On Tuesday, June 20, 2006, Myrtle “Blackie” Goff died peacefully at her home at Lester. She was 70 years of age.
Born Myrtle Acord on March 17, 1936, at Bolt, she was the daughter of the late John O. and Minnie Dickens Acord.
Known affectionately as “Blackie” all her life, she had spent her early years at Bolt. A resident of the Lester community the past 35 years, Myrtle was of the Christian faith.
In her leisure time she enjoyed working in her yard. She will be remembered as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Jim Pettery, and a special brother, Bill Acord.
Survivors include her husband of 53 years, Russell Goff Sr.; six sons, Joe Hudson and Stanley Goff at home, Russell Goff and his wife, Billie, of MacArthur, Bobby Goff and his companion, Faith Grizzle, of Daniels, Phillip Goff and his wife, Betty, of Glen White and Wesley Goff and his wife, Lisa, of Lester; two daughters, Martha Pettery of Lester and Cindy Duncan and her husband, Nelson, of Glen White; a sister, Helen Acord of Lester; 28 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Service will be 1 p.m. today at Melton Mortuary Chapel, Beckley, with the Rev. Kenneth Parent officiating. Burial will follow in the Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley.
Friends may call noon until time of service today.
Pallbearers will be her sons, Don Bailey and Josh Goff.
Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley.
Donna Susan Lilly Howell
PIPESTEM — Donna Susan Lilly Howell, 46, of Deer Run, just off True Road, Pipestem, died Thursday morning, June 22, 2006, at her residence.
Arrangements by Memorial Funeral Directory & Cremation Center, Princeton.
Pearl Faye Jones
DANESE — Pearl Faye Jones, 91, formerly of Danese, passed away Saturday morning, June 17, 2006, at Crofton Convalescence Center in Crofton, Md., following a long illness.
Born Sept. 16, 1914, at Landisburg, she was the daughter of the late Jeremiah and Ora Della Lester.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Earnie Jones, in June 1985; a son, Larry Delano Jones, in October 2005; and a grandson, Carl Chipps Jr., in September 2005. She was also preceded in death by five sisters, Agnes Berry, Gertrude Campbell, Mary Thomas, Lenna Halstead and Virginia Gunnoe; and five brothers, Earl, Lawrence, Everett, Henry and Gordon Lester.
Mrs. Jones attended Green Valley Methodist Church for many years until she became housebound. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include two daughters, Barbara Chipps and husband of Bladensburg, Md., and Diana Moody and husband of Upper Marlboro, Md.; a sister, Ruby Sorrells of Danese; six grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
Service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at Wallace & Wallace Chapel, Rainelle, with Pastor Daniel Legg and Pastor Allen Whitt officiating. Burial will follow in Wallace Memorial cemetery, Clintonville.
Friends may call 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home, Rainelle.
Hallie Mae Kessinger
Hallie Mae Kessinger, of 104 Catlett St., Beckley, entered into the gates of Heaven on the 20th day of June 2006. Hallie was born to Joe Wills and Nettie Wills-Reed on June 24, 1912, at Eccles, moving to Beckley in 1921.
Mrs. Kessinger worked as a homemaker and as a seamstress for Grace Wilkes Dress Shop and for herself for the greater part of her glory years. She married James E. Kessinger in 1939.
Left to mourn her passing are her children, Nancy L. Gragg and Frank H. Wills; sister, Thelma Rose Hale of Bainbridge, Ga.; sisters-in-law, Irene Kessinger of Beckley, Helen Davis of Pennsylvania and Francis Moatioan of Massachusetts; grandchildren, Tammy McCollam Romage and her husband, Dan, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., Hallie Kay “Katie” Parris-Lovelace and her husband, Jim, of Crestview, Fla., Dawn Marie Gragg of Richmond, Va., Lora Wills-Lilly of Beckley, James P. Wills of Tomah, Wis., Donald R. Gragg Jr. of Shady Spring, Jason C. Wills of Cool Ridge and Justin R. Wills of Beaver; great-grandchildren, Courtney, Daniel Christopher, Lynsi, Derek, Nikolas, Sara, Kaysi, Jamieson, Logan and Ethan; and many nieces and nephews.
