewisburg; six nieces and nephews also survive.
Services will be 3:30 p.m. Monday, June 12, 2006 at Pivont Funeral Home in Hinton. Burial will follow in the O’Bryan cemetery at Hix.
Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Pivont Funeral Home, Hinton.
Amos M. Bratcher Sr.
MULLENS — Amos Marvin “Red” Bratcher, Sr., 76, passed away on Thursday, June 8, 2006, at Charleston Area Medical Center, of congestive heart failure.
Born Sept. 18, 1929, at Nuriva, WV, he was the son of the late Gillian Austin and Sadie May Halsey Bratcher.
One brother, Gillian Austin, (Junior) Bratcher and a son, William Lee (Billy) Bratcher, preceded him in death.
Red was a veteran of the Korean War and a life member of VFW Post No. 10028 in Aberdeen, Md. He retired from Baldwin Manor, Inc., in Maryland and returned to West Virginia in 1995 to live.
Red had a great sense of humor and a love of life that he shared with everyone he had ever met. He has many friends who are hurt deeply from his passing, all of whom have been touched in some way by his great friendship and love of life. He will surely be missed by all of us in this life.
Those left to cherish his precious memory are his loving and devoted wife of 51 years, Bertha Pearl Graham Bratcher; a brother, Byron Douglas Bratcher and his wife, Nancy, of Havre De Grace, Md.; four children, Amos M. Bratcher Jr. and his wife, Cheryl, of Wayside, Jeffrey Gerald Bratcher and his wife, Jody, of Battle Creek Lake, Minn., Jennifer Cheryl Coulter and her husband, Bay, of Aberdeen, Md., Sandra Kay Williams of Aberdeen, Md.; 11 grandchildren, Matthew Williams, Sasha Bratcher, Christopher Lee Bratcher, Audrey Buchanan Bratcher, Rachel Buchanan Bratcher, Scottie Angell, Alicia Adkins, Jamie Lewis, Gene Hasson, Lindsey Coulter, and Justin Coulter; and five great-grandchildren, Jack, Christopher, Sky’ Lynn, Nena and Kaitlynn.
Red will be missed but never forgotten. He will always remain in our hearts and memories, a life time of memories of all the love and laughter we’ve shared together.
But for now, we will say good-bye to Red Tuesday, June 13, 2006, but we will always be together in this world as well as the next.
Pallbearers will be sons, Amos and Jeff Bratcher, son-in-law, Bay Coulter, and grandsons, Chris Bratcher, Justin Coulter, and Matthew Williams.
The viewing for friends will take place 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 12th, at the funeral home.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 13th, 2006, at Tankersley Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Curtis England officiating. Interment will follow at the Lewis Graham Family cemetery, Basin. Military graveside services will be conducted by the Wyoming County Honor Guard.
Arrangements by Tankersley Funeral Home, Mullens.
Howard Wendell Brown
Howard Wendell Brown, 81, of Daniels, passed away peacefully at home Tuesday, June 6, 2006, in the loving company of his wife, sister, son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. He was born at Daniels June 25, 1924, to the late Harry W. Brown and Sallie Covey Brown, and was a lifelong resident of West Virginia. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, and gardener.
Howard was a 1941 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley. He also attended Beckley College and West Virginia University. He retired from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV, after a distinguished career in telescope operations and in the design and integration of highly advanced cryogenic technology for radio astronomical receivers. He was highly skilled in construction, mechanical, automotive, electronic, and a variety of other technical endeavors. After retirement from NRAO, he served as a consultant in the cryogenics industry. Prior employers included the United States Bureau of Mines in Morgantown, the C&O Railroad, and Appalachian Power Company. Howard also served as a radio transmission engineer at AM broadcast stations in Beckley and in Morgantown, and was an accomplished television and radio repair technician.
Howard is survived by his loving wife, Leona Gwinn Brown of Daniels. Howard and Leona were married when both were 18 years old, and their union was blessed in both longevity and love. Other survivors include Howard’s sisters, Ruth Adkins and Phyllis Brown, both of Daniels; son and daughter-in-law, Thomas Howard and Donna Lynn Brown of Winston-Salem, N.C.; daughter and son-in-law, Belinda (Connie) and Doug Miller of Griffithsville; daughter, Glenna Black; and six grandchildren. During the second World War, Mr. Brown was a Private First Class in combat with the U.S. Army’s 97th Infantry Division in Europe during 1945, and served with the same division in the occupation of Japan until the demobilization of his unit in the spring of 1946. His service was courageous and distinguished, but he lived the rest of his life with an outspoken hatred for war. History has shown that many thousands of his wartime comrades will never grow old, and current statistics would indicate that hundreds of those who remain joined him in death this week. It is unlikely that the free world will ever be able to repay their service to their nation, to freedom, and to mankind.
