Obituary Information

The Sylva Herald prints obituaries free of charge as a service to readers.

When possible, obituaries should be sent to the Herald from the funeral home. Information received will be placed in our standard obituary format.

We publish names of the deceased's spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings and children; we also include the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Obituaries - 04/05/01

Edna Ward

Edna Mae Cochran Ward, 73, of Sylva, formerly of Bryson City, died Sunday, April 1, 2001, in Harris Regional Hospital.

Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, in the chapel of Crisp Funeral Home in Bryson City. The Revs. Rich Peoples and Charles Dean officiated. Burial was in Swain Memorial Park.

A native of Swain County, she was the daughter of the late Dewey and Luellar Lackey Cochran and wife of the late Raymond Ward, who died in 1990.

She was a former EMT for Swain County and co-owner of Edco Co. in Bryson City. She was active in the Women's Club in Bryson City and the Swain and Jackson County Democratic Party. She was a member of Deep Creek Baptist Church.

Surviving are two daughters, Barbara Hamilton and Vickie McMahan, both of Sylva; one son, Newell Ward of Sylva; three sisters, Lois Stanberry and Irene Simonds, both of Bryson City, and Ruby Parker of Sylva; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the Community Table in Sylva, Diabetes Association or American Heart Association.

Doris Greene

Doris Musgrave Greene, 64, of Rockcrusher Road, Lexington, died Wednesday, March 28, 2001, in Lexington Memorial Hospital.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 30, at Davidson Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel. The Revs. Milburn Trent, Charles Dickens and VFW State Chaplain A.G. Parker officiated. Burial was in Forest Hill Memorial Park.

She was a daughter of George Washington Musgrave and Elizabeth Bulla Musgrave.

She retired from Lowe's Distribution Center and was a member of VFW Post 3074 Auxiliary, having served as president and treasurer. She was Voice of Democracy and Buddy Poppy chairman. She also served as the 10 District VFW Auxiliary as senior vice president and Voice of Democracy and Buddy Poppy chairman. At the VFW Auxiliary state level, she served as a page and was active in other jobs, including MOCA Auxiliary president and treasurer.

Surviving are her husband, William "Carson" Green, formerly of Jackson County; one son, William J. Greene of Lexington; one daughter, Annette Greene Eller of Lexington; one sister, Mary Hege of Lexington; two brothers, Robert Musgrave of Lexington and Clarence Musgrave of Lakeland, Fla.; two grandchildren; one step grandson; and one great-granddaughter.

Memorials may be made to Davidson County Cancer Services, 503 W. Center St., Lexington, N.C. 27292.

James Baxley

James Russell Baxley, 79, of Sylva, died Saturday, March 31, 2001, at Mountain Trace Nursing Center.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Monday, April 2, at Cullowhee Baptist Church, of which he was a member. The Rev. Jack Hinson officiated. Burial was in the church cemetery.

A native of Brighton, Ala., he lived in Jackson County for two years. He was a son of the late James Edward and Mamie McMurtry Baxley. He was U.S. Navy veteran, serving in World War II. He was a retired chemist, vice president and director of research at Pert Laboratories Inc.

Surviving re his wife of 58 years, Gladys Whitman Bexley; four sons, Rus Baxley Jr. of Montgomery, Ala., David Alan Baxley of Knoxville, Tenn., and Stephen Whitman Baxley and Jonathan Edward Baxley, both of Sylva; three sisters, Lola Baxley Beinert of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dorothy Baxley Shirey of Jackson, Tenn., and Marjorie Baxley Williams of Sanford, Fla.; one brother, Melvin Edward Baxley of Tuscaloosa; and two granddaughters.

Memorials may be made to Baptist Student Center, Cullowhee, N.C. 28723.

Melton-Riddle Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Thurman Hornbuckle

Dr. Thurman Hornbuckle II, 48, of Champaign, Ill., died Friday, March 30, 2001, at his residence.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. today (Thursday) at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Bishop Jerry Huntsman will officiate. Burial will be in the Hornbuckle Family Cemetery.

A native of Cherokee, he was the son of the late Thurman and Luvenia Bradley Hornbuckle. He lived in Champaign for the past 10 years where he was a veterinarian employed by the University of Illinois.

Surviving are his former wife, Helen Allen Hornbuckle; one daughter, Keona Hornbuckle of Champaign, Ill.; five sons, Thurman Hornbuckle III of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Michael, Aaron, Daniel and Yohna Hornbuckle, all of Champaign, Ill.; six sisters, Lillian Littlejohn, Phyllis Ashenfelter, Dorothy Flying and Nancy Driver, all of Cherokee, Gracia Harrison of Sylva and Linda Fortner of Bryson City.

The family was to have received friends from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at the church.

Crisp Funeral Home, Bryson City, is in charge of arrangements.

Robert Stoltz

Robert E. Stoltz, 70, Western Carolina University vice chancellor for academic affairs from 1975 to 1987, died Tuesday, March 27, 2001, at his home in Roswell, Ga., of chronic cardiac problems.