Special friends are listed as Carmela Hewell, Zelda and Barbara Futterman, Tim Foster and Debbie and Virginia Griffith.
Mrs. Kessinger was preceded in death by her husband, James Kessinger; a sister, Edith “Curley” Via of Beckley; and a brother, Howard H. Wills of Bluefield, Va.
Pallbearers will be James P. Wills, Donald R. Gragg Jr., Peter Staton, Justin R. Wills, Dan Romage and John McGee Jr. “Little John.”
Honorary pallbearers will be Daniel Christopher Romage, Derek Lovelace, Kenny Trent, James N. Lovelace (serving on active duty deployed), Jason Wills, and Tim Foster.
Lord’s songs will be sung by Krista Hughes, stepdaughter of Justin Wills.
Service will be 11 a.m. today at Rose and Quesenberry Peace Chapel, Beckley. Ministering the service will be the Rev. John McGee and Brother Danny Winders. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley.
Friends called 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
Nancy Lee McClung Lokant
GARDEN CITY, Mich. — Nancy Lee McClung Lokant, 66, died Wednesday, June 14, 2006, at Garden City Hospital.
Arrangements by High Lawn Funeral Home Chapel, Oak Hill.
Thelma M. McLaughlin
RICH CREEK, Va. — Thelma M. McLaughlin, 88, died Wednesday, June 21, 2006.
Service will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, Rich Creek. Friends may call 9:30 a.m. until time of service Saturday at the church. Burial and graveside service will be 1:30 p.m. at Rosewood cemetery, Lewisburg.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions should be made to the Graves Youth Center, Blacksburg Baptist Church, 550 N. Main St., Blacksburg, VA 24060.
Arrangements by Broyles-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, Peterstown.
Frank P. Miller
On Wednesday, June 21, 2006, in the early hours of the first day of summer, Frank P. Miller passed away at his home on Dunns Road at Flat Top. Surrounded by his family, he was 66 years of age.
Born Frank Pleasant Miller on Jan. 30, 1940, in Beckley, he was the first of eight children born to the late Willouby Pleasant and Annalee Worley Miller.
Frank spent his childhood on Hodge Street in Beckley. A mechanic by trade all his life, Frank began his career with the West Virginia Turnpike Authority in the early 1960s. He worked for Eudy’s Service Station in Alexandria, Va., for 10 years, returning to Raleigh County in 1976, where he went to work for Lewis Chevrolet. He retired in 1999 with 21 years of service.
Frank made his home at the Dunns community for many years, where he was a member and deacon of Mountain Missionary Baptist Church. He was a man of high work ethic, devoted to his wife, children and grandchildren. He loved to hunt and fish and enjoyed the wild game that was always passing through his yard. The time spent with his grandchildren was a great joy to him.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Jackie.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 47 years, Sylvia; he was the devoted father of Elizabeth Anne Ellison and her husband, Kenneth, of Daniels and Frank Pleasant Miller Jr. and his wife, Christine, of Dunns; loving grandfather of Sarah Elizabeth and Ryan Wayne Ellison and Jonathan Frank and Kristen Miller; the dear brother of Karl Miller and his wife, Ilene, of Flat Top, Mark Miller of Pipestem, Linda Farley and her husband, Donald, of Abney, Delores Cook and her husband, Stanley, of Beckley, Reba Suddreth and her husband, Jerry, of Crab Orchard and Leeann Evans and her husband, Richard, of Gardner; and much loved uncle to several nieces and nephews.
Service will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Melton Mortuary Chapel, Beckley, with the Rev. Thomas Ellison officiating. Burial will follow in Calfee cemetery, Mount Tabor.
Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at the mortuary and one hour before service Saturday.
Pallbearers will be Jerry and Keith Suddreth, Donald and Donnie Farley, Mark Miller and Duane Gonderman.
Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley.
