Jamie Lynn Spears’ Kids: Meet Her Two Daughters, Maddie & Ivey
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Learn more about Jamie Lynn Spears and her family with this look at daughters Maddie & Ivey.
Jamie Lynn Spears‘ family drama has long made headlines. The former Nickelodeon star has been publicly clashing with sister Britney Spears since the pop star’s conservatorship was terminated in Sep. 2021. But Jamie Lynn first found herself in the headlines for family news, after she announced she was pregnant at 16 years old back in 2007.
The Zoey 101 star and former boyfriend Casey Aldridge welcomed daughter Maddie in June of 2008 and largely stepped out of the spotlight after that. She would welcome daughter Ivey with her husband James Watson in April 2018. Want to know more about Jamie Lynn’s girls Maddie and Ivery? Learn more below.
Maddie Aldridge
Jamie Lynn became the poster girl for teen pregnancy after she announced she was expecting in a Dec. 2007 issue of OK! Magazine. She told the magazine at the time, “I can’t say it was something I was planning to do right now. But now that it’s in my lap and that it’s something I have to deal with, I’m looking forward to being the best mom I can be.”
In Jamie Lynn’s 2022 memoir Things I Should Have Said, the star revealed how she was initially forced to keep her pregnancy a secret from sister Britney. “There was a whole lot of fighting going on between everyone involved,” she remembered, later recalling how her team thought it was “too risky” to tell the “Toxic” Singer. “I needed her more than ever and she wasn’t able to help me in my most vulnerable time,” Jamie Lynn went on in her memoir. She laid low during her pregnancy, hunkering down with her family in her native Kentwood, Louisiana. Maddie Briann Aldrige came into the world on June 19, 2008.
Though Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy with Maddie was very public, she managed to keep her eldest out of the spotlight in years since. But in 2020 Jamie Lynn opened up about a terrifying near-death experience her daughter endured after a 2017 ATV accident. She told Maria Menounos that after she crashed into some water they were able to rescue her, but when first responders took her away to revive her “we thought she was gone.” “That moment, I felt everything that you can feel, I think, as far as the worst,” she continued. “There’s nothing worse than looking at your child and just feeling that you’ve failed her. And I didn’t want her to think that I couldn’t save her.”
Maddie went on to make a full recovery and enjoys an active life, with mom often posting photos from her softball or soccer games on Instagram. She has also appeared on Nickelodeon’s Double Dare as well as in ads for Kraft Cheese with mom.
Ivey Watson
While Jaimie Lynn’s first pregnancy happened fast, she waited for the right time for her next baby. Jamie Lynn announced she was expecting on Dec. 26, 2017 via Instagram. She shared a sweet family shot with Maddie and husband James Watson and wrote, “Looks like we are starting off 2018 with another big milestone…sooo happy to announce that Maddie is FINALLY going to be a big sister.”
Jamie Lynn and James welcomed Ivey on Apr. 11, 2018. Reflecting on her 2nd pregnancy with People in 2018, she said, “This time, it’s just been a really peaceful experience,” Spears said of welcoming Ivey. “I think the only difference is the support system I have around me.” The sibling relationship was perfect from the start, according to Jamie Lynn, who told People, “Maddie was the first one to meet her after she was born.” She added that the baby “was so peaceful the moment her sister held her.”
Jamie Lynn gushed over her little girl while celebrating her 3rd birthday in Apr. 2021. She posted an Instagram photo of chic “Princess party” and wrote, “Ivey has brought us so much joy in these past 3 years, it was only fair that we had a celebration just for IVEY, with all of the things that fill her little spirit up with the same joy and love she shares with everyone around her. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to be y’all’s mom.”
Jamie Lynn Spears reflects on ‘out of control’ paparazzi during teenage pregnancy: ‘It broke my heart’
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Jamie Lynn Spears says paparazzi was “out of control” while she was 16 and pregnant. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jamie Lynn Spears reflected on her experience with teen pregnancy on an episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, sharing that the headlines surrounding the news “broke my heart.”
The 30-year-old actress and author of a new memoir Things I Should Have Said was best known for her starring role in Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 and for being the younger sister to superstar Britney Spears. But after becoming pregnant at 16 years old, Jamie Lynn’s name appeared in countless unflattering headlines.
“Being called a slut, so many different names, [speculation] about who the baby daddy was and all these kinds of things was just completely … it broke my heart,” she recalled. “I’m about to have a baby and honestly what made me more mad was like I don’t want my daughter to think that her mom’s a piece of s***. And now you’ve already done that and she’s not even here yet. Also, I don’t want my daughter to ever read a headline that she ruined my career or something because that’s not true.”
Jamie Lynn Spears with her daughter Maddie Briann Aldridge and mom Lynne Spears in 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)
Unwanted attention from the media was a prime concern for Jamie Lynn’s parents and team after she told them that she was pregnant with her boyfriend at the time, Casey Aldridge. In an effort to maintain some control over her own narrative, she agreed to do an exclusive pregnancy announcement with OK! magazine.
“I will have control over the pictures that are of my child, the words that are written about me,” she remembered thinking.
She quickly relinquished that control after having “kind of agreed” to hide away with her mom in a house somewhere outside of New York while waiting for the announcement to come out.
“I had already kind of prepped for knowing that they probably were gonna want to isolate me. So I did already, I went to the local Walmart bought me some burner phones,” Jamie Lynn said. “So I tell them I’m pregnant, there’s a few days where we’re at home and everybody’s like crisis mode, what are we gonna do? The OK! deal is made for me and I’m just kind of like a piece in this puzzle I guess and I’m kind of just going through [the motions]. And I feel like s***, mind you, so I don’t really have the strength to really fight back. I’m literally vomiting. And so I just know that they say, ‘Look, the story’s gonna break. People are going to absolutely hound this house and you just can’t be here. We need to put you somewhere where things can be controlled and you can have the space.’”