Funeral services were held Monday, April 2, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greenville, Ohio. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, April 7, at 1 p.m. at Roswell (Ga.) Funeral Home, 950 Mansell Road.

Stoltz was vice president of educational policies at the Southern Regional Education Board from 1987 until his retirement in 1997. Stoltz impacted thousands of students in the 16 SREB states by directing many of the board's programs aimed at improving undergraduate education and establishing links between schools and colleges to strengthen teaching and student learning.

Before joining SREB, Stoltz served as vice president for the College Entrance Examination Board, where he was involved in extensive work on the features and effects of nontraditional programs and on the problems of assessing achievement in nontraditional programs.

He was vice chancellor for academic affairs at Western Carolina University during the administration of H.F. "Cotton" Robinson and also chaired the N.C. Commission on Annual Testing, which developed the statewide assessment program for public schools in North Carolina.

While at WCU, Stoltz was appointed chief of party for the Swaziland Manpower Development Project in Swaziland in southern Africa. The project was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Stoltz developed a great affinity for Africa during that assignment and made numerous trips to Africa.

Stoltz also was involved actively in consulting in industrial, marketing and educational settings. His list of international clients included the U.S. Army; Dallas Cowboys; Toronto Maple Leafs; city of Dallas; Federated Department Stores; U.S. Air Force; governors of Florida, Mississippi and Georgia; and the Ministry of Education in Jamaica.

Stoltz, who wrote and published numerous papers and reports, was born in Lebanon, Ind., and graduated from Gettysburg (Ohio) High School. He earned his bachelor of science degree at Baylor University; his master of arts degree at Southern Methodist University; and his doctoral degree at the Ohio State University.

Surviving are his wife, Camilla Hush Stoltz; two sons, William and Douglas Stoltz, both of the Atlanta area; one daughter, Karen Hughes of Greenville, S.C.; one brother, William McKee Stoltz of Greenville, Ohio; and five grandchildren.

Lloyd Dukes

Lloyd E. Dukes, 72, of Bryson City's Lower Alarka community, died Monday, April 2, 2001, at his residence.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, April 6, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, of which he was a member and deacon. The Rev. Robert Clegg will officiate. Burial will be in Sawyer Cemetery.

A native of Illinois, he lived in Hampton, Va., before moving to Swain County in 1969. He was a son of the late Sam and Willie Grey Kelly Dukes and was a U.S. Navy veteran serving in the Korean Conflict.

Surviving are his wife of 48 years, Gilda McHan Dukes; three sons, Ronald Dukes and James Dukes, both of Bryson City, and Russell Dukes of Athens, Ga.; one daughter, Deborah Pittman of Statesville; one brother, Ernest Dukes of Shore Wood, Ill.; four sisters, Gertrude Williams of Deltona, Fla., Barbara Hoover of Gurnee, Ill., Lila Gronemeyer of Flint, Mich., and Betty Ahlf of Centralia, Ill.; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Crisp Funeral Home, where the body will remain until placed in the church 30 minutes prior to the service.

Thomas de Maintenon

Thomas Jabez de Maintenon, 74, of Clarks Chapel Road, Franklin, died Thursday, March 29, 2001, in an Asheville hospital after a brief illness.

A memorial service will be held later this spring.

A native of Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y., he was a son of Edward Harry de Maintenon and Marta Ruutenen.

He graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in psychology and owned several success businesses in New York, Florida and the Virgin Islands. He was World War II veteran, serving on the LC 591 in the Mediterranean and a member of Seneca River Lodge 160 in New York State. He was a pilot and ship's captain.

Surviving are his wife, Rita de Maintenon; one brother, Phil de Maintenon of Franklin; one half-brother, Robert Maunton of Colorado Springs, Colo.; one daughter, Carol de Maintenon of Benicia, Calif.; one son, David de Maintenon of Titusville, Fla.; and five grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the Macon County Community Foundation Grant Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 1396, Franklin, N.C. 28744.

Baeulah Cope

Beulah Stephens Cope, 96, of Concord, formerly of Sylva, died Sunday, April 1, 2001, in Concord at her son's residence.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at Moses Creek Baptist Church. The Revs. Dillard Moore and Mike Farmer officiated. Burial was in Upper Stephens Cemetery.

A native of Jackson County, she was a daughter of the late John Rubin and Serina Coward Stephens.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Eras Jackson Cope, who died in 1985.

Surviving are three daughters, Colleen Tolley of Sylva and Elizabeth Horne and Kathleen Furr, both of Concord; five sons, James Cope of Great Falls, Mont., Darrell Cope of Middle Town, Conn., Dale Cope of Tuckasegee, William Cope of Lawrence, Kan., and Jimmy Lee Cope of Concord; two sisters, Rea Lovedahl and Carolyn Fish, both of Cullowhee; 23 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.