Obituaries
Davina (Dee) Buff Jones, 33, of Oak Island
Ms. Davina (Dee) Buff Jones, 33, of Oak Island died Friday, October 22, 1999,
at Bald Head Island. - . ' ... - - -
The memorial service was conducted at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Peacock-Newnam
Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Fred Roberts officiating.
Ms. Jones was bom July 29, 1966, in Charlotte, a daughter of Loy and Harriet
Hale Buff, and moved here from Goldsboro in 1997. She was a police officer with
the Village of Bald Head Island and a member of Fraternal Order of Police.
Survivors include her parents, Loy D. and Harriet Hale Buff of Oak Island; two
sisters, Tanya Kay Buff of Bolivia and Beverly Sadler and husband 'Hank of
Charlotte; two nieces, Kayla and Savannah Sadler of Charlotte.
Contributions may be made to the Davina Jones Memorial Fund for Officers’
Survivors, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #53, c/o BB&T, P. O. Box 46, Oak
Island, NC 28465.
A Peacock-Newnam service.
Susan J. Lee Craven, 45, of Largo, Fla.
Susan J. Lee Craven of Largo, Fla., died Tuesday, October 19, 1999, at Tampa
General Hospital in Tampa, Fla.
She was bom in Wilmington on March 30,1954, a daughter of T. M. (Pete) Lee
of Shallotte and the late Elizabeth Malone Lee.
In addition to her father, she is survived by a daughter, Christina Craven Hewitt,
son-in-law Russell (Rusty) Hewitt and grandson Adam Russell Hewitt of Conway,
S. G; her sister, Sandra Benton Russ of Ash; her brother, T. M. (Pete) Lee Jr. of
Ocean Isle Beach; and cousin and lifelong friend Chris Paul of Tampa, Fla.
A memorial service was held Tuesday at Christ Community Church in Conway.
Richard Michael Gregson, 58, of St. James
Richard Michael Gregson, 58, of St. James died Tbesday, October 26,1999, at his
residence.
The funeral mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at Sacred Heart Catholic
Church. Interment will follow in Northwood Cemetery. Father Douglas Lawson
will officiate. Serving as pallbearers will be Michael Plouffe, Josef Schuhwerk,
David Nace, Richard Griffin, Edward Coleman and Dr. David Baldwin.
Gregson was bom December 5,1940, in Hartford, Conn., a son of the late James
R. and Rose Curtin Gregson, and moved here in 1996 from Avon, Conn. He was a
member of The Members Club at St. James Plantation, was a six-year member of
the Connecticut Army National Guard and formerly served as union steward with
the Connecticut State Employees Association. He was a retired civil engineer with
the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Nancy D. Gregson of the home; a son, Michael
Scott Gregson of Charlotte; a daughter, Michelle Elizabeth Worth of Churchton,
Md.; a brother, Robert James Gregson of West Hartford, Conn.; two sisters, Rosalie
Anne Murray of Clearwater, Fla., and Roberta Marie Rydberg of Princeton, N. J.;
a granddaughter, Samantha Ann Worth of Churchton, Md.
Memorial contributions may be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice, 725
Wellington Avenue, Wilmington, NC 28401 or St. James Volunteer Fire
Department, St. James, Southport, NC 28461.
Peacock-Newnam Funeral Home, Southport.

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Twenty state senators emerged from two of these N. C. National Guard Black
Hawk helicopters Monday at Brunswick County Airport The senators trav
eled throughout the eastern part of the state to observe damage caused by
Photo by Richard Nubel
Hurricane Floyd. The trip comes in advance of a special General Assembly
session to consider relief measures.
I WAS WRONG
So, here’s the story. I was a North Carolina Licensed General Contractor who, at the request
of a close personal friend, went down to the Isle of Palms outside Charleston after HUGO to
fix up his mama’s house. I wasn’t looking for disaster work, but this was my buddy’s mama,
and like around here now, there was a need for good tradesmen who weren’t born there. So
when they opened the island to access by boat only, and you had to walk the rest of the way
there, here I was walking down the street to my buddy’s mama’s house, carrying a bag of
tools, a roll of plastic, and a change of clothes. So who’s the first person I meet on this street?
It’s Lee Mann, now known as the fellow who runs
COASTAL LEVELERS
Turns out he was living about three doors away from where I was staying. So anyway, as
virtually the only people on the Island, we soon became friends. Well, I did my work and he
did his work in landscaping and operating his equipment. A little later his brother, Gary
Mann, showed up and Gary and I became friends too, Gary is as fine a carpenter and
construction figure outer as I have ever met, so we threw in together on a few projects. Now
Lee Mann is no slouch on a construction job, but Gary is the consummate pro in
understanding how the structural components of a home all tie together - a self-trained
engineer. Anyway, as happens with guys, I came back home after finishing my HUGO
projects and we never really kept in touch. I ended up dropping out of the construction
business and — having hit bottom -1 went to Law School and became an attorney: The fact is
I SEX
... doesn’t belong in this ad, 1 just threw it in as a cheap ploy to catch your attention.
So anyway, while in Law School, my wife and I decided to have a spec house built in Surf
City. We called it the Stafford House, ‘cause when it sold we hoped it would pay off my
Stafford Loan for Law School. Then we got hit by FRAN. So here I am, a few weeks after
FRAN, standing on my brand new steps I had just rebuilt, nailing up pickets on my new
railing, when I hear someone yell LEE! (that’s my name too). I looked down, and there’s old
Lee Mann heading my Way. Turns out, he’s again living about three doors away from me
with brother Gary.
Now, the Stafford House took a pretty good smack from FRAN, but was still standing, though
the pilings were knocked six inches out of plumb. I could do the rest of the work myself, but
the only estimate I could even get on the pilings was well over 20K and the insurance adjuster
said “no way”. Lee and Gary told me that they could straighten it for a very reasonable price
and told me how they would do it. I said “YOU’RE NUTS”! This is a new house, and'the
pilings are sixteen feet deep.” Everyone I talked to with any experience in this stuff said they
couldn’t do it.
“THE GUYS ARE NUTS” they said.
Gary said they could do it, and as much as I think of his construction knowledge, I still
thought they couldn’t. So we made a bet, even though (with the exception of the stock market
and farming)
BETTING IS ILLEGAL IN NORTH CAROLINA
So don’t tell anyone please. The bet was that if they couldn’t do it, I would pay them squat.
If they could do it, I would pay them, run a full page newspaper ad admitting I was wrong,
and give out my phone number as a reference. Well, they did it. I was wrong. I paid them. I
ran an ad. I lost the bet, but then again I won. I got the job done for a reasonable price. If
you want to verify this, (or buy the Stafford House) you can call me at my office at
(910)328-6436. -
If you want to check out their prices and get more references, call Lee or Gary Mann at...
COASTAL LEVELERS (910) 328-0396
“THEY WILL LEVEL YOUR HOUSE”
Postscript: I ran the above ad after they straightened our Surf City house after FRAN. Now,
we just got hit at our Topsail Beach home by FLOYD, and this house is now four inches out of
level due to the slab being underwashed and the pilings driven down. Yup. Fm using the guys
again - but Fm not making any bets with them. They ’re paying for this ad -1 won't make that
mistake again. . , ■