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Jamie Lynn had felt that her mom “surrendered” to the “machine” that was her PR and management team at the time who were all working to navigate the “crisis.” Still, it seemed that there was little anybody could do to combat the “out of control” paparazzi.
“I moved to Mississippi. I built my big ass gate around my house. … I’m not kidding you, I still would have 15 paparazzi on me and in the middle of nowhere Mississippi. Like what are you doing here? I’m not walking out in the middle of Beverly Hills asking for this,” she said. “I was still a minor. Whether I was having a child or not, I was still a little girl having a baby, yeah. That’s a lot. And then for people to go ahead and pre-destine another little girl’s [life], how she might feel about this.”
Jamie Lynn’s eldest daughter Maddie is now 13 years old and has recently been kept private on her mom’s social media pages. The star explained that the harshness she experienced from the media as a teen hasn’t gone away, but instead evolved into internet vitriol.
“We say we’re better but no, now we just do it on the internet on people’s social media and hide behind it,” Jamie Lynn said. “At least the magazines had enough balls to put it on their cover.”
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Jamie Lynn Spears’ memoir: What she says about Britney Spears, conservatorship, their parents
Jamie Lynn Spears wants to finally tell her side of the story.
The younger sister to pop icon Britney Spears has experienced plenty of tabloid headlines and gossip about herself in two decades working in the entertainment industry and growing up adjacent to one of music’s biggest superstars.
Jamie Lynn Spears’ memoir, “Things I Should Have Said” (Worthy Publishing, 240 pp., out now), is an all-encompassing account of the 30-year-old actress and singer’s life and career, from her childhood experiences with patriarch James “Jamie” Spears to finding her way as a musician, teen mom and young wife, and watching her sister’s high-profile conservatorship come to an end late last year.
By her account, being a Spears has never been easy. Growing up, she dealt with a father whom she resented for his drinking and unpredictable behavior, and a mother from whom she felt disconnected as the matriarch was pulled between supporting her daughters: one struggling with immense fame and the other making her own break into the entertainment industry while trying to hold onto some semblance of a normal childhood.
Jamie Lynn Spears is ready to tell her side of the story.
Though her writing and preceding interviews have drawn backlash from her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears reiterates in the book’s introduction that her mission is to tell “my story, in my own words.” USA TODAY has reached out to Britney Spears’ lawyer for comment on the book; meanwhile, the singer has been vocal online in her disapproval.
“Despite her comments, I still support what is best for her,” Jamie Lynn Spears writes of her sister in the book. “I’m only saddened that in her current state of mind, she is incapable of supporting me in the same way. … I’m not looking for pity. I want Britney and the world to know she isn’t the only one who is left with the scars from our early years of delinquency and manipulation.”
‘It’s so tacky for a family to fight’: Britney Spears continues response to Jamie Lynn Spears’ book tour
These are some of the most notable claims of Jamie Lynn Spears’ book:
Britney Spears was a ‘role model’ to Jamie Lynn, but fame complicated things
With 10 years between them, Jamie Lynn Spears saw her older sister not only as her biggest role model, but as a “second mother,” she writes.
“My early years in Hollywood were made better by having my sister be an integral part of the experience,” reads one passage. “But by the time I was twelve and learning about the darker side of fame, my sister’s struggles in her own life and the media had intensified.”
Even as Jamie Lynn Spears watched fame make Britney Spears increasingly “disturbed and paranoid,” she recalls feeling as though her sister “always put me front and center,” and was “one of my biggest cheerleaders.”
“Beyond the support and adoration, Britney was simply a terrific sister,” she writes. “That’s not just me paying homage to a living legend. For many years, she was good at keeping her persona out of our sisterhood. The rest of it – the stardom, talent, and turbulent media (expletive) – that’s got very little to do with the sister I love. The only reason I mention the gossip that’s been reported in the tabloids is to say that so much of what has been written about her is a diluted version of the truth.”
More: Nonprofit organization declines donations from Jamie Lynn Spears’ upcoming book
Jamie Lynn was ’traumatized’ by dad’s drinking, Mom hitting her with camera
Spears paints a picture of a complicated relationship between her father and the rest of their family. Jamie Spears, the “son of an abusive perfectionist,” dealt with alcohol abuse, Jamie Lynn Spears writes, and he and Lynne Spears divorced in 2002. There were times Jamie Lynn Spears refused to speak to him, and seeing her mother let him in their apartment “felt like a betrayal.”
Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, leaves court on Oct. 24, 2012, in Los Angeles.
“I was traumatized by the fallout of his alcohol abuse and developed anticipatory anxiety at the thought of him showing up drunk to any of my sporting events or performances,” Spears writes of her teenage years. “I feared the potential humiliation and shame that would result from him making a scene.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Jamie Spears’ lawyer for comment.
She also cites one incident around that time when Lynne Spears was “emotionally strained and she snapped,” yelling at Jamie Lynn Spears before “hitting me with a large beaded purse that had, among other things, a camera inside.” Her makeup artist noticed scratches on her shoulder the next day.
Jamie Lynn Spears has since discussed the incident with her mother and gave her notice that she was mentioning it in her book, she said on a Tuesday episode of podcast “Call Her Daddy.”
More: Britney Spears’ father suspended as conservator of her estate, judge rules
Jamie Lynn details scary knife incident; Britney says it never happened
Throughout the book, Jamie Lynn Spears uses the word “erratic” to describe her sister’s behavior as she dealt with increasingly heavy media scrutiny.
In one passage, she describes an incident that occurred following her sister’s whirlwind marriage and split from Jason Alexander in 2004.
“I wanted my sister back. But instead, I saw the depth of her difficulty,” Jamie Lynn Spears writes. “One time, she said to me, ‘Baby, I’m scared,’ and took a large knife from the kitchen, pulled me along to my room, and she locked us both inside. She put the knife in the bedside table drawer and simply repeated, ‘I’m scared.’ She needed me to sleep beside her.”
