Obituaries

Jun 7, 2021

Margaret Tew Upchurch October 26, 1927 - June 7, 2021 Durham, North Carolina - Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Tew Upchurch, 93, passed away at Hillcrest Convalescent Center on Monday, June 7, 2021. She was born to Edward Lee Tew and Marion Elizabeth Sigley Tew on October 26, 1927 in Goldsboro, NC. She graduated from Durham High School in 1945. Margaret was...

Jun 4, 2021

Mable Meredith Gray, age 95, of Raleigh, NC died Friday, June 4, 2021 after struggling with dementia for many years. She was born in Eastland, Texas on February 10, 1926, to the late Jesse Lafayette Whisenant and Luceille Marie Fawcett Whisenant. She met and married her late husband, William Edward Gray. She ran a courier service for over 30 years...

Jun 3, 2021

Lee Anne Gibbons McClymont of Hillsborough passed away on June 2, 2021. Born in Canton, Massachusetts on October 25, 1963, Lee Anne was the daughter of Anne and Robert Gibbons. Lee Anne earned her Master's Degree in Hospital Administration and worked at Cornell Medical Center for 13 years. Lee Anne a trustee of the North Carolina Symphony, authored The Friendly...

Jun 2, 2021

ZADA LEE NICHOLSON NELSON Zada, or Lee to some family members, was born in Durham, N.C. on February 24 to Edith Caroline and Alson Franklin Nicholson. Zada was a graduate of Durham High School, and attended Women’s College in Greensboro. Zada and Clarence Chesterfield Nelson eloped to Charleston, S.C. on July 20, 1942, and were blessed to celebrate 68 wedding...

Jun 2, 2021

“Death has nothing to do with going away. The sun sets. The moon sets. But they are not gone.” – Rumi Doris Coltrane, born Doris Ferrell was born in Alamance County in 1926, the only blue eyed, blonde hair girl in her family. She married Robert Colclough and went on to have six children, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren....

May 28, 2021

Jerry “Louis” Floyd, age 82, of Oxford, NC died on May 28, 2021. He was born in Granville County on August 8, 1938 to his late parents, Jerry E. Floyd and Maggie Elizabeth Strickland Floyd. Louis is survived by his brother, Robert Taylor Floyd, his Church family and other friends and relatives too numerous to name, who will dearly miss...

May 28, 2021

Dr. Patricia “Tish” Louise (Duerksen) Hoover, 82, died on Friday, May 28, 2021.  Tish was born in Hillsboro, KS to George H. and Louise M. (Dalke) Duerksen on June 7, 1938. 

After a childhood spent between Kansas and Oklahoma, Tish graduated high school in Bartlesville, OK., then earned her bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Kansas. The...

May 27, 2021

It does not seem real to write these words but Mom passed away on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Her name was Pamela, but she went by Pam. She never met a stranger and would have long conversations with people she just met. I used to joke that it didn’t matter where she went, near or far, she knew someone. One...

May 26, 2021

Gerald Glenn Cooley, 85, died May 26, 2021. Gerald was the second son of Harvey E. and Norma “Mozzelle” Glenn Cooley, both deceased. Born and raised on a farm in rural Durham County, he learned the lessons of hard work. Upon graduating from Bethesda High School, he worked for the state of NC. It was there that driving large trucks...

May 26, 2021

Jean Carol Ellis, 88, of Rougemont, NC died Wednesday, May 26, 2021. She was born in Stem, NC on September 15, 1932, to the late Benjamin Milton Washington and Selena Roberts Washington. Jean is survived by her brother, Bill M. Washington of Long Island, NY; her sister, Mary Washington Long of Timberlake, NC; and many loving nieces, nephews, extended family...

May 24, 2021

Beverly Sampson Royster, better known as “Beba” age 65, of Oxford, NC died on May 24, 2021. He was born in Granville County on September 23, 1955 to his late parents, Lee Page Royster and Joyce Grimm Royster. Beba was a man who believed in hard work and family. He was a moto bike coach to his sons, laughter to...

May 24, 2021

Robert Stanley Rankin Jr., of Durham, died May 24, 2021 at the Pavilion at Croasdaile Village following an extended illness. Born April 13, 1940 in Durham, he was the son of the late Dorothy Newsom Rankin and Robert Stanley Rankin. Bob attended Durham City Schools and graduated from Durham High in 1958. An excellent athlete, he played football, basketball and...

May 23, 2021

Mary Alice Elliott, passed away on Sunday May 23rd, 2021 at Shaire Rehabilitation Nursing and Assisted Living Center in Lenoir, North Carolina. She was born October 5, 1931 to the late Fred Marsh Elliott and Beulah Thomas Elliott and was a native of Granville County. She was also predeceased by her two sisters Sandra E. Connor of Granite Falls and...

May 22, 2021

May 21, 2021

Mary H. McCarthy, age 91, died peacefully in Durham, North Carolina on May 21, 2021, after a long illness. Mary was the daughter of the late Arch and Jessie Oake of Belmont, Massachusetts. She was a beloved wife and was preceded in death by both Paul J Pitts, her husband of 36 years, and John J. (Jack) McCarthy, her husband...

May 21, 2021

Click here to view the Livestream service. DURHAM – Donna Louise Browne, age 66, died at Duke Regional Hospital on May 21, 2021. She was born on December 17, 1954 to the late Donald Danielson and Julia Beatty. Donna was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. Nothing brought her more joy than being with family, playing, baking, and singing with...

May 19, 2021

Carolyn Coley London (b. 1942) of Durham helped raise her 5 siblings on a farm near Tabor City, NC before pursuing ambitious educational goals and a distinguished career in Human Resources for the Army and the National Institutes of Health, earning her several Achievement and Commander’s Awards. In retirement, Mrs. London became a tax accountant, mediator, and tireless leader in...

May 19, 2021

Ellen Floyd Hardy, 54, of Franklinton, NC died on May 19, 2021 after a long illness, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Vance County on April 11, 1967 to her parents, Hillman Barnes Floyd and Frances Wade Floyd. Ellen was a loving, selfless woman of God, who loved her family and friends. She always placed other’s interests...

May 18, 2021

James (Jim) Weldon Waller of Durham passed away on May 18, 2021 following complications from a fall. He was 98 years old. Born in Granville County, North Carolina, on November 15, 1922, Jim was the son of Weldon Broughton and Lubie Neathery Waller. Following graduation from high school, he began working at Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company in Durham. Jim...

May 16, 2021

Click here to view the Livestream service. Mrs. Eleanor Anne White McDonald, 92, of Durham died May 16, 2021. Mrs. McDonald was born August 5, 1928 in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of the late Allmand Stiles White and Anne Spear White. She lived in Norfolk until her family moved to Roanoke Rapids, N.C. in 1941, where she graduated from Roanoke...