Friends United Meeting |
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March 2004
Passages
Births
To Scott and Karen McDonald, a son, Blake Thompson McDonald on October 29, 2003, First Friends Indianapolis, Indiana. Grandparents are Wayne and Miriam McDonald (Iowa) and P. Gerald Mills (Indianapolis).
Marriages
William S. "Deke" Helton and Nichole Durrschnabel, November 8, 2003, at Cincinnati Friends Meeting, Ohio.
Deaths
BLAIR George Haworth Blair, 39, January 6, 2004, High Point Friends Meeting, North Carolina. George was born in High Point on October 21, 1964, a son of George Darrell and Marjorie Haworth Blair. He was employed by Rose Furniture Co. and was a commissioner and coach with the High Point Little League and a member of the Elks Lodge #1155. He attended High Point Friends Meeting. He was preceded in death by his father, George; grandparents, Rev. Cecil and Esta Haworth, and John Robert and Mary Lee Blair. Survivors include two sons, Zachary Ryan Blair and Seth Haworth Blair; his mother, Marjorie; one brother, John Ellwood "Jeb" Blair; his fiancé, Becky Frazier, and her son, Steven Watson; two nieces, Stephanie Blair and Jordan Smith; and one nephew, Jacob Smith.
CHANEY I. Dale Chaney, 77, November 25, 2003, Cincinnati Friends Meeting, Ohio. Dale was a long-time member of Cincinnati Friends Meeting, where he served as usher and greeter. Dale was born May 15, 1926 in New Vienna, Ohio, the son of Ray and Goldie (Hendee) Chaney. Dale married Lola Huff on December 25, 1949 in Lynchburg, Ohio. Dale retired from 7-Up after 34 years. He was a member of the Lynchburg Lodge 178 F.&A.M. and the Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Survivors include his wife, Lola; one daughter, Joyce Susan; two sons, Kevin D. and Kim K.; seven grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; two great-grandsons; and two great-granddaughters.
CLARK Dolly H. Holliday Clark, 102, November 29, 2003, Anderson First Friends, Indiana. Dolly was born October 22, 1901. After high school graduation, she took a 12-week course at Ball State in Indiana, and then taught school for three years in North Dakota. She chronicled this adventure in articles published by the North Dakota Historical Society Quarterly Journals, "Memoir of a Country School Teacher," and was awarded best author for 1992. In 1950 she again attended Ball State and taught in Madison County Schools until retirement. Dolly was a faithful and active member of her Friends Church. In 1923, she married Harold L. Clark. She was preceded in death by her husband of 79 years, Harold. Survivors include one son, Robert L. Clark, and four grandchildren.
GORDON Pauline Lindley Gordon, 87, February 25, 2003, First Friends Church, Knoxville, Tennessee. Pauline was born February 5, 1916, the daughter of James Edward and MarthaPierce Lindley. She retired from The Knoxville Journal/News-Sentinel in 1977, after 42 years. Pauline was a life-long member of First Friends Churchwhere she served in various capacities within the monthly, quarterly and yearly meetings. She was preceeded in death by her husband, Norman Gordon. Survivors include two daughters, Martha Lee Johnson and Georgene Waddell; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
JONES Mary Hoxie Jones, 99, December 26, 2003, Haverford Friends Meeting, Pennsylvania. Born in 1904, to Rufus and Elizabeth Cadbury Jones, she graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 1926. In 1985 she received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Haverford College. Following college graduation, she accompanied her parents on a trip around the world, while her father lectured at various international gatherings. The highlight of the trip, according to Mary Hoxie's brief memoir, was a visit with Gandhi in India. From 1927 to 1939 she worked for various Quaker organizations in the Philadelphia area and served as her father's secretary. In 1937, she published a volume of history of the first years of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Swords Into Plowshares. In 1939, she joined AFSC to coordinate the Friends Centers in Europe during wartime. Later she shifted to work in the Information Services. She worked with AFSC until 1951, when she left to sort her father's extensive papers, preparing them for his biographer, Elizabeth Gray Vining. She also served on the boards of Pendle Hill, AFSC and the Friends Historical Association as well as several committees of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends. Mary Hoxie Jones published four books of poetry, four of history, and contributed chapters and forewords to many other volumes. Her last book of poetry, Tracing the Rainbow, was published in 1995. Survivors include seven first cousins, Jane Symonds, Emma Cadbury, Catharine Lambe, Bartram Cadbury, Elizabeth Musgrave, Christopher Cadbury and Warder Cadbury.
JEFFERSON F. Dean Jefferson, 83, December 28, 2003, Wabash Friends Church, Indiana. Dean was born September 2, 1920 to Earl and Theresa (Gretzinger) Jefferson. He married Mary Dotson on December 24, 1941. He retired from Diehl Machines and also worked for Container Corporation. He was a member of the Wabash Friends church and opened his Bradenton, Florida home to the church youth group many times in the spring. He was preceded in death by one sister. Survivors include his wife, Mary; one daughter, Sandy Hettmansperger; one son, William Jefferson; grandchildren Mike Hettmans-perger, Kimberley Pegg, Emily Scaggs, Jeanettah Hettmansperger, and Sara Jefferson, Erick Jefferson and Lisa Jefferson; and three great-grandchildren.