Britney Spears wrote last week on Twitter that her sister had “stooped to a whole new level of LOW” by sharing the knife story, which Britney Spears said never happened: “Please please stop with these crazy lies for Hollywood books,” she added.
Jamie Lynn Spears goes on to say in the book that Britney Spears continued to “be the best sister she could at that time.”
“The spotlights on my sister were blinding and obscured her ability to recognize the dangers all around her – dangers that still exist,” she writes. “Sometimes I feel like Britney’s light was too bright, and I should have done more to protect her.”
Britney found out about Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy with the rest of the world
Around the same time as Britney Spears’ public struggle with fame, her younger sister was grappling with her own pressures: In 2007, as filming for Jamie Lynn Spears’ show “Zoey 101” was ending and she was plotting her next career move, she discovered she was pregnant at 16.
Jamie Lynn Spears described it as a hectic time, while the “entire Spears team” was focusing on helping her sister and just wanted to make Jamie Lynn’s “issue” disappear.
The cover of the December 31, 2007 issue of OK magazine announced Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy to the world - and her sister.
Spears recalled her team “went so far as hiding my pregnancy from my sister, claiming, “It’s too risky to tell Britney about the baby.
“I needed her more than ever and she wasn’t able help me in my most vulnerable time. … They were concerned her instability at that time made her untrustworthy. I went along with what my team told me to do because I was a minor and didn’t want to create any more issues. Britney learned of the pregnancy when the article (from OK! magazine, breaking the pregnancy news) was released. To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers.”
Spears welcomed daughter Maddie Briann Aldridge on June 19, 2008, with then-fiancé Casey Aldridge (referred to only as “Casper” in the book). She married husband Jamie Watson in 2014 and welcomed another daughter, Ivey Joan Watson, in 2018.
Jamie Lynn believes Britney’s conservatorship was meant to keep her safe
When Britney Spears’ parents helped establish her conservatorship in 2008, Jamie Lynn Spears recalled it being helpful for their family: Not only was Jamie Spears helping to “get rid of the extortionists and conspirators” in Britney Spears’ life, he “committed to his sobriety,” which Jamie Lynn Spears said mended her resentments against him.
“This was the first time in my life where someone was holding them accountable for their behaviors, and the perpetual anxiety I lived with for so long finally subsided. I could stop worrying about their sobriety,” she writes.
Though she believes the “only intent” in establishing the conservatorship was to keep Britney Spears “safe at a time when she couldn’t do that for herself,” Jamie Lynn Spears also points out that it “seemed that almost everyone on the team was more interested in keeping the money coming in than in getting her the help she needed.”
Nearly 14 years after it was set, a judge ruled in November that Britney Spears was officially free of the conservatorship.
‘Can we end this?’: Jamie Lynn Spears shares message after Britney Spears’ conservatorship hearing
Britney’s vague statements about their family ‘allowed an onslaught of hate’ against Jamie Lynn, she says
As backlash against the conservatorship grew publicly over the past few years, fueled partly by documentaries, online fan campaigns and #FreeBritney, so did the way Jamie Lynn Spears viewed her sister’s role in their family.
She calls out Britney Spears at one point, criticizing the “sweeping allegations” her sister made about their family last year. The vagueness of those comments “allowed an onslaught of hate that put me and my family at risk,” Jamie Lynn Spears writes, noting they have been “threatened” and there are times when she doesn’t feel safe.
‘This conservatorship killed my dreams’: Britney Spears calls out her family in emotional post
“From the earliest days of Britney’s challenges, I have protected her at every turn. Too young to know better, to understand that it’s okay if you’re not okay, I helped keep Britney’s emotional episodes hidden from the world. … I continued to protect her until just recently, when she decided I didn’t need protecting and threw me to the proverbial media wolves.”
Jamie Lynn Spears writes of wishing she had spoken up early, as to not further “enable” her sister to assign “blame outward without any self-reflection.”
“When my sister spoke to the world about her feelings regarding my parents’ purposeful strategy to garner fame, Britney’s impassioned statements included the wrongdoings of everyone involved, without any reference to herself,” she wrote. “I realized that until she wants help, nothing I say is going to sway the way she sees herself or her situation. … I am now just coming to terms with how my family’s philosophy of making everything appear fine and excusing Britney’s behavior has led us to where we are today.”
More: Britney Spears turns 40 after a whirlwind year of #FreeBritney, paparazzi and the end of her conservatorship
Jamie Lynn Spears also shared in the book what she said was a “recent text” from her sister that read: “I know it’s not your fault and I’m sorry for being so angry at you. Although I’m your big sister, I need you more than you need me and always have.”
“I pray for the day she shares these words with the world,” Jamie Lynn Spears writes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jamie Lynn Spears on Britney, dad, OK! magazine pregnancy announcement
Nickelodeon’s ‘Zoey 101’ Cast: Where Are They Now?
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Are you ready? In 2005, Nickelodeon viewers were in for a treat when Zoey 101 introduced them to the students of Pacific Coast Academy.
The series, which aired from 2005 until 2008, focused on the lives of Zoey Brooks (Jamie Lynn Spears) and her brother, Dustin (Paul Butcher), as they attended the fictional boarding school and made friends along the way. Shortly after its debut, the teen drama found success and went on to win several awards, even earning an Emmy nod for Outstanding Children’s Program in 2005.
However things took a turn when Spears announced in December 2007 that she was expecting her first child at the age of 16. Although Spears’ pregnancy wasn’t the reason Zoey 101 came to an end, the show aired its final episode in May 2008.
Since its conclusion, many of the cast members have voiced their desire for a potential revival — and even Spears confirmed that she would be willing to return.
