OBITS FROM THE AREA

OBITS FROM THE AREA

Burlington Times-News
Jan. 03, 2007
Grace Anderson Thompson
     KERNERSVILLE — Grace Anderson Thompson, 85, formerly of Burlington, died following several months of declining health on Sunday, December 31, 2006.
     A memorial service will be held at Parkway United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem on Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 11 a.m. and at First Reformed United Church of Christ in Burlington on Saturday, January 13, 2007 at 2 p.m.[Changed to 1:00] The family will receive friends after the service.
     A native of Alamance County, Mrs. Thompson was the daughter of Fanny Clapp Anderson and William Lloyd Anderson, both deceased. She was a member of First Reformed United Church of Christ and the Fesperman Class for many years. More recently she enjoyed fellowship with Parkway United Church of Christ families.
     Mrs. Thompson served the Battle of Alamance DAR as registrar. Her inspiration and work was an essential part of the development of the Clapp’s Mill Memorial at Lake Mackintosh and the restoration and refurbishing of Old Brick Church. She was a charter member of a Couples Club and the Clapp Family Association. She served numerous terms as president of the Alamance County Genealogical Society, sat on the Alamance County Historical Museum Board and recently established a library in her home on Clapp family land.
     A quintessential researcher, Mrs. Thompson’s genealogical materials appeared in Clapp Family Newsletters, the Guilford and Alamance County Genealogical journals, an Albright/Clapp researcher’s book, and dedications marking Revolutionary War gravesites. She has been cited on the Internet and across state lines, yet insisted she was "a kitchen worker and a back row sitter."
     Her husband, A.G. Thompson Jr., preceded her in death.
     Mrs. Thompson is survived by sisters, Janet Schiffelbian of Center Moriches, L.I.N.Y., Frances Johnson and husband, E. J., of Greensboro and Carolyn Patterson and husband, Tyson, of Burlington; children, Susanne Turner of Durham, Donna Bonds and husband, John, of Kernersville, David Thompson and wife, Mary, of Burlington; grandchildren, Caroline Bonds of Bryson City, N.C., Jared Bonds of Kernersville, Mark Thompson and wife, Ann, of Italy, Wyatt Thompson and wife, Bess, of Greenwood, S.C., Andrew Turner and wife, Ashlee, of Bassett, Va., and David Turner of Newport News, Va.; great-grandgirls, Payton, Casandra and Sarah Bonds of Kernersville and Katie Maya Thompson of Italy.
     Memorials may be made to First Reformed United Church of Christ, on Front Street in Burlington or Parkway United Church of Christ on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem.
     The Cremation Services Inc. of Winston-Salem is in charge of arrangements.


The Burlington Times-News
Oct 14 2008 Mr. Harvey O. Hook
     ELON — Mr. Harvey O. Hook , 84, of Elon, died Monday, October 13, 2008, at Heartland Living and Rehabilitation Center in Greensboro, after an extended illness.
     A native of Elon, Mr. Hook was a veteran of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, serving during World War II in the European Theater. After graduating from Elon College and N.C. State he began his career in research engineering at RCA Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. He retired after 37 years and returned to Elon, N.C.
     Mr. Hook was a member of the Elon Community Christian Church. He was also a member of the Elon Exchange Club and the Alamance Antique Automobile Club. He served as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and CONTACT USA. He served in the Boy Scouts of America for over 60 years.
     Mr. Hook was the son of the late Marshall Ward Hook and the late Minnie Laura Edge Hook . He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Frances Hayes Hook ; one son, Bruce Hook and his wife, Ceil, of Rochester, New York; three daughters, Mrs. Ellen Tyler and her husband, Dr. Michael Tyler, of Lynchburg, Virginia, Mrs. Nancy Auel, and her husband, Pastor Conrad Auel, of Monessen, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Anne Lewis and her husband, Alan, of Elon; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and one brother, Ray Hook , of Yorktown, Virginia.
     Mr. Hook was preceded in death by a brother, Gerald Hook.
     A funeral service will be held Friday, October 17, 2008, at 10 a.m. at Elon Community Christian Church. Officiating will be the Rev. Dr. Dan Kuhn. Burial will follow in Magnolia Cemetery.
     The family will receive friends, Thursday, October 16, 2008, at Rich and Thompson Funeral and Cremation Service in Burlington from 6 until 8 p.m., and at other times they will be at the residence.
     Memorials may be made to Habitat for Humanity of Alamance County, P.O. Box 5036, Burlington, N.C. 27216-5036 or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Ave., Greensboro, N.C. 27405.
     The online guest book may be signed at www.richandthompson.com



