Register Herald Obituaries for March 20, 2000 Gladys (Tilson) Harrah Gladys Mae (Tilson) Harrah, 75, of Crab Orchard, went to be with the Lord Saturday, March 18, 2000, following a long illness. Born Oct. 11, 1924, at Otsego, she was the daughter of the late Ed Fulton Til-son and Sybil (Street) Tilson Tucker. Mrs. Harrah resided in Raleigh County most of her adult life. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She worked at Standard Keel in New Jersey, Convenient Food Mart in Beaver, and Little General Stations before becoming disabled in the early 1980s. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Raymond Lewis; her second husband, William Leon Harrah; two sons, Randy and Raymond Lewis Jr.; a stepson, William Leon Harrah Jr.; a stepdaughter, Drena Harrah Hensley; her stepfather, Bill Tucker; a brother, W.E. Bunce Tilson; and a sister, Louise Williams. Survivors include a daughter, Jill Hedrick and her husband John Hedrick Jr. of Crab Orchard, with whom she resided; a son, Jeff Harrah and his companion, Helen McDaniel and her daughters, Dawn and Heather of Prosperity; a stepson, Clinton "Lucky" Harrah and his wife, Kate, of Seth; three grandchildren, John Hedrick III, Angela Hedrick and Joshua Hedrick; and several nieces and nephews. Services will be 3 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Ridge Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Daniel Legg officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Donations of sympathy may be made to Hospice of Southern WV, P.O. Box 1472, Beckley, WV 25802-1472. Arrangements by Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Beckley. ---------- Opal M. (Fugate) Perry CHARMCO - Opal Mae (Fugate) Perry, 83, died Saturday, March 18, 2000, in Nicholas County Health Care Center of Richwood, following a long illness. Born Feb. 18, 1917, in Clay County, she was the daughter of the late Wesley and Rillia Yearon Fugate. Mrs. Perry was a member of the Hines Baptist Church of Hines, a homemaker and a lifetime resident of West Virginia. She was preceded in death by two sisters and four brothers. Survivors include two daughters, Faye Gibson of Canvas and Shirley Sims of Sunman, Ind.; two sisters, Ruth Pew of Doniphan, Miss., and Maxine Ferrell of Ocilla, Fla.; one brother, Guy Fugate of Alderson; eight grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren. Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Wallace and Wallace Chapel, Rainelle, with the Rev. Rose McClung officiating. Burial will follow in the Wallace Memorial Cemetery at Clintonville. Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Arrangements by Wallace and Wallace, Rainelle. ---------- James Carl Richardson RAINELLE - James Carl "Rich" Richardson, 94, died Friday, March 17, 2000, at Heartland of Rainelle Nursing Home, following a long illness. Born March 29, 1905, at Smoot, he was the son of the late William and Ada Forren Richardson. He was a retired auto mechanic of Wes Roy's Garage and lived in Rainelle most of his life. He was preceded in death by two brothers, William and Robert Richardson. Survivors include several nieces and nephews. Graveside services will be 2 p.m. today at the Wallace Memorial Mausoleum Chapel in Clintonville, with the Rev. Roger Thornton officiating. Entombment will follow in the Wallace Memorial Mausoleum. Friends may call 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Wallace and Wallace Chapel in Rainelle. Arrangements by Wallace and Wallace, Rainelle. ---------- Myrtle Lee Sloan OAK HILL - Myrtle Lee Sloan, 95, died Saturday, March 18, 2000, at Hilltop Health Care Center following a long illness. Born June 9, 1904, at Packs Branch, she was a homemaker and of the Protestant faith. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Paul Sloan; her parents, Seymore William and Laura Hodge Humphrey; six sisters, Gertie Humphrey, Virgie Lafferty, Gracie Humphrey, Violet Humphrey, Hilda Stevens and Emma Lively; two brothers, Walter Humphrey and Tom Humphrey. Survivors include one sister, Minnie B. Humphrey Williams of Oak Hill; a niece, Patsy Jennings of Oak Hill, with whom she made her home; and several nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. Services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Tyree Funeral Home Chapel in Oak Hill. The eulogy will be by Robert Barley. Burial will be at the High Lawn Memorial Park in Oak Hill. Friends may call 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Arrangements by Tyree Funeral Home, Oak Hill. ---------- Ruth Jarrell Smith Ruth Zella Jarrell Smith, 77, of Beckley, died Friday, March 17, 2000, in a Beckley hospital following a long illness. Born Feb. 21, 1923, at Marfork, she was the daughter of the late John Lewis and Sarah Pettry Jarrell. Mrs. Smith spent her childhood at Marfork. A resident of Beckley since 1968, she was formerly employed at Trap Hill High School as a cook, retiring from Heartland Nursing Home. She was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Smith was preceded in death by her husbands, William Dothan Webb and Dillard Smith; an infant daughter and an infant son; two brothers, Nevie and Covey Jarrell; and four sisters, Delsie Dempsey, Lula Morris, Icie Workman and Gusta Sarrett. Survivors include two sons, Dayton Hill and his wife, Lynda, of Bradenton, Fla., and Randy Webb and his wife, Gail, of Charleston, S.C.; a stepdaughter, Peggy Lambert and her husband, Leonard, of Fairdale; a brother, Dayton Jarrell of Apopka, Fla.; two sisters, Louise Stowers of Sharon, Fla., and Louella Rickman of Beckley; four grandchildren, Jessie Webb, Molly Webb, Aaron Webb and Nathan Tobey. Services will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Melton Mortuary Chapel with the Revs. Lee Lafferty and Rick Martin officiating. Burial will follow in the Jarrell Cemetery at Horse Creek. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Family members will serve as pallbearers. Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley. ---------- Marie Mills Tate MOUNT AIRY, N.C. - Ms. Marie Mills Tate, 59, of 308 Lois Lane, passed away Saturday, March 18, 2000, at her home. Born April 11, 1940, in Raleigh County, she was the daughter of the late Cephus Lee and Esther Rose Crouse Mills. She was a homemaker and a member of Genesis Full Gospel Church. In addition to her parents, Ms. Tate was preceded in death by two sons, Teddy Mills and Eddie Mills; and three brothers, Molye Mills, Carl Edward Mills and Wayne Lloyd Mills. Survivors include a daughter, Amanda Dawn Tate of the home; four sons and a daughter-in-law, Joey and Jennifer Tate of Ararat, Va., Eric Dale Tate of Mount Airy, Lawrence Lee Tate of Mount Airy and R.D. Tate of Boone; a granddaughter, Jessica Ann Tate of Ararat, Va.; a sister and brother-in-law, Jerri and J.C. Lilly of Ghent; and a brother and sister-in-law, Bobby and Connie Mills of Mount Airy. A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at the Tate Home, 308 Lois Lane, Mount Airy. The service will be conducted by the Rev. Lonnie Gunter. The family may be contacted anytime at the home. In lieu of flowers, memorials should be made to the Amanda Dawn Tate Trust Fund, c/o First Union National Bank, Annette White, 554 N. Main St., Mount Airy, NC 27030. Moody Funeral Home of Mount Airy will be assisting the Tate family. ---------- ---------- ---------- Ronald E. Ward HINTON - Mr. Ronald E. Ward, 46, of Tug Creek Road, died at 4:40 p.m. Saturday, March 18, 2000, at the Summers County Appalachian Regional Hospital at Hinton following a long illness. Born June 19, 1953, at Hinton, he was a son of Mrs. Pauline Ward of Hinton and the late Albert Ward. Mr. Ward was a member of Teamsters Local 175 of Charleston and had worked most of his life as a truck driver. He was a member of the Church of the Living God on Madams Creek, near Hinton. Besides his father, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Butch and Wayne Ward. Besides his mother, he is survived by his wife, Janet Whitt Ward at home; three sons, Shane Harrison of Bluefield, Ronnie Ward Jr. of Meadow Creek and Tommy Ward of Jumping Branch; one daughter, Candi Cox of Hilldale; one foster daughter, Regina Ward at home; two brothers, Richard "Buddy" Ward and Adolphus "Jenkie" Ward, both of Hinton; one grandson, Ronald E. Ward III of Meadow Creek. Services will be 2 p.m. Wed-nesday at the Church of the Living God with Pastor Ron Iddings officiating. Burial will follow in the Cales Cemetery on Chestnut Mountain. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Ronald Meadows Funeral Parlors of Hinton, and one hour before services at the church. Pallbearers will be Alan McClintic, Denny Talton, Ronnie Napier, Eddie Whitt, Keith Cales and Dallas Pack. Men of the church will serve as honorary pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, donations of sympathy may be made to the Church of the Living God. Arrangements by Ronald Meadow Funeral Parlors, Hinton. ---------- Helena Whitten Helena Belle Whitten, 85, of Bowling Addition, Beckley, went peacefully to be with her Lord on Saturday, March 18, 2000, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Daniel (Tammy) Spurgeon of Beaver. Born April 26, 1914, at Layland, she was the daughter of the late Gibson and Ada Fox Weeks. Mrs. Whitten spent her childhood at Green Sulphur Springs. A resident of Quinimont in her early years of marriage, she was a longtime resident of the Bowling Addition. She was employed by Richmond Cleaners in the early 1950s. She was a faithful member of the Calloway Heights Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Friendship Bible Class and quilted with her friends on Tuesday at the church. She will be remembered by her family as a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Wilbur Whitten; and a daughter, Pamela. Survivors include a son, Timothy G. Whitten and his wife, Mary, and their children, Kelly, Ashley and Andrew, all of Newton, Penn; a daughter, Tammy Spurgeon and her husband, Daniel, and their son, Luke, of Beaver. Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Calloway Heights Baptist Church with Pastor Bill Parker officiating. Entombment will follow in the Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens Mausoleum at Prosperity. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the Melton Mortuary and one hour before services Tuesday at the church. Friends of the family will serve as pallbearers, and members of the Ladies Quilting Circle at the church will serve as flower bearers. Arrangements by Melton Mortuary, Beckley. ---------- Martha West Yoder OAK HILL - Martha West Yoder, 66, died Saturday, March 18, 2000, at Plateau Medical Center following a long illness. Born March 29, 1933, in Prudence, she was a homemaker and a member of Minden Missionary Baptist Church. She is preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Winnie Smith West; her husband, James Haven Yoder Jr.; one brother, Bill West. Survivors include a daughter, Lisa Jo Yoder of Oak Hill; one son, James Michael Yoder and wife, Lisa Renee, of Fort Leonradwood, Miss.; one sister, Irene Hamilton of Greentown; six brothers, Harold, Walter and Charlie West, all of Fayetteville, Melvin West of Prudence, Jake West of Oak Hill and Delmas West of Scarbro; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Tyree Funeral Home Chapel in Oak Hill with the Rev. Ray McClung officiating. Burial will be at Gethsemane Memorial Gardens, Oak Hill. Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Arrangements by Tyree Funeral Home, Oak Hill. 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