Bristol, Virginia, Obituaries: Bristol Herald Courier, December 30, 2004 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Bristol Herald Courier http://www.bristolnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=TRI/Page/TRI_FrontPage ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bristol Herald Courier Thursday December 30, 2004 Velma R. Applegate KINGSPORT - Velma "Skip" R. Applegate, 67, 205 Church Hill Drive, went to be with the Lord at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center. Velma was born in Abingdon and came to Kingsport in 1967. She had worked at the Moose and VFW and was a member of the Women of the Moose and VFW Auxiliary. She was of the Baptist faith. Preceding her in death were her parents, one son, Robert Adams, two brothers, Gene Roark and Pete Roark, and one sister, Vivian Roark. Surviving are her husband, Bill Applegate, Kingsport; one daughter, Linda Chico, Rogersville; four sons, John Adams, Doug Adams and Jeff Adams, all of Kingsport, and Gary Adams, Knoxville; two stepchildren, Butch Applegate and Allen Applegate, both of Kingsport; nine grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three sisters, Ruth Singleton and Gerry Griffith, both of Abingdon, and Barbara Frazier, Atlanta; and several nieces and nephews. Calling hours are from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Homes, Fall Branch. Services will be conducted at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Fall Branch Chapel with Pastor John C. Pierson officiating. Graveside services will be conducted at 12 noon Friday at Oak Hill Memorial Park. Pallbearers will be Jeff Adams, Travis Adams, Josh Griffin, Olan Walker, Robert Tolliver, Danny Murray and Billy Delancey. Robert C. Buckles BIG STONE GAP, Va. - Visitation for Robert Claiborne Buckles will be held at his church on Thursday, Dec. 30, from 5-8 p.m., with service following. Interment will be on Friday at 11 a.m. at Powell Valley Memorial Gardens. Family and friends will meet at church at 10:30 a.m. Friday to go in procession. Online condolences may be sent at holding@compunet.net. Because of his commitment to his church family and to missions, his family requests that any donations be contributed to the Robert C. Buckles Memorial Mission Fund at East Stone Gap United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 186, East Stone Gap, VA 24246. Robert Claiborne Buckles, 71, left this realm and entered Heaven on Monday, Dec. 27, 2004. Holding Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Treman L. Cassell CHILHOWIE - Treman L. Cassell, age 86, died Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, at his home. He worked at Newport News Shipyard for over 20 years and moved back to Marion, where he worked at the Smyth County Community Hospital for over 20 years, until his retirement. He was preceded in death by his wife, Juanita Griffitts Cassell, two brothers, and three sisters. Mr. Cassell is survived by two daughters and one son-in-law, Frances Boyd of Newport News, Va., and Nancy Carroll and Wayne Brendle of Tabb, Va.; one son and daughter-in-law, Billy G. and Maureen Cassell of Port Charlotte, Fla.; two sisters-in-law, Juanita Cassell of Marion and Ruth Cassell Rouse of Chilhowie; 10 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren also survive. Funeral services will be held Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, at 11 a.m. at Seaver-Brown Chapel with Rev. Neville Mozingo officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Lawn Cemetery, Marion. The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 6 until 8 p.m. at Seaver-Brown Chapel. The family would be blessed by your presence at the church of your choice this Sunday. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the family at www.seaverbrown.com. Seaver-Brown Funeral Service and Crematory is serving the Cassell Family. Jeffrey Harper Jeffrey Harper, age 22, passed away Friday, Dec. 24, 2004. He was a former resident of Nottingham, Pa. Preceding him in death were his grandfather, Bob Taylor, his aunt, Carla Taylor, and his uncle, Sammy Taylor. He is survived by his mother, Roberta Taylor, and his stepfather Danny Taylor, of Abingdon; one sister, Deidra Taylor of Abingdon; paternal grandmother, Laura Taylor of Bristol Virginia; maternal grandparents, Volyree and Ned Smith of Pennsylvania; and several aunts and uncles. Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, in the Mullins Funeral Home Chapel with Clergyman Ralph Patterson officiating. Burial will be in the McCoy Family Cemetery, Brushy Ridge Section, Nora. Active pallbearers: Danny Taylor, Bobby Taylor, Mark Woodard, Ritchie Taylor, Adam Taylor, James Hall, Jason Yates and Keith Taylor. Honorary pallbearers: Ronnie Johnson, Tim Worley, Seth Coe, David and Lee. The family will receive friends Thursday from 11 a.m. until the time of the funeral service. Mullins Funeral Home and staff are serving the family. Gail Hatfield COEBURN, Va. - Cynthia Gail Hatfield, 49, died Monday, Dec. 27, 2004, at Wellmont Lonesome Pine Hospital following an extended illness. Born to the late Frances "Frankie" Hatfield and Jack Hatfield, Gail was a 1974 graduate of J.J. Kelly High School. Her love of animals led to her active involvement with the Wise County Humane Society and PAWS of southwest Virginia. She is survived by her husband, Timothy Barnett Sr.; her sister, Karen Hatfield, Virginia Beach, Va.; two stepsons, Timothy Barnett Jr. and Jason Matthew Barnett; her mother-in-law, Della Shepherd; and several aunts, uncles and cousins. A celebration of the life of Gail Hatfield will be held at 6 p.m. Friday in the Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends immediately following the service. Memorial contributions may be made to the animal adoption agency, PAWS of Southwest Virginia, P.O. Box 576, Coeburn, VA 23230. Hagy & Fawbush Funeral Home of Norton is serving the Hatfield-Barnett family. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.hagyfawbush.com. Mary Francis Heath CHILHOWIE - Myrtle Francis Heath, age 79, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, in the Grace Health Care Center in Abingdon. She was born in Abingdon to the late McKinley and Belle Poole, and was preceded in death by her husband, Claude Allen Heath. She was a lifetime employee of Bonham's Apple Orchard in Chilhowie. Survivors include: one son, William McKinley Heath, Abingdon; one sister, Virginia Sweat, Bristol Virginia; three grandsons, McKinley Allen Heath, Leslie Rasnake and Curtis Shew; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews also survive. Graveside services will held at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, at the Mt. Rose Cemetery in Glade Spring with the Rev. Ernest Yates officiating. The family will receive friends Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bradley's Funeral Chapel in Chilhowie. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.bradleysfh.com. Bradley's Funeral Chapel, Chilhowie, is serving the family of Mrs. Heath. Charles Hutchins Jr. BRISTOL, Va. - Funeral services for Charles Hugh Hutchins Jr. will be conducted 11 a.m. Thursday in Weaver Funeral Home with Brother Jimmy Epperson officiating. Burial will follow in Rooty Branch Cemetery. Military honors will be conducted by Patton-Crosswhite VFW Post 6975. Pallbearers; Johnny Pruitt, Tim Wade, Gary Wade, Raymond Reynolds, Jackie Reynolds and Fred Gross. Charles Hugh Hutchins Jr. age 71, 13514 Cartwright Lane, Lot 23, died Saturday, Dec. 25, 2004, in Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center. Weaver Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Willie K. Kelly Willie (Bill) K. Kelly a first grade school teacher in the Bristol Virginia School System for 40 years, died in the one-hundred first year of her life on Wednesday, Dec. 29, in Roanoke, Va. She was a resident of the Brandon Oaks Lutheran Home. Bill Kelly, the daughter of John Peck Kelly and Lura Woodyard Kelly, was born in Sugar Run, Va., near Pearisburg, on Nov. 25, 1904. She enjoyed a wonderful childhood, growing up in Smyth and Bland Counties. She graduated from Marion College Academy in 1921. She attended Radford College Normal School and received her teaching certificate in 1923, returning to Radford College to earn her B.S. in 1939. Her first teaching position was in Appalachia, Va., at the age of 19 in 1923. In 1926, she accepted a position in Bluefield, Va., (Graham), teaching there until 1930, when she moved to Bristol. In Bristol, she taught until her retirement in 1969. Hers was always the first grade and generations of young Virginians first realized the miracle of reading in her classroom. Always gentle, always kind, she was often visited by former students, who called her "the teacher they would never forget". Her classroom stories were endless, a favorite concerning an exchange of correspondence she had with a parent who had been asked to supply a birth certificate for his son. The father noted that he "didn't know