Obituaries

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

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 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 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...

May 12, 2021

Ralph Turlington was born October 5, 1920, in Gainesville, Florida, the fifth of six surviving children of John and May B. Turlington. He was in the first class of the newly established P. K. Yonge Laboratory School, elected the Senior Class President, and graduating in 1938. In 2009 he was elected to the P. K. Yonge Hall of Fame for...

May 11, 2021

Kimberly Hannigan Blair, 51, of Durham, NC passed away after a year-long battle with ALS on May 11, 2021. Kim was born on September 10, 1969 in Washington, DC and spent her childhood in Olney, MD. She graduated from Sherwood High School in 1987 and received her BS from Towson University in 1993. She went on to earn an MBA...

May 10, 2021

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Velma Dyer Laws, 80, died at Duke University Hospital on May 10, 2021. She was born on June 30, 1940 to the late Ettie Mae and Ralph Dyer in Panama City, Florida. She retired from Branch Banking and Trust as Vice President of Branch Operations after 22 years of service in the banking industry. In...

May 9, 2021

To watch the video, please go to the TRIBUTE WALL on Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Website page for this obituary and click on the video link. Click here to view the livestream service. Joseph “Lil Joe” Lee Bowman found his peace with Jesus, his Savior, on Sunday, May 9, 2021 at the age of 29. He was the son of the...

May 4, 2021

John Calhoun Harris, Sr. December 2, 1928-May 4, 2021 John Calhoun Harris, Sr. passed away on May 4, 2021 at his home after courageously battling colon cancer. John was born on December 2, 1928, in Florence, South Carolina. The youngest of four sons born to Dr. Claude Ezekiel Harris and Elizabeth Oglesby Harris, John grew up in Florence with his...

May 2, 2021

Socratis Gerondelis died on Sunday, May the 2nd of 2021 at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. He was 80.Born in Ampeliko, Greece, he trained as a musician and tailor. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 16 and lived in Plainfield, New Jersey where he supported his mother, sister and younger brother.Socratis married Aliki Stylianou...