The Burlington Times-News
Feb 21, 2008
Mr. David Reynolds Koontz
     BURLINGTON — Mr. David Reynolds Koontz , 78, of Burlington, N.C., died Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
     Mr. Koontz was born October 26, 1929, in Lexington, North Carolina. He was the son of David Kermit Koontz and Colleen Leonard Koontz , both deceased. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mrs. Sara Elizabeth Davis Koontz of the home; a brother, Dick Koontz (Jan) of High Point; three daughters, Mrs. Sara Rebecca Koontz Lee (Barry) of Chapel Hill, Mrs. Deborah Reynolds Koontz Snider (David ) of Huntersville, Mrs. Cynthia Elizabeth Koontz Smith (Jerry) of Surfside Beach, S.C.; three grandsons, Chad Smith, Alex Snider, Jeffrey Lee; and a granddaughter, Allyson Snider.
     David was a faithful member of Front Street United Methodist Church, where he served as an honorary member of the Administrative Board, a member of the Methodist Men’s Bible Study Group, the Christian Service Scholarship Committee, the Helper’s Sunday school class and past president of Front Street UMC Senior Citizens.
     He was an Eagle Scout and a graduate of Davidson College with a BS degree in Business and Economics (1950). He has a Master’s degree in Quantitative Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1972) and studied further at North Carolina State University at Raleigh.
     Mr. Koontz was a Master Mason of Bula Lodge 409 A.F. & A.M., a member of Greensboro York Rite Bodies, three times served in the East in Keystone Chapter Royal Arch Masons, a past Commander of Greensboro York Rite Knights Templar, a recipient of the Order of the Purple Cross by the Sovereign York Rite College of North America, a past Sovereign Master of Nathanael Greene Chapter of Allied Masonic Degrees, a past Commander of the Greensboro Council of Kadosh, a 33rd Degree Knight Commander of the Court of Honour of the Valley of Greensboro Scottish Rite, a past Venerable Master of the James W. Cortland Lodge of Perfection, a Knight of the Grand Lodge of the Royal Order of Scotland. He was coroneted a 33rd degree Inspector General Honorary and was a Mason for 55 years.
     Mr. Koontz served as a past President and Chaplain of the Alamance Battleground Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), a past Historian and Genealogist Emeritus of the North Carolina Society SAR, and a member of the Genealogical Society of Davidson County, N.C. He was a member of Wake County Historical Society and a trustee of Cherry Hill Foundation, Inez, N.C. Mr. Koontz was an avid genealogist of Davidson and Warren County, N.C. families. He was instrumental in locating and obtaining the early German records of Friedens Lutheran Church. Mr. Koontz published "Johannes Kuntz Family" in Davidson County and transcribed and edited "Early Pilgrim German Records" for Leonard’s Church.
     Mr. Koontz was a special agent in the U.S. Army with Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) during the Korean War. When General Douglas Mac-Arthur spoke to the Mississippi State Legislature in January 1952, Mr. Koontz was one of the CIC agents who conducted a protective surveillance for General MacArthur. Mr. Koontz worked in the hosiery industry for 18 years as an industrial engineer and retired from AT&T in 1989 with 19 years in industrial engineering, human resources, and contract engineering. He taught mathematics and economics for one year at Elon College and Alamance Community College. During his retirement he worked as an on call assistant at Edward D. Jones.
     A memorial service will be held at Front Street United Methodist Church, Saturday, February 23 at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends and family in the Heritage Room after the service. A Masonic Burial Service will be held at Shady Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery, Inez, N.C., Warren County, Saturday, March 15, 2008.
     Memorials may be given to the Christian Service Scholarship Fund, Front Street UMC, P.O. Box 2597, Burlington, N.C. 27216-2597, Shady Grove UMC Fellowship Hall Fund, Warrenton, N.C., c/o Mrs. Glenn Coleman III, 334 Rabbit Bottom Road, Warrenton, N.C. 27589 or to Hospice and Palliative Care Center of Alamance-Caswell, 918 Chapel Hill Road, Burlington, N.C. 27215.
     Arrangements are by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas.
     Online condolences can be made at www.cremnc.com


The Burlington Times-News
Nov. 2, 2007
Mrs. Virginia H. "Ginger" Sharpe
     BURLINGTON — Mrs. Virginia H. "Ginger" Sharpe , 83, of 3860 Wesley Court, Burlington, died peacefully in her sleep Monday, October 29, after several years of failing health.
     Born in Floyd County, Va., the daughter of a country doctor, John Lewis Harvey and Elizabeth Cole Harvey both deceased. She was the wife of Edwin F. Sharpe who survives. She was an active community volunteer. Mrs. Sharpe was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington and a member of Circle Number 2 and had formerly served as a deacon in a former Presbyterian Church. She attended the Salem Academy and later graduated from Jefferson High School in Roanoke, Va., and went on to attend Mary Baldwin College and the University of South Carolina.
     Surviving other than her husband of the home is her grandson, Dale Vassar III of Roanoke, Va. She was preceded in death other than her parents, by a daughter, Elizabeth Vassar; and two sons, Edwin Sharpe Jr. and Lewis Sharpe.
     A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, November 9, 2007, at the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington with Dr. Ron Shive officiating. Burial will be at a later date in Evergreen Cemetery in Roanoke, Va.
     A reception will follow the memorial service in the John Knox Room of the First Presbyterian Church.
     Memorials may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell, 914 Chapel Hill Road, Burlington, N.C. 27215.
     Condolences may be sent to the family at [email protected].



