fos:
KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Wednesday, January 6, 1988
Stewart’s
Slants
By
Gary Stewart
Down in the small community where I live, we said good-
bye is afternoon to our oldest neighbor, R. Dewitt Ham-
PrIgnt.
WProbably the oldest living descendant of Colonel Frederick
dambright, Dewitt died late Monday night at Kings Mountain
spital at the age of 93%.
’d known him all my life but didn’t really get to know the
Bide of him until about 15 years ago when I joined the Ses-
pn of Dixon Presbyterian Church. ;
#Mr. Hambright was on the Session, and had been since 1957,
afd he was closing in on 80 years old then. I was amazed at his
dication and attendance record. He never missed a worshi
@rvice or Session meeting, and often represented the churc
Presbytery or Synod meetings in other areas of the state.
n later years he couldn't get out as often, especially at
ght, and was elected Elder Emeritus in 1977.
e was in good health and had never been hospitalized until
jist a few years ago. He could manage to get outside some on
1% good days and came to church as often as he could.
$e loved everybody, and he especially loved to attend the
homecomings we had each summer at Dixon. In fact, the last
time he was able to come to church was on homecoming day
of 1986 when a couple of us went to his house and picked him
up and took him to the dinner.
He was always Supbariive of all the programs in the church
and community, and he was a special friend to the young
%.. v.-3€minary students who served summer internships at Dixon
and First Presbyterian Church in Kings Mountain in the
1940’s and 50’s. The last time he came to church he got to
know Scott Armstrong, a student at Columbia Theological
Seminary in Decatur, Ga., who served 10 weeks at Dixon in
the summer of ‘86.
Over the past several years, when he wasn’t able to attend
church, we would tape each Sunday’s sermon and carry it to
him on Sunday afternoon so he could still feel apart of the
church. It was during those visits that I really got to know
what a fine man he was. :
We'd often sit in his den for hours and talk about the old
days, fishing, fox hunting, farming, or whatever, and he
always wanted to know how many people were at church that
morning and how the sick, shut-in and hospitalized were do-
ing.
I’d never really appreciated old people until that time. If
you know an old person whose mind is still good, you should
get to know them as well as possible, because stored up in
their brains is more knowledge than all the textbooks in the
world. They’ve seen the world move from horseback to space
shuttle, from kerosene to electricity and by learning to live in
difficult times they learned to love in these modern times.
He loved his family, neighbors and especially loved little
children. The children from the church always visited him
during the Christmas season to sing carols, and they always
left him with tears in his eyes. He remarked just recently that
he thought the singing this year was the best ever. Fis pride
and joy were his three great-grandchildren, Ben, Bdbby and
Donna Wellborn. His den walls were plastered with pictures
and drawings they did in school and Sunday school.
Although his wife, Alda, has been deceased for about 30
years, tears would always swell up in his eyes when he talked
about her. He loved his children dearly and often told me he
didn’t want to be a burden to them, or to his neighbors who
almost daily came to visit, prepare him a meal, clean the
house or mow the lawn.
He was sometimes called tight, because people never saw
him driving big fancy cars, wearing fancy clothes or spen-
ding a lot of money. But most people did not know him well
enough to make such a judgment. He should have been more
aptly described as a good steward. During his working life, he
made his living from the soil and wasn’t w~_.eful. During his
retirement years, he had to make a small social security
check go a long way.
Of all the people I’ve ever known he probably was one of the
few that practiced sacrificial giving. Not many people knew
it, and I didn’t know it until I became church treasurer
several years ago, but a large chunk of his social security
check went to the church. He didn’t stop at 10 percent, but
gave generously, not only to the regular budget but to special
projects, even if they would never benefit him personally.
Someone once said that the best teachers teach by exam-
ple. Tho was certainly true of Dewitt Hambright. He’ll be
missed.
DEWITT HAMBRIGHT...AT HOMECOMING
Obituaries
BARBARA KEENER
Lincolnton - Funeral ser-
vices for Barbara Blackwell
Keener, 44, of Route 2,
Maiden, who died Dec. 30th,
were held Saturday at 2 p.m.
from Drum’s Funeral Home
Chapel with interment follow-
ing in Forest Lawn
Cemetery.
Mrs. Keener was a native
of Gaffney, S.C., daughter of
the late Virgil and Zula
Blackwell and wife of Guy
Keener.
Surviving, in addition to
her husband, are four sons,
Danny Aderholt of Lawndale,
Randy Aderholt of Boger Ci-
ty, Richard Aderholt of Lin-
colnton and Jeffrey Scott
Aderholt of Maiden; two
daughters, Miss Rhonda
Aderholt of Cherryville, Mrs.
Deanna Martin of Lin-
colnton; three sisters, Mrs.
Frances Homesley of Kings
Mountain, Mrs. Jean
Pressley of Denver and Mrs.
Gail Staples of Bessemer Ci-
ty; one brother, Lester
Lingerfelt of Lincolnton and
six grandchildren.