“Zoey was the problem solver and the good-at-everything girl. But we need to add some depth to her,” the Mississippi native told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2020, predicting where fans could expect to see her character now. “She and Chase would definitely have some type of tangled love story. I don’t think they would have just left PCA and gotten married. Maybe Zoey would be working in fashion in some capacity.”
Later that year, Spears revealed that she had contacted her former coworkers about bringing the series back in some capacity, telling E! News in July 2020, “I’ve had conversations, and we want to be able to tell everyone’s story the best way we can, and finding the right home for it, I think that’s the most important part right now. These conversations were being had before [the coronavirus] quarantine. … We’re still having them, but everything’s just at a slower pace.”
Several of the cast members later teamed up for a reimagined version of the Zoey 101 theme song “Follow Me,” but not everyone was thrilled about the idea. In January 2022, Alexa Nikolas, who played Nicole Bristow, confessed that her continued feud with Spears was why she didn’t get involved.
“I recently thought we were fine after she tried to use me in her Zoey 101 music video to make herself look better after I finally came out about what happened to me while on set/being left out once again during the reunion reboot ploy,” Nikolas wrote via Instagram at the time, noting that she wasn’t the first one Spears spoke to about the mini reunion. “I’m guessing the pressure from others made her address the issue. I declined her offer. Why now? But I was happy to get an apology finally. So I forgave her.”
When excerpts from Spears’ memoir were allegedly leaked that same month, Nikolas explained that their issues never went away.
“I have no idea what is going on over there with her but I want absolutely nothing to do with it,” she added at the time. “She never addressed anything that she mentioned in the book to me personally because she knows everything she is saying is a total lie and I would have called her out on that. One on one. It’s sad to see someone not change after all these years. Nothing that she said in her book about me actually happened.”
Nikolas concluded: “I wish I could go back in time and tell my 12-year-old self that you are actually extremely lucky to not have a friend like her. You are way better off without her. You don’t need toxic people in your life like that and you deserve better. And that’s the truth on that. I don’t mind saying all the things I should say for free.”
Scroll down to see where the Zoey 101 cast is now:
Watauga, Avery Obituaries – January 18, 2022
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The following are recent obituary notices from Austin & Barnes and Hampton funeral homes in Boone and Reins-Sturdivant in Newland
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Robert Thomas Stockman
1940 – 2022
Robert (Bob) Stockman, 81, went home to be with Jesus, Monday, January 10, 2022. He passed with his family by his side in Zionville, North Carolina.
Due to inclimate weather, the services will be held at a later date.
He was born November 19, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois and later adopted by Victor and Ruth Stockman of Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a financial analyst for Willard Battery. His mother was a homemaker.
Bob graduated from Collinwood High School in 1959 where he met and married Jeraldine Trennel in 1960. After graduation, Bob enlisted in the Marine Corps, where he was assigned duty in many different locations within the United States during his 20 year career. He also served two tours in Vietnam, and worked as both a reciprocating and jet engine mechanic, with most of his career as a flight engineer on KC-130 refueler aircraft. After his second tour in Vietnam, Bob was commissioned as a Warrant Officer and promoted to Captain before retiring. Bob and Jeri had three children during their time in the Marine Corps.
After retiring from the Marines, Bob had a second career at The Boeing Company as a logistician and internal auditor retiring in 2002.
His interests included family, cartooning, and writing religious BLOGS.
In addition to his parents, Bob was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Jeri, and his daughter, Michele Greb,
He is survived his son and spouse, Robert Jr. and Frances Stockman; a daughter Jennifer Stockman; his recently found brother, Rich and wife Betty Welsh; a sister, Ginnie Record; Five grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren also survive.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Salvation Army and/or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Online condolences may be shared with the Stockman family at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Stockman family.
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John Daniel Duke
1931 – 2022
After several weeks of hospice care that gave him the unique chance to say goodbye to his friends and loved ones, John Daniel Duke of Vilas passed away in his home on Monday, January 10, 2022 at the age of 90.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Dan grew up in Raleigh before earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduating from college, he enlisted in the army where he was assigned to the task of administering psychological tests to psychiatric patients at Fort Sam Houston, TX, and Fort Bragg, NC from 1954-1956, a rich learning experience for him. He then pursued his doctorate in psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill where he shifted from a clinical focus to more theoretical work in the field of social and general psychology.
Dan was a model of the dream of finding work that you love. It was his interest in the topic that led him to build a career teaching and researching psychology. He first taught at Wofford College in SC from 1959-1962, where he also served as chair. From 1962-1968, he taught at Montana State University in Bozeman, including serving as acting chair before moving back to North Carolina to teach psychology at Appalachian State University from 1968-1993. Dan took pride in his teaching, and he won recognition as Teacher of the Year at both Montana State and Appalachian. He was awarded emeritus status in September, 1993.
In addition to golf and classical music, Dan loved duplicate bridge, and this led him to develop what he called the Land Cruise Bridge Festivals. Held on the campus of Appalachian from 1984 to 1993, the program was a great success, growing from two weeks to ten weeks each summer. Best of all, it included the joy of teaching classes to students eager to learn just for the fun of it. Dan was always proud of the high number of students who came for two or more summers, including some from Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, England, and Saudi Arabia. He created and wrote teaching manuals for each of the classes, an endeavor that gave him the opportunity to articulate some of the more complicated bidding systems used in duplicate bridge.
Those outside of the world of contract bridge may not be aware of the contributions Dan made or the way bridge gives people a space to engage with one another both intellectually and socially, a safe space to laugh together, mostly ignore political differences (but never rule disputes), and thrive in community. He was an avid bridge player and organizer. Starting in 1956, he worked as a bridge director for over fifty years. His leadership founded Unit 244 that serves 24 counties of northwest North Carolina, part of the American Contract Bridge League. He helped turn the High Country into a Mecca for bridge competition. He also traveled to provide bridge lessons for programs hosted in various cities across the United States.