The family asks that there be no flowers, all memorials to Hospice of Southern West Virginia, P.O. Box 1472, Beckley, WV 25801.
Memorial services will be conducted at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2006 at the Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home Shady Spring Chapel with the Rev. Don Synder officiating.
There will be no night visitation.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Shady Spring.
Amy Beth Cline
GILBERT CREEK — Amy Beth Cline, 49, died June 8, 2006.
Services will be 1 p.m. Monday at Mounts Funeral Home, Gilbert. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Mounts Funeral Home, Gilbert.
Hallie E. Duncan
BLUEFIELD, WV — Hallie E. Duncan, 88, died Friday, June 9, 2006.
Service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Burns Wornal Chapel of Memorial Funeral Directory on the Athens Road, Princeton. Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Arrangements by the Memorial Funeral Directory and Cremation Center, Princeton.
Della Pearl Pennington Jones
Della Pearl Pennington Jones, 72, of Sophia passed away Friday, June 9, 2006.
Born March 30, 1934 at Helen, she was the daughter of the late Andrew Uriah and Mayme Lee Vaughn Pennington.
She was a devoted wife and a loving mother. She was an avid gardener and loved canning her own vegetables.
Pearl was a longtime member of the Soak Creek Gospel Tabernacle.
In addition to her parents, Pearl was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence E. Jones; a sister, Shelba Thomas; and a brother, John D. Pennington.
Those left to cherish her memory include her two children, Aaron Uriah Jones and wife, Diana, of Daniels and Carolyn Sue Mason and companion, Tony Emerson, of Sophia; brother, Hershel R. Pennington of LaGrange, KY; sister, Geraldine Lancaster of Cincinnati, OH; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and one unborn great-grandson; several nieces and nephews; and her dog Buddy.
Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at Soak Creek Gospel Tabernacle, Soak Creek, with Brothers Terry Hatcher and Marvin Rupe officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley.
Grandsons and nephews will be serving as pallbearers.
Friends may gather with the family from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Williams-Blue Ridge Funeral Home, 147 Virginia Street, Sophia, is in charge of the arrangements.
Clara Virginia Lester
MATHENY — Clara Virginia Lester, 91, entered into rest on Thursday, June 8, 2006, at the home of her son, Jim Lester of Mobile, Ala., following a short illness.
Born May 15, 1915, in Stacy, Va., she was the daughter of the late Rev. Eli Mullins and Ollie Horn Mullins.
Granny, as she was affectionately called by her friends and neighbors, was a member of Turkey Ridge Baptist Church. She was saved and baptized in September 1944. She was a faithful wife and homemaker and enjoyed embroidery and quiltmaking. Up until her illness, she enjoyed spending time with her only great-great-granddaughter, Emily Brooke Lambert.
Other than her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne, in 1984; an infant son, Billy Austin, in 1934; three sisters, Eula Riffe in 1980, Helen Morgan in 1983 and Willa Trail in 1998; a brother, John Charles Mullins, in 1996.
She was the last living relative of her immediate family.
Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Jim Lester and wife, Sandy, of Mobile, Ala.; daughter, Bernice Justice of Matheny; four grandchildren, Deborah Odham of Charlotte, N.C., Teresa Lusk and husband, Frankie, of Matheny, Stephanie Rigsby and husband, Lee, of Ashland, Ky., and Larry Justice and wife, Sherri, of Manassas, Va.; four great-grandchildren, Tiffany Lambert and husband, Clacey Lambert of Matheny, Brandon Odham of Charlotte, N.C., Jassie Prichard and Edward Prichard III of Ashland, Ky.; one very special great-great-granddaughter, Emily Brook Lambert of Matheny; and a sister-in-law, Joan Mullins of Roanoke, Va.
Service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Turkey Ridge Baptist Church at Oceana, with Pastor Johnny Jones and Assistant Pastor Randall Topping officiating, Burial will follow in Palm Memorial, Gardens, Matheny.
Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the church.
Arrangements entrusted to Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