Esta B. Deck Rhodes
Esta B. Deck Rhodes, 95, of MacArthur, died Thursday, June 22, 2006, in Marlinton at the home of her daughter, Carroll R. Lewis Barlow, following a long illness.
Arrangements by Calfee Funeral Home, Beckley.
Paul Riner
Paul Riner, 81, of Maud, Texas, formerly of Charlotte, N.C., a native of Gatewood, died May 10, 2005.
Burial will be 11 a.m. Monday at Pleasant View Church of the Brethren cemetery, Fayetteville, with the Rev. George Snyder officiating.
George Henley Shumaker
FAYETTEVILLE — George Henley Shumaker, 80, passed away Thursday, June 22, 2006, at the Ansted Center following an extended illness.
Dodd-Payne-Hess Funeral Home, Fayettevlle, is in charge of arrangements.
Donald Vernon Simmons
Donald Vernon Simmons, 85, of Beaver, passed away Wednesday, June 21, 2006. He was the son of the late Ezra and Maude Simmons.
Donald was in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He was a retired Raleigh County school bus driver where he was employed for 16 years. Don had life long love for automobiles. He was a mechanic and had owned garages in the area for the past 60 years. He was dearly loved and shall be greatly missed by all that knew him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ezra and Maude Simmons; sister, Mildred Mann; and brothers, Chester Simmons, Ronald Simmons and Fabin Simmons.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 65 years, Rosalie Simmons of Beaver; daughters, Donna O’Conner of Clifton Springs, N.Y., Cathy Cuckler and companion, Kenny, of Beaver Falls, Pa., and Terry Bennett and husband, Bill, of Holcomb, N.Y.; son, Dale Simmons and companion, Debbie, of Beaver; seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and his beloved pet, Gadget.
Service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, June 24, at Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Beckley, with Rev. Darrell McNeely officiating. Burial will follow at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley.
Friends may gather with the family 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be Jeff Harrah, Paul Freeburger, Roger Shuemake, John Pack, Rocky Floyd and Jim Shannon.
Arrangements by Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Beckley.
Wilda Mae Gunter Boggess
Wilda Mae Gunter Boggess, of Lanark, passed into God’s hands at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 21, 2006. Mom was called to heaven by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and answered him obediently.
Born Oct. 3 in Newport, Tenn., she was the daughter of the late John Gunter and Mary Gunter, both residing in Heaven.
Mrs. Boggess was a homemaker and liked to fish, camp, play guitar, sell Avon and talk about the Lord, sharing her knowledge of the Bible. She was of the Holiness faith.
She was the wife of Harold Lloyd Boggess Sr., who’s awaited her arrival in Heaven since 1993. She was also preceded in death by two brothers, Ken and Ted Gunter.
Left behind to cherish her memory are sons, Jerry Lee Gunter Sr. and wife, Loma, Billy Gene Gunter Sr. and wife, Wanda, of Beckley and Harold Lloyd Boggess Jr. and companion, Marsha, of Prosperity; daughters, Lloydette Deal and husband, Robin, and Barbara Ann Adkins and husband, Ray, of Lanark; brothers, Fred Gunter and wife, Myrtle, Ellis Gunter of Piney View, Virgil Gunter and wife, Millie, and Melvin Gunter and wife, Joyce, and a sister, Lois Brown, all of Ohio; special aunt, Tisha Moore of Newport, Tenn.; grandchildren, Derrick James, Jerry Gunter Jr., Alexis Adkins, Justin Richmond, Kelsi and Dillon Boggess, Cliff Martin, Billy and Patrick Gunter, and Doreen Radford; and several great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Boggess was a very loving, kind, generous mother, grandmother and sister. She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by all.
Service will be 1 p.m. Sunday, June 25, at Rose and Quesenberry Peace Chapel, Beckley, with Evangelist Dennis Williams officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley.
Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be Derrick Lee James, Jerry Lee Gunter Jr., Justin Lloyd Richmond, John Wheeler, Robin Deal and Charles Walker.
Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley.