MILLER Harold L. Miller, 70, November 11, 2003, Wabash Friends Church, Indiana. Harold was born January 6, 1933, in Wabash County, to Lloyd A. and Beulah M. (Emrick) Miller. He married Patricia Dragstrem on August 29, 1952. A lifelong farmer, he also worked at Fisher Body, Marion, had a home insulating business and was a night watchman at the Wabash County 4-H Fair for 45 years. Harold was a member of the Wabash Friends Church all his life. He was a member of the Lions Club and served on the Farm Bureau Board and as sexton of Mississinewa Cemetery. He was preceeded in death by one grandson. Survivors include his wife, Patricia; two sons, Kenneth W. Miller and Mark T. Miller; one daughter, Mary C. Zellers; one brother, Arnold E. Miller; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
ORTH Juanita "Nita" Keepers Orth, 92, December 30, 2003, Anderson First Friends, Indiana. Nita was an active member of First Friends of Anderson, serving as Sunday School teacher for both children and adults. She was born September 9, 1911, to Rosco and Mary (Silvey) Keepers. She attended Anderson Community Schools and graduated from Modern Business College. She worked for many years at Delco Remy as a secretary and microfilm operator. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 38 years, Ira Orth, and two sisters. Survivors include one daughter, Jacqueline J. Bennett; six grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; 17 great-great-grandchildren; and one great-great-great-grandson.
SALTIEL Richard A. Saltiel, March 20, 2003, Frankford Friends Meeting, Pennsylvania. He was active in his meeting and his life was a testament to all of good humor in the face of great adversity. Survivors include his wife, Elvira and one daughter, Susan.
TALBERT Samuel Charles Talbert Sr., 96, January 14, 2004, New Garden Friends Meeting, North Carolina. Samuel was born January 19, 1907, in Abbeville County, S.C., to Joseph M. and Sallie Mathis Talbert. He was a member of New Garden Friends Meeting and the New Garden Men's Brotherhood Sunday School Class. He was a trustee of the New Garden Cemetery Association for many years. He was a retired grocer and real-estate broker. He also served as the charter president of the Guilford College Lions Club. He attended the Citadel and Clemson University. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Scarborough Talbert. Survivors include two daughters, Elizabeth "Betty" Talbert Jackson and Sara "Sally" Talbert Cannady; one son, Samuel Charles Talbert Jr.; nine grandchildren, Kathleen Wrenn, Michael, Joseph and David Cannady, James, John and Jeffrey Jackson, and S. Charles Talbert III and Jason Talbert; fifteen great-grandchildren, Jay, Daniel, Thomas, Christopher and David Jackson, Sara Wrenn Cotrone, Matthew, Mary Ashley, Jennifer, Thomas and Joseph Wrenn and Megan, Justin and Anderson Cannady; one great-great-granddaughter, Anna Cotrone; and one brother, J. Wallace Talbert.
VENABLE James Truman "J.T." Venable, Sr., 75, January 8, 2004, Winston-Salem Friends Meeting, North Carolina. James was born in Surry County on April 12, 1928, to Alonzo L. and Nancy Draughn Venable. He graduated from Guilford College in 1952 and began his career with Western Electric in Winston-Salem, where he retired in 1978. He was a member of the Winston-Salem Friends Meeting. He played basketball while serving in the U.S. Navy, was a center at Guilford College, played for Western Electric and later volunteered as a coach for the YMCA youth basketball program in Winston-Salem. He was also involved in Junior Achievement and in PTA. He was preceded in death by two older brothers, Clarence Venable and Bill Venable. Survivors include his wife, Naomi Hiatt Venable; one son and daughter-in-law, James Truman "Jamie" Venable Jr.; two daughters, Dru and Nancy; four grandchildren, Tyler Phillips, Garrett Phillips, Adam Broome and Christopher Broome; three sisters, Dr. Stella Mae Crum, Betty Tate and Elizabeth Snyder; two brothers, Ed Venable and Max Venable; and many nieces and nephews.
WHEELER Henry Adams Wheeler, 85, December 10, 2003, Bulls Head-Oswego Monthly Meeting, New York. Born in Concord, Massachusetts, September 22, 1918, on the farm that was the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau, he was the eldest of five sons born to Henry Caleb and Ruth Robinson Wheeler. A lifelong pacifist, after college graduation in 1940, he worked as Field Secretary for the American Friends Service Committee as draft counselor and was a conscientious objector during World War II. He married Adlyn Holden in 1942 and moved to Dutchess County, New York, in 1945, where he operated a family dairy farm of Registered Ayrshires. A convinced Friend, he was a member of the Bulls Head-Oswego Meeting, he served as Clerk of the New York Yearly Meeting in the early 1950s and again from 1979 to 1981, and was deeply involved in many aspects of his meeting. Following the death of his first wife in 1969, he married Marj Welch. He worked for more than 25 years as an elementary teacher, interrupted by two years spent as teacher/principal at the International School of Islamabad, Pakistan, from 1970 to 1972. After his retirement from teaching in 1985, he served as a Certified Mediator with the Mediation Center in Poughkeepsie, specializing in family mediation. Survivors include his wife, Marj; three children, Jonathan Wheeler, Timothy Wheeler and Phebe Packer; two brothers, Joseph and Frederick; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Copyright (c) 2004 Friends United Meeting
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