Register Herald Obituaries for November 27, 1999 Austin R. Dent ONA – Austin Richard Dent, 86, died Thursday, Nov. 25, 1999, at his home. Born May 19, 1913, in Berwick, Pa., he was the youngest son of Ralph Ivy Dent and Florence Hunsinger Dent. Mr. Dent attended Penn State University and was a retired welding engineer. His first trade after formal education was meat cutting. Following a move to Philadelphia, he became involved with welding and took a job with the American Car Foundry. Following World War II, he moved to St. Charles, Mo., then to Huntington, where he researched, among other things, a rail car delivery system for nuclear missiles. In 1971, he began work for Wilson Welding, where he was a welding engineer and customer representative. After retiring from welding a decade later, he and his wife founded Carpet Ladies, a retail flooring store they operated in Barboursville until 1993. He worked at McDonald's at Huntington Mall for the last six years, where he liked to say he did "P.R. work." During his life, Austin was a member of the Elks Club, Moose Club, a 32nd Degree Mason, a volunteer fireman and played semi-pro football. He was active in Bethesda United Methodist Church, Ona, for 25 years and sang bass in the choir. Throughout his life he proved himself a jack of all trades, an accomplished carpenter and a man willing to take on new challenges. Survivors include his wife, Lillianne Davis Dent; a daughter, Marilyn Morgan of Sandy, Utah; two granddaughters, Lynn Morgan of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Lori Flood and her husband, Chuck, of Oberlin, Ohio; his stepsons, T.R. Massey and his wife, Angela, and son, Ryan, of Columbus, Ohio, and Tyler Massey and his wife, Tara, and daughter, Lily Grace, and his stepdaughter, Claire Massey, all of Huntington; two great-grandsons, Cody and Campbell; a special brother-in-law, George P. Davis III of Fairmont; a special sister-in-law, Deb Swanson and her husband, Jerry, of Beckley; and many nieces and nephews. His body was donated to medical research at Marshall University School of Medicine Human Gift Registry. Memorial services will be 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Bethesda United Methodist Church, Yates Crossing, Ona. A fellowship hour will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Bethesda United Methodist Church or the Ronald McDonald House in Austin's memory. ---------- Ned J. Gilkeson Ned James Gilkeson, 85, of Stanaford, died Thursday, Nov. 25, 1999, at a Beckley hospital following a short illness. Born March 19, 1914, at Stanaford, he was the son of the late James Mason Gilkeson and Rosa Belle Hanson Gilkeson. Mr. Gilkeson was a retired carpenter and of the Pentecostal faith. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in four battles during World War II, which earned him numerous military decorations. He was preceded in death by five sisters, Margaret, Mary, Maude, Blanche and Willie Mason; and a brother, John Gilkeson. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Rose Irene King Gilkeson; a son, Bartley Ned Gilkeson of Stanaford; a sister, Bessie Gore of Georgia; and several nephews and nieces. Services will be 3 p.m. Sunday at Blue Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, Beckley, with the Rev. Linda Gray officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley. Friends may call 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers. Arrangements by Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Beckley. ---------- Mollie Ruby Sweeney Mollie Ruby Sweeney, 85, of Beckley, died Friday, Nov. 26, 1999, in a Beckley hospital following a long illness. Born May 1, 1914, at Clear Creek, she was the daughter of the late Henry Stover and Martha Allen. Mrs. Sweeney was a housewife and a member of First Baptist Church, Prosperity, and spent most of her life in Sweeneysburg. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Edra G. Sweeney; a son, Azel Neil Sweeney; four sisters and three brothers. Survivors include two daughters, Dorothy Brown of Prosperity, with whom she shared her home, and Ruby Smith and her husband, Marion, of Gainesville, Ga.; a daughter-in-law, Iris Sweeney of Sunny Acres; two sons, Charles Sweeney and his wife, Betty, of Prosperity and Carl E. Sweeney and his wife, Nora, of Mount Sterling, Ky.; 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Services will be 1 p.m. Sunday at Blue Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, Beckley, with Pastor Paul Blizard officiating. Burial will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Beckley. Friends may call 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Grandsons and nephews will serve as pallbearers. Arrangements by Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Beckley. ---------- Lora C. Worley Lora Colleen Worley, 44, of 287 Gunter Road, Beckley, died Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1999, in Morristown, Tenn., following an apparent heart attack. Born May 20, 1955, in Welch, she was the daughter of Howard and Lora Beverley Baldwin of Beckley. Mrs. Worley was a homemaker and had been a Beckley resident for about eight years, having previously lived in Tennessee. Other survivors include three daughters, Carla Lyons and her husband, Daniel, of Kincaid, Paulette Alvarado and her husband, Juan, of Florida and Colleen Ellen Parrott of Tennessee; three brothers, Dean Baldwin and his wife, Doris, of North Carolina, John Baldwin and his wife, Tracy, of North Carolina and Rodney Baldwin of Florida; three sisters, Cindy Lowe and her husband, Joey, of Bluefield, Carmen Barnes and her husband, Tyson, of Terrell, Texas, and Rachael Adams and her husband, John Q., of Dallas; and nine grandchildren. Services will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Rose and Quesenberry Peace Chapel, Beckley, with Michael Andreson as speaker. Burial will follow in Davis Cemetery, Mount Tabor. Friends may call 5 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers. Arrangements by Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home, Beckley. Submitted by Karen Monk **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************