In his wife Susan Duke, whom he married in 2002, Dan found the love of his life and a kindred spirit who followed in his footsteps, playing, directing, and teaching bridge. Susan and Dan enjoyed many road trips, took part in many Elderhostel programs, and relished every chance to work as bridge teachers/directors on cruises around the world.
Throughout his life, Dan was highly ethical, aiming to be honest with himself and with others—a trait worth treasuring. He was very critical of all that is unjust or alarming in the world, worrying for our democracy and about the threat of climate change, yet he never lost his ability to find joy in the moment. He felt a responsibility to pay attention to the world around him, to engage thoughtfully with various topics, yet he never took himself too seriously, and he encouraged others not to take themselves too seriously, either. He loved to joke around, some jokes more successful than others, and his humor was grounded in the belief that everyone has dignity and worth.
Most of all, he believed that whenever possible, it helps to find reasons to laugh.
Dan was preceded in death by his mother Martha Truss, father Robert Edwin Duke, brothers Robert Edwin Duke, Jr, and James Alan Duke, and his friend/ex-wife Donna Duke. He is survived by his beloved wife Susan Duke of Vilas, his daughter Cama Duke, son-in-law Frank Veno, grandchildren Annie, Joey, and Maggie of Boone; his son Miles Duke, daughter-in-law Cynthia Duke, grandchildren Alexandra and Elizabeth of Atlanta; his niece Celia Larsen and husband David and family of Northville, MI, and nephew John Carl Duke and wife Sandy and family of Myersville, MD; and sister-in-law Becky McDonough of Boone, niece Christy Powell and husband Stacey of Boone, nephew Seth Powell and wife Holly and family of Valle Crucis, niece Julie Palmer and wife Christy of Marion, Indiana, and niece Jenny Treon and husband Eric and family of Marion, Indiana.
To honor Dan’s love and respect for the women in his life, please consider a contribution to The Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge, 895 State Farm Road, Suite 403, Boone, NC 28607.
A committal service will be held Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 2 pm at the Church of the Holy Cross in Valle Crucis, North Carolina.
Online condolences may be shared with the Duke family at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com. Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Duke family.
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Horace Glenn Williams
1939 – 2022
Horace Glenn Williams Jr. died January 11th, 2022, at the age of 82.
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 8, 1939, the son of H. Glenn and Hallie Mae Williams. The grandson of farmers, Glenn spent much of his youth hunting, fishing, and exploring the woods of Obion County.
As Glenn grew older his interests turned to scholarly pursuits. After college and service in the U.S. Navy he did graduate work in English Literature at the University of Tennessee and UNC-Greensboro. A short stint teaching at UNC-Chapel Hill gave him a deep love of Tar Heel basketball and a deep ambivalence toward academia.
Searching for another way to make a difference, he joined the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as an editor and eventually moved to Washington D.C where he became a career civil servant with the Environmental Protection Agency.
In Washington, his long-time interest in art grew into a passion. He would haunt galleries and began collecting. He discovered wildlife artist Charley Harper when he saw a series of posters commissioned by the National Park Service. Glenn became a champion of Harper’s work, organizing exhibitions, arguing for his significance, and beginning a friendship with Charley what would last until the artist’s death.
A hunter in his youth, Glenn eventually traded his shotgun for a pair of binoculars and became an avid birder. He made frequent bird watching trips to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ, and his beloved Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee.
But his heart, and more importantly his granddaughters, were in North Carolina, and that is where he returned, retiring to Boone to a house he called “The Ridge”. There he and his wife Robin hosted friends, made their annual pilgrimage to MerleFest, and talked of the places they still planned to go.
Now he is in a different place and we hope it is full of books and birds and long walks and the occasional bourbon. He was well loved and will be missed.
He is survived by Robin, his wife of twenty-two years and companion for many more; his daughter Lisa Gray and husband Flint, and their daughters Lucy and Emily; his son Tom Williams and wife Colleen; his sister Nancy Box; his brother Monty Williams and wife Jane.
The family asks in lieu of flowers a donation be made to The Nature Conservancy in Glenn’s honor.
Online condolences may be shared at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Williams family.
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Herman Anderson Doss
1932 – 2022
Herman Anderson Doss, 89, of Deerfield Ridge Assistant Living, Boone, NC passed away on January 11, 2022. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Betty Combs Doss.
Herman is survived by his two children, Rhonda Russell (Ray) of Boone, NC and Andy Doss of Henderson, TN. He was a proud Papa to five grandchildren: Leah, Laura, Drew, Derek and Paige and five great-grandchildren: Amelia, Russell, Sloane, Josephine and Patrick.
He is also survived by his sister, Grace Myers, his brothers, Cecil Doss (Patsy) and Daniel Doss (Nancy).
Herman was born and raised in Roanoke, VA along with his 10 siblings. At the age of 16, Herman joined the U.S. Air Force which led to his involvement in the Korean War, recruiting and training new troops. He retired in 1969 after 20 years. Herman then pursued his love for Christ and people by serving 30 years as a minister for Churches of Christ in Southwest Virginia and North Carolina.
A celebration of Herman’s life will take place in the Spring at West Side Church of Christ in Salem, VA.
Online condolences may be shared with the Doss family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Doss family.
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Deborah Francine “Debbie” Yates
1974 – 2022
Deborah Francine ‘Debbie’ Yates, age 47, of Charlie Thompson Road, Vilas,
passed away Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at Watauga Medical Center. Born April 23, 1974 in Watauga County, she was a daughter of Jim and June Yates. Debbie was a life-long member of Westside Baptist Church. She attended Cove Creek Elementary School and was a graduate of Watauga High School. Debbie loved every creation of God from sunrises to birds and bunny rabbits and especially her fur babies and birds. But above all, she loved the Lord and her family and friends. She was never blessed with a child of her own, but was always ready to help raise many children. Her favorite activities were visiting the managers and employees at the Food Lion Grocery Store in Boone and swimming in her favorite pool. She absolutely loved Mickey Mouse. She was so excited about the possibility of visiting Disney World this spring, but instead, she will spend her spring with Jesus.