The Burlington Times-News
Sept 10, 2008
Edwin Fearrington Sharpe
      Mr. Edwin Fearrington Sharpe , age 84, (Born March 30, 1924), died at the Hospice Home in Burlington on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 5:50 a.m.
     Born in Burlington, N.C., he was the son of Walter Eugene Sharpe and Sallie Fearrington Sharpe , both deceased and moved to Roanoke, Va. at about age 6. He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1943 and almost immediately went into the Army. He spent three years in the Army Air Corps and served as a Radio Operator Gunner on a B-25 in the 5th Army Air Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theater. At the war’s end, he was on Ie Shima, an island just off Okinawa, South of Japan.
     He returned to the states in 1946 and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1949. Mr. Sharpe married Virginia Lee Harvey on June 21, 1946. He spent most of his working life as a member of the technical staff at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey.
     He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington; served as a treasurer of the Alamance Battleground Sons of the American Revolution; served as a president of the Alamance Genealogy Society; served as a treasurer of the 345th Bomb Group Association, a group of members of the 5th Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II; and helped as a volunteer for several local groups.
     He was preceded in death by his parents and six siblings, Louise Sharpe , Norman Sharpe , Mildred Meekins, Walter Sharpe Jr., Eleanore Sharpe and Elouise England; his wife, Virginia H. Sharpe ; a daughter, Elizabeth Sharpe Vassar; and two sons, Edwin Fearrington Sharpe Jr. and Lewis Harvey Sharpe .
     A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 1 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Burlington and conducted by Dr. Ron Shive. The family will greet friends after the service. Burial will be at a later date in Evergreen Cemetery in Roanoke, Va.
      Memorials may be made to your choice of charities or Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell, 914 Chapel Hill Road, Burlington, N.C. 27215.
     Condolences may be offered at www.richandthompson.com

The Burlington Times-News
Thomas "Nat" Clark
Oct. 18, 2008
     ELON — Mr. Thomas "Nat " Clark , 81, of 612 Huntingdon Street, Elon, died at his residence on Friday, October 17, 2008.
     A native of Princeton, W.Va., he was the husband of Martha Young Clark , who survives, and the son of Albert Ross Clark and Emma Ruth Harvey Clark , both deceased. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps serving during the Korean Conflict. He retired after 45 years from FMC as a financial manager. Mr. Clark was a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, both state and national levels achieving the rank of Minuteman and President of the Alamance Historical Museum. He was a classical pianist, an artist, a world traveler and an avid genealogist who volunteered for the Hillsborough Library Genealogy Department. He was a member of Front Street United Methodist Church.
     In addition to his wife of the home, survivors include his daughter, Martha Anna Clark of the home; his son, the Rev. Stephen Ross Clark and wife, Connie Phipps Clark , of Conover; two grandchildren, Adam Ross Clark and Amanda Clark Telesco; two great-grandchildren, Charles Anthony Telesco II and Isabelle Renee Telesco; a sister, Mrs. Charles Beashears of Purlear, N.C.; three brothers, Albert Ross Clark Jr. of St. Albans, W.Va., the Rev. John Harvey Clark of North Wilkesboro, and Ralph Fulton Clark of Hickory; and a lifetime friend, Joseph C. Bigony of Hinton, W.Va.
     He was preceded in death by a sister, Mrs. Joseph Horst of Baltimore, Md.      A memorial service will be conducted at Front Street United Methodist Church on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 3 p.m. by the Rev. Marshall Old.
     The family will receive friends at the Rich & Thompson Funeral and Cremation Service in Burlington on Sunday from 5 until 7 p.m. and on Monday following the service at the church in the Heritage Center. Other times they will be at the residence.
     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alamance Battleground Chapter of SAR Scholarship Fund, c/o Don Stanford, 2977 Moser Lane, Burlington, N.C. 27215 or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Alamance-Caswell, 914 Chapel Hill Road, Burlington, N.C. 27215 or to Front Street United Methodist Church, 136 South Fisher Street, Burlington, N.C. 27215.
     Condolences may be offered at www.richandthompson.com