W.K. WHITE
Mesquite, Texas - Funeral
services for Wilburn Kenneth
White, 75, of 615 West Grubbs
St., who died Dec. 29th while
visiting his daughter in Col-
orado Springs, Colorado,
were held Saturday at 2 p.m.
from First Baptist Church of
which he was a member.
Rev. Glenn Hayden of-
ficiated and interment was in
Restland Memorial Park in
Dallas, Texas.
Mr. White was a retired
consultant for a chemical
manufacturing company.
Surviving are his wife, Bet-
ty White; one daughter,
Laura Franklin of Colorado
Springs, Colorad; two
brothers, Jim White and John
White, both of Kings Moun-
tain, North Carolina; three
sisters, Julia Babington and
Yupon, S.C. and Mrs. Sudie
Jenkins and Mis Viola White,
both of Kings Mountain;
three grandchildren and
several nieces and nephews,
including Miss Charlotte
Jenkins of Atlanta, Ga.
formerly of Kings ian
who was among relativesiat-
tending the funeral services.
JOHN TOLBERT
GASTONIA-Funeral ser-
vices for John Tolbert, Jr., of
1006 Laurel Woods, who died
Friday in Kings Mountain,
will be conducted Thursday
at 2 p.m. from Jerusalem
Baptist in Mooresville by Dr.
C.M. Freeman,
following in
Memorial Park.
A native of McCormick
County, S.C., he was the son
of the late John and Sally
Tolbert. he was a trustee and
member of the senior usher
board of Jerusalem Baptist
Church. He was a member of
American Legion Post 180
and a veteran of World War
0.
Surviving are his wife,
Eliese P. Tolbert; and four
sisters, Sallie T. Gilmore of
Evanston, Ill., Fannie T.
‘Murray of Brooklyn, N.Y.,
Ethel T. Holloway of
Gastonia and Florence T.
Turner of Philadelphia, Pa.
JAMES M. MESSICK
Funeral services for James
Franklin Messick, 75, of 803
Third St., who died Monday
in Kings Mountain Convales-
cent Center, will be con-
ducted Thursday at 11 a.m.
from Second Baptist Church
of which he was a member.
Rev. Eugene Land will of-
ficiate and interment will be
at 2 p.m. at Rich Cemetery,
Indian Trail, N.C.
A native of Iredell County,
Mr. Messick was a retired
textile employee and son of
the late Arthur and Mae
Messick. He was husband of
the late Rennie Sahms
Messick.
Surviving are two sons,
Louis Messick of Kings
Mountain and Johnny
Meecick of Greenville, S.C,
two daughters, Mrs B
Horne of Grover Eo Seity
Martha Ann Messick of
Gastonia; one brother, Reid
Messick of Statesville; four
sisters, Mrs. Edna Barker,
Mrs. Lottie Eastes, Mrs.
Lillie Tronjo and Mrs. Lib
Sherrill, all of Statesville; 10
grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
The family will receive
friends Wednesday night
from 7 until 9 p.m. at Harris
Funeral Home.
interment
Gastonia
W.F. STONE JR.
Funeral services for
William Floyd (Dub) Stone,
Jr., 66, of Route 5, were con-
ducted Wednesday at 2 p.m.
from Oak Grove Baptist
Church of which he was a
member, former Sunday
School superintendent and
deacon.
Rev. Ron Caulder and Rev.
James Holder officated and
interment was in Oak Grove
Church Cemetery.
A native of Richmond
County, he was the son of the
late William Floyd Stone and
Ruth Edna McCumbee Stone.
He was a veteran of World
War II and a retired
salesman with Dixon
Chevrolet Company. He was
married to Virginia Ware
Stone, who survives.
Surviving, in addition to his
wife, are one son, William
(Bill) Stone of Kings Moun-
tain; two daughters, Mrs.
Brenda Falls of Gastonia and
Mrs. Martha Mitchell of
Greenville, S.C., one sister
Mrs. Betty DeBruler of Kings
Mountain; and six grand-
children.
Memorials may be made to
the Organ Fund of Oak Grove
Baptist Church.
CARD OF THANKS
We wish to express our
sincere heartfelt apprecia-
tion to the Kings Mountain
Hospital staff, all the nurses
on East Station, to the ladies
in the cafeteria, to
Housekeeping, to Dr. John
McGill and to all our friends
and neighbors for their many
kind expressions of love
shown to our mother and to us
during the illness and death
of our mother.
THE FAMILY OF
ROSALEEN H. GOINS
1
IN MEMORY OF
TALMADGE GONZOLEE
SULLENS, JR.
June 14,1948-
December 27, 1987
The family of Talmadge
Gonzolee Sullens, Jr.
acknowledges the kind ex-
DBE TS
SUR EYE EVE
alone,
pression of sympathy by all
who cared.
A special thanks to all the
nurses and doctors who cared
for our loved one during his
stay in the Kings Mountain
Hospital.
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J.T. McGinnis, Jr.
JIM TESTA CHEVROLET
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615 Broadview Drive - York Road
Kings Mountain, N.C.
739-3471
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Here Through the Years
Kings Mountain
700 West King St.
739-8015
Gastonia
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