In addition to her parents, Debbie was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Ed and Blanche Jones; paternal grandparents, Grady and Margret Yates; God nannie, Marybell Tunnell; and a number of special aunts and uncles.
She is survived by he sister, Shellie Dollars and husband, Buddy, of Sugar Grove; brother, Jamie Yates and wife Amy of Fleetwood and their children, Carson, Erica Jessica and Samantha and grandchildren; her God sister, Cindy Potter and husband, John of Sugar Grove; God parents, Gerald and Betty Marshall of Sugar Grove; niece, Faith Dollars of Sugar Grove; nephews, Dustin Parlier of Charlotte and Calvin Dollars of Sugar Grove; God niece, Lacey Potter of Sugar Grove and God nephews, Zachary Hicks of Baltimore, MD and John Potter of Sugar Grove; special friend, Rheannon Mecimore of South Carolina; aunts, Ruth Phillips of North Wilkesboro, Jane Wilson of Tennessee and Bronda Jones of Lenoir; Uncle, Burl Jones and wife, Wanda, of Marion; God child, Deana Isaacs; and a host of special cousins, neighbors and and very special friends, Doug and Joan Price.
Funeral services for Debbie will be conducted Friday afternoon, January l4, 2022 at 2 o’clock at Westside Baptist Church, officiated by Pastor David Ward, Rev. Travis Church and Rev. Burl Jones. The family will receive friends Friday from 1 until 2 o’clock, prior to services, at the church. Graveside services will follow in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. Debbie loved bright colors, so to honor her, you are encouraged to wear anything bright to let her color shine.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Austin & Barnes to assist the family with final expenses.
Online condolences may be shared at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Yates family.
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James Owen Burgess
1926 – 2022
Heaven gained an exceptional storyteller with the peaceful passing of James Owen “Jim” Burgess, age 95, on Thursday, January 13, 2022. Jim will be lovingly remembered by Ruth Henson, his children, Linda, Jim Jr., and Joni, Ruth’s children, Susan, Michael, and Vickie, and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A service of witness to the resurrection and celebration of Jim’s life will be held at a later date.
Jim never met a stranger always asking “What brought you to Blowing Rock?” He loved Auburn, music and sports. Words from his favorite song encapsulate Jim’s life, “I did it my way.”
Online condolences may be shared with the Burgess family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Burgess family.
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Roy Blaine Calloway
1931 – 2022
Roy Blaine Calloway, age 90, of the Foscoe Community, went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Thursday, January 13, 2022 at his home.
Born September 1, 1931 in Watauga County. He was the son of Shirley and Nettie Byers Calloway. He served in the US Air Force and was stationed in numerous locations. He was an avid sportsman, consisting of coon hunting, basketball and baseball. He retired from The Hound Ears Club where he worked security.
Roy was preceded in death by his parents and six of his brothers and sisters; A.C. Calloway, Mary Wilson, Della Ryan, Wanda Ezzell, Lola Jackson, and John Henry Calloway.
Surviving are his wife Carolyn Townsend Calloway of Foscoe; his children, Chris Calloway and wife Diane of Foscoe, Flint Calloway and James Calloway both of Center, Texas. Grandchildren, Alanna Stallings and husband Bandon of Kill Devil Hills, NC, Lauren Greer and husband Tanner of Lenoir, and Bobbi Calloway of Center, Texas. Great grandchildren Mila Greer of Lenoir, and Isabel Ellington of Center, Texas. One sister Shirley Delp of Princeton, W.Va., and one sister-in-law Doris Miller. Several nieces and nephews also survive.
Funeral services for Roy Calloway will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Foscoe Christian Church Benevolence fund, 8834 Highway 105 South, Boone, NC 28607 and/or Amorem Hospice, 902 Kirkwood Street, NW, Lenoir, NC 28645.
Online condolences may be shared with the Calloway family at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Calloway family.
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Robert McCluer Calhoon
1935 – 2022
Robert McCluer Calhoon, historian, teacher, and scholar of religion and politics in the US backcountry died from complications to dementia on January 14, 2022 in the memory care unit at Deerfield Ridge Assisted Living in Boone, NC. His wife Doris preceded him in death in 2009 as did his sisters Mary Nelson and Peggy Robbins in 2006 and 2018 respectively. He is survived by his daughter Claudia Calhoon; by an informally adopted family: son Y Nuh, daughter-in-law Ha Bek, and granddaughter Zina Ecam; by his friend and companion later in life, Susan Kramer, and by countless friends, colleagues, and mentees.
Robert wrote or edited nine books, contributed to another sixteen volumes, and published countless articles. From 1996 to 2000, he proudly served as the Faculty Marshal and Mace Bearer at UNCG Commencement. In 2008, he was honored for 30 years of teaching with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award by Governor Mike Easley. As historian Rebecca Brannan has noted, Robert was someone who “epitomizes intellectual life as a joyous enterprise always open to new people and new conversations.”
Robert was born on October 3, 1935 in Pittsburgh, PA to Mr. and Mrs. Forrest and Elizabeth Calhoon. He grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon and attended the College of Wooster, in Ohio where he developed from a somewhat lackluster student into a lifelong scholar of history, doing his senior year independent study on Lincoln Steffens in the Russian Revolution. He taught junior high school in Cleveland before entering the Ph.D. program in history at what was then Western Reserve University in Cleveland Ohio. There he studied with his mentor, American Revolution scholar Jack P. Green and with whom he wrote his dissertation on the Loyalists to the British in the American Revolution.
in 1964, for reasons that he later said he didn’t understand at the time, he turned down a tenure-track position at DePauw University in Chicago while waiting to hear about a one-year instructor position at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). He moved to Greensboro in 1964 and there, during a visit to UNCG’s Jackson Library, he met a clerk in the Government Documents office named Doris Abernethy. They were married in June 1965. Their daughter Claudia was born on January 14, 1973, shortly before the publication of his first book, the Loyalists in Revolutionary America.