nothin' about no birth certificate, but any durn fool could plainly see that Johnny was a well- born child." Miss Kelly is survived by many nephews, nieces, great-nephews, great-nieces and cousins, including Virginia Echols-Dixon of Winterville, Ga., James Kelly of Williamsburg, Va., Jean Echols of Roanoke, Va., and Jane Kelly-Daniel of Lexington, Va. A graveside service will be held on Friday, at 11 a.m. in Round Hill Cemetery, Marion. The Reverend Richard D. Mullan of Saint Luke's Methodist Church, Bristol, will officiate. Seaver-Brown Funeral Service and Crematory of Marion is entrusted with all arrangements, and the family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to Saint Luke's United Methodist Church, 105 North St., Bristol, VA 24201. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the family at www.seaverbrown.com. Brandi Nicole Miller WISE, Va. - Brandi Nicole Miller, 22, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, at Norton Community Hospital. She was a 2000 graduate of J.J. Kelly High School and was an employee of Sykes as a customer service technician. Surviving are her parents, Frankie and Debbie Miller of Wise.; one brother, Philip Miller of the home; maternal grandparents, David and Shirley Sturgill of Norton; and several aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Funeral services for Brandi Nicole Miller will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, at the Sturgill Funeral Home Chapel in Wise with the Rev. Roger Freeman officiating. Burial will follow in the Miller Family Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, at the Sturgill Funeral Home in Wise. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Frankie or Debbie Miller, 9944 Miller Hollow Road, Wise, VA. 24293. Sturgill Funeral Homes in Wise is in charge of arrangements. James C. Pafford MARION - James C. Pafford, age 58, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004, in the Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon. Survivors and funeral arrangements will be announced later by Bradley's Funeral Home of Marion. Hadley A. Pobst BRISTOL, Tenn. - Funeral services for Hadley Armistead Pobst will be conducted on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, at 2 p.m. at Edgemont Presbyterian Church with Rev. Larry Stallard and Rev. Jerry Shibley officiating. Interment will follow at Glenwood Cemetery. Pallbearers will be deacons and elders at Edgemont Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 12-1:45 p.m., prior to the service. Online condolences may be registered at www.weaverfuneralhome.net. Hadley Armistead Pobst, age 77, went to be with the Lord Monday, Dec. 27, 2004. Weaver Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. C.K. Russell CAPRON, Va. - Funeral services for C.K. Russell will be conducted at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, in the Weaver Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Wayne Sheridan, Rev. Cass Farrior and Rev. Jack Bowery officiating. Graveside services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 3, 2005, in the National Cemetery, Mountain Home, Tenn. There will be no formal visitation held at the funeral home and the family requests, in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Weaver Funeral Home, 630 Locust St., Bristol, TN 37620 to help with the funeral expenses. E-mail condolences may be sent to the family at www.weaverfuneralhome.net. C.K. Russell, age 79, went to be with the Lord Saturday, Dec. 25, 2004. Weaver funeral home is serving the family of Mr. Russell. Connie Mack Steele DAMASCUS - The funeral service for Connie Mack Steele will be conducted at 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, in the Damascus United Methodist Church with Rev. Helen Phillips officiating. The committal service and interment will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, 2004, at Sunset Memorial Park. Graveside rites will be conducted by the Washington County Sheriff's Department Honor Guard. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Washington County Sheriff's Department, Ron Davis, Judge Charles H. Smith Jr., Judge T.L. Hutton Jr., Harold Ellis, Douglas Ellis, Lawrence Lewis and Dr. Martin Monahan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 426, Damascus, VA 24236; or to the Damascus Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 458, Damascus, VA 24236. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7:45 p.m. Thursday, prior to the funeral service at Damascus United Methodist Church, Damascus. Condolences may be sent through our Web site at www.garrettfunerahome.com. Connie Mack Steele, age 64, of 533 Docie St., passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, at his residence. Garrett Funeral Home, Damascus, is serving the family of Connie Mack Steele. Barbara Sue White Barbara Sue White, age 57, passed away on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, at the Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon. Mrs. White was born Aug. 5, 1947, in Bristol Virginia to the late Jessee and Loma Laughlin Griffin. She lived in the greater Bristol area all her life and was of the Baptist faith. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Sherry Hurst. Survivors include: her husband, James Solmon White; her daughter, Tracy Harris; brother, Eddie Griffin; niece, Jessica Griffin; grandchildren, Steven Musick, Robby Musick, Brittany Musick and Katie Nicole Harris; and great-grandchildren, Brooke and Samuel Musick. The funeral service for Mrs. White will be held at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, in the Weaver Funeral Home Chapel with Buddy Chapman officiating. The visitation will be held from 6 until 7:45 p.m., prior to the service. A committal service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday morning in the Glenwood Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers will be Jason Harris, Joe McClain, Dale McClain, Jordon Carroll, Jonathan Carroll and Robby Musick. Online condolences may be registered at www.weaverfuneralhome.net. Weaver Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Nelia Shortt Yontz SALTVILLE - "Just call me Nelia," that's how she introduced herself. Nelia Shortt Yontz died Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004. She was blessed by living in her beloved Virginia mountains for all of her 89 years. Nelia was a blessing to her family and friends. Her parents, William Lee and Leona Elizabeth (Bettie) Love Shortt, welcomed her into this world in Henrytown on Sept. 4, 1915, or, as Nelia said, "I was born the ninth (9th) month, the fourth day, 1915." Nelia was a loving and beloved daughter and sister. She was blessed with 10 siblings: brothers, Lloyd, Otis, Earl and Lewis are deceased, as are her sisters, Blanche, Callie, Anna Lee and Nellie. Her beloved and loving brothers, John Hobart and Ruth Shortt of Saltville and Glenn and Ethel Shortt of Heflin, Ala., will cherish memories of their loving sister, who like them said, "You always know where I stand." Nelia's earliest memory was, "I was walking up these big front steps of a big white house. A grown up was holding my hand. I was just little. I don't know who the grown up was or where the house was. That's all I remember." Nelia's memory was like a clear window to the past. As a young girl in Henrytown, Nelia loved to read and win the spelling bees in school. "I was a good speller and always won the spelling bees" she would say. Her love for reading remained steadfast throughout her 89 years. She loved current local and world news, biographies, old cowboy tales, poetry and "anything about nature." In her words, "anybody who looks around here can see what I do all the time. I read anything I can get my hands on." Her favorite poet was Robert Frost, who wrote her favorite poem, "Swinger of Birches". "I always wanted to be a swinger of birches," she said. "Can't you just see them touching the ground -" She transplanted a birch tree sapling from the mountains to her backyard, where it grew up to be beautiful. This past summer she consented to let her neighbor prune it "but just a little, don't cut too much," and then she told the story again about how her favorite kind of tree came to her backyard. While growing up she longed to own a horse. "I always wanted a horse. I always wanted to ride and feel the wind in my hair." Nelia never got the horse, but the years that followed gave her many, many days of "wind in my hair." She was an outdoor mountain woman. She told of how pretty Henrytown was and how, "it was laid out in blocks." She said "everybody used to sit on the front porch at night in the summer time." "We used to sit out there at night and sing and sing." Her love of singing stayed with her. Just a month ago she sat on the side on the bed and sang for 1 - hours, entertaining the nurses. She sang, "This Gospel Train", "I'll Fly Away", "Satin Sheets", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Die" and "The Horsey Song", among others. In earlier days, she played the guitar. "I just chord a little" she'd say. Nelia grew into beautiful blonde young woman who met and fell in love with a tall, handsome, smiling, loving man named Garland Thomas Yontz. They married and were blessed with seven healthy children: five (5) boys and two (2) girls; 11 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren followed. Nelia loved her family. Loving and caring for them was her life. She and Garland raised the children in a Christian home. As a young mother, Nelia accepted Christ as her Savior. She was in her kitchen at the kitchen table in Henrytown when her brother-in-law witnessed to her. That began her life of living for Christ. She was a charter member of the Plasterco Church of God, where she worked diligently with the women's group, The Willing Workers. Nelia ran a tight ship at home, where every child got a good switching when needed. She made sure the children, clothes and house were spotless. She canned food for winter, prepared good nutritious meals and kept the house warm for her husband and children. She was a devoted wife and mother. She sacrificed daily and was happy to do so. Nelia loved nature. She loved to fish, trout fish especially. She maintained her gear and was always ready to go any where. "You've never lived until you're on a trout stream before daylight and watch that sun come up" she'd say. She fished with Garland for years, until his death in 1969. After she lost him, she learned to drive and began adventures on her own. She rode the backwoods, mountain roads and river roads, before and after dark. She mostly fished alone. The best holes, slickest rocks and most appropriate baits were always known by Nelia. She honored and respected the lands and waters she was so blessed to use. Sometimes she just listened to the water going over the rocks. Sometimes she would say, "ssh, be quiet a minute and listen to the wind whisper through the trees." If you knew Nelia, you know the quiet didn't last long. She loved to talk and enjoyed lively conversation. Nelia was always an explorer of life, an adventurer way before her times. Nelia saw beauty in the tiniest weed, the most deformed drift- wood, the darkest cloud. Nelia was a woman who tried "to do the right thing," and said "right is right," "fair is fair." If you were a friend of Nelia's, you know she was your friend for life, no matter what. She loved you. Many nieces and nephews who loved and were loved by Aunt Nelia will cherish her memory. In addition to her husband Garland, her son, David Neal; an infant grandson, Jimmy Brian Woody; and an infant great-granddaughter, Carson Alyse Counts, predeceased Nelia. Her loving surviving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are: Fred T. and Jean Yontz of Powhatan, Va., their son, Michael and Annette Yontz, and granddaughter, Rachel; daughter, Beth Y. and Michael Baird, and grandson, Scott; Garland Warren (PeeWee) and Marlene Yontz of China Grove, N.C., their son, Jeff and Dale Yontz, and granddaughters, Kristin and Catherine; Doris Y. and Dennis Falter of Raleigh, N.C., Don E. and Marie Yontz of Sandford, Fla., their daughter, Cynthia Yontz; son, Robert Yontz and granddaughter, Carly; son, William Yontz and fianc -e Ruth; son, Scott and Collette Wharton, and granddaughter, Brooke; granddaughter, Amy Yontz Counts, and daughters, Bailey and Addison Paige (daughter of David Neal Yontz); Dale K. (Duke) and Wynette Yontz of Wytheville, their son, Dale T. and Robin Yontz, and grandchild on the way; Joy Y. Husinko of Broadford, Va., son, Michael and Debbie Husinko, and grandchildren, Brian and Alexandra; daughter, Jennifer Husinko Cudd, and grandchildren, Sarah and Lee. The children ask you to join them in celebrating their mother's life on earth and her home going to her Heavenly home, where she will have a peace greater than her favorite trout stream. Because she was one of God's faithful servants, she will be rewarded Heaven. Funeral services for Nelia Yontz will be conducted at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, at Henderson Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Wayne Kestner and son, Fred T. Yontz officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 - 8 p.m., just prior to the funeral service, or you may visit with the family at 1116 W. Main St., Saltville, VA. Burial will follow on Friday at 11 a.m. in Mount Rose Cemetery in Glade Spring. D.R. Henderson Funeral Home of Saltville is serving the Yontz family.