Robert’s student Joseph Moore notes that in the 1970s, even as this book remade the scholarly understandings of Loyalists, it also laid the groundwork for a subsequent wave of scholarship that both challenged and built upon his work. Moore notes, “the surest sign you were doing something right, was that the field needed to move beyond your questions to answer different ones, and he felt good about handing the baton to a bevy of scholars that were doing just that.”
As he started to explore the political and religious history of North Carolina, he developed an interest in the interplay of religion and politics, especially in the US backcountry, the rural corridor that stretched from southern Pennsylvania to Augusta, Georgia. This research led him to explore the phenomena of a type of US political moderation that appeared, in his words, as a “response mechanism within American political culture to manifestly destructive levels of partisanship and polarization.” This pursuit developed into a lifelong project to understand and articulate the importance of moderation in US politics, past and present.
At UNCG, he taught generations of students in the History Department, and in the Residential College, now one of several residential learning communities for students within the university. In 2005 when UNCG expanded its offerings to include a Ph.D. in American History, he fulfilled a career-spanning goal supervising Joseph Moore, Corey Stewart, and Terry Campbell as they developed and completed their dissertations.
In his personal life, Robert was an active member of Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, where he served on the church council, serving as a lector and leading discussions on religious history and theology. In 1986, he participated in the congregation’s efforts to work with a group of Montagnard refugees from Vietnam to support them to resettle in Greensboro, which led to lifelong friendships in the Greensboro Montagnard community. In 2002, he helped respond to his congregation’s call to build the Lynda Eklund Center for the Developmentally Disabled, which collaborates with the ARC of High Point to provide independent housing for people with disabilities.
A lifelong lover of the outdoors, Robert chose to spend his final years in the mountains of North Carolina. He purchased a house in Sugar Grove, NC in 2010 and joined Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Valle Crucis, NC. In 2014-15 he taught part-time at Appalachian State University. In 2015, he suffered from a form of vasculitis called temporal arteritis, which led to the sudden and irreparable loss of his vision. Adapting to a disability was sometimes frustrating, but a process that he took in stride with humor and grace. During the final years of his life, he enjoyed visits and phone calls from friends like Ralph Lentz, and Bud Gerber, visits to Holy Cross, and dining out with his daughter.
He is remembered by all who knew him for his kindness, brilliance, and humility.
Memorial services will be planned for June 2022 in both Valle Crucis and Greensboro, North Carolina. In lieu of flowers, gifts in honor of Robert’s life can be made out to:
Everytown USA
FaithAction International House
Center for New North Carolinians at UNCG
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
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Melvin Ralph Fletcher
1935 – 2022
Mr. Melvin Ralph Fletcher, age 86, of Zionville, passed away Friday, January 14, 2022 at McDowell Assisted Living. Born August 9, 1935 in Watauga County, he was the son of the late Ralph and Ella Mae Moretz Fletcher. Melvin was a US Army veteran and a farmer.
He is survived by two Aunts, Pauline Eldreth Moretz of Lexington, NC and Ruth Ellen Moretz Shaver of Independence, VA. He is also survived by a number of cousins.
A committal service for Melvin Ralph Fletcher will be conducted Thursday, January 20, 2022 at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home. Officiating will be Rev. Ken Anderson.
Burial will be private.
Online condolences may be shared with the Fletcher family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com.
Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Fletcher family.
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Faye Miller Ford
January 13, 2022
Mrs. Faye Miller Ford, age 82, of Boone, passed away Thursday, January 13, 2022 at Watauga Medical Center.
She was born July 30, 1939, in Watauga County. A daughter of the late Virgil Miller and Thelma Woodring Miller. She was a homemaker, was a faithful member of Proffitt’s Grove Baptist Church, that she loved very much.
She is survived by her husband, Pete Ford of Boone; four daughters, Elaine Ward and husband Gary of Vilas; Brenda Ford Prim of Boone; Betty Ford Graybeal and husband Jeff of Boone and Lola Ford Presnell and husband Danny, of Boone; three sons, Len Ford and wife Loretta of Boone; Barry Ford of Boone and Terry Ford and wife Mary of Boone; thirteen grandchildren, twenty two great-grandchildren, three sisters, one brother and a special friend Sandy Dancy.
In addition to her father and mother, she was preceded in death by one brother, one sister, one daughter-in-law, Karen Ford and one son-in-law, Thomas Prim.
Graveside services and burial will be conducted Saturday, January 22, 2022, at 2:00 PM, at Pete Ford Family Cemetery. Pastor Delmar James will officiate.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00, prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Children’s Miracle Network at https://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/donate/
Online condolences may be sent to the Ford family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements
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Colleen Vaughan Redman
April 8, 1948 – January 12, 2022
Colleen Vaughan Redman, age 73, of Boone, passed away Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at her home.
Online condolences may be sent to the Redman Family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Services of Boone is in charge of arrangements
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John E. “Jack” Day, Jr.
December 26, 1965 – January 14, 2022
John “Jack” Edward Day, Jr., age 56, of Lenoir, passed away Friday, January 14, 2022, in Caldwell UNC Health Care in Lenoir.
He was born December 26, 1965, in Caldwell County. He was a son of the late John Edward Day, Sr. and Georgia Ruth Edney Day. He was employed with Delta Company Police and Protection Agency in Morganton and was a veteran having served in the United States Army.
He is survived by his wife Cindy Hedrick Day, of the home; two step-sons, Ethan Cassavaugh and wife Kayly and their son, Levi, of Whitsett, North Carolina and Kelsey Cassavaugh of Lenoir; one son, Jared Roberts of Effingham, Illinois; two brothers, Charles Day of Boone and Andrew Day and wife Lesley of Cary. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life for John Edward “Jack” Day, Jr. will be conducted Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 1:00 o’clock, at Kings Creek Baptist Church. Pastor Randy Goode will officiate. Military honors will be conducted.
The family will receive friends following the service.
Memorial contributions may be made the American Legion Post 29, P.O. Box 752, Lenoir, North Carolina 28645.
Online condolences may be sent to the Day Family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Services of Boone is in charge of arrangements.
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Carolyn Brown Cannon
February 23, 1940 – January 13, 2022
Carolyn B. Cannon, age 81, of Valle Crucis, passed away Thursday, January 13, 2022, at Atrium Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital.
She was born February 23, 1940, in Watauga County. A daughter of the late James and Iva G. Brown. She was a faithful member of Clarks Creek Baptist Church in Valle Crucis. Her passion was volunteering at Cape Look Out National Seashore, for twenty years, baking all kinds of goodies that she hand delivered to many people including businesses. Her most famous was her peanut butter fudge. She truly loved people, camping and fishing.
She is survived by five daughters, Debbie Hardy, Sandra Watson, Karen Eller, Angela Walker and Brenda Cannon, nine grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
In addition to her father and mother she was preceded in death by her son, Troy Lee Cannon.
A memorial service for Carolyn B. Cannon will be conducted Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 3:00 o’clock at Cove Creek Baptist Church. Reverend Kevin Combs will officiate.
Online condolences may be sent to the Cannon family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is In charge of the arrangements.
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Debra Sparks Grindstaff
June 15, 1956 – January 10, 2022
Debra Sparks Grindstaff, age 65, of Newland, North Carolina passed away on Monday, January 10, 2022 at her residence.
Debra was born on June 15, 1956 in County, Kansas, a daughter of the late Fredrick Sparks and the late Dixie Buchanan Sparks.
Debra worked for many years as Nurse and was a member of the Minneapolis Methodist Church. She enjoyed reading and crocheting.
She was preceded in death by her Two Sisters, Sheryl Vance, Sheila J Sparks; Brother, David Sparks; Father, Fredrick Sparks; Mother, Dixie Lee Sparks; .
Debra leaves behind to cherish her memory Husband James “JB” Grindstaff; Daughter, Jamey (Roger) Hamby of Elk Park, NC; Three Sons, James Grindstaff of Newland, NC, Matthew (Bea Ried (Girlfriend)) Grindstaff of Newland, NC, Chris (Jada) Grindstaff of Hampton, TN; eight grandchildren.
Services for Debra Sparks Grindstaff will be held on Saturday, January 15, 2022, at 12:00 noon in the Grandfather Chapel of Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home with Rev. David Hobson officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the services at the funeral home.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to Amorem (formerly Caldwell Hospice) for the loving care and dedication they showed to Debra.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: Amorem Hospice and Palliative Care 902 Kirkwood St NW Lenoir, NC 28645
Words of Comfort and Memories may be shared with the Grindstaff family by visiting our website www.rsfh.net
The care of Debra and her family has been entrusted to Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland
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Brenda Gibson
December 18, 1963 – January 11, 2022
Brenda Gibson, age 58, of Newland, North Carolina passed away on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at the UNC Health Blue Ridge Hospital in Morganton.
Brenda was born on December 18, 1963 in Avery County, North Carolina, a daughter of the late Buster Aldridge Vance.
She loved to crochet and make flower arrangements. Spending time with her family laughing and giggling brought joy to her and those around her.
She was preceded in death by her Father, Buster Aldridge Vance; Sister, Crystal Woodie.
Brenda leaves behind to cherish her memory her mother, Phyllis Maltba Vance of Morganton; Three Sisters, Claudia Cook of Morganton, NC, Vanessa (David) Stout of Morganton, NC, Sharon Hollifield of Newland, NC; Two Brothers, Ronnie (Diane) Vance of Jonas Ridge, NC, Roger (Christy Brown) Vance of Crossnore, NC; Boy Friend, Jerry Stout of Newland; Longtime Best Friend, Ronnie Woodie of Jonas Ridge; Very Special Friend, Arlan Wise of Newland, NC; a host of nieces and nephews.
Graveside service for Brenda Gibson will be held on Friday, January 14, 2022 at 1:00 pm in the Daniels Cemetery with Michael Laws officiating. The family will receive friends beginning at 11:00 am on Friday at Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home prior to going in procession to the cemetery.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to the nursing staff at UNC Health Blue Ridge in Morganton for the wonderful and loving care they provided to Brenda.
Words of Comfort and Memories may be shared with the Gibson family by visiting our website www.rsfh.net
The care of Brenda and her family has been entrusted to Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland.
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Stanley Timmons Spradling
June 14, 1952 – January 13, 2022
Stanley Timmons Spradling passed away on January 13th, 2022 at the age of 69. Stan was born on
June 14th ,1952, the third of five sons, to the late Stewart Ledford Spradling and Bonnie Kate Fielden Spradling. He is survived by his brothers Steven Alan Spradling, of China Grove, SC, Mark Jay Spradling of Boynton Beach, FL, and Michael Joe Spradling of Cleveland, AL. He was preceded in death by his son Eric Alan Spradling and his brother Robert Ledford Spradling of Kalamazoo, MI. Stan is survived by his devoted wife of 46 years, Marcia Jean Dobrow Spradling, and by his three children: Jason Timmons Spradling (Katharine) of Bonsall, CA, Sean Thomas Spradling (Casey) of Roan Mountain, TN, and Richard Alan Spradling (Erin) of Chattanooga, TN. Stan has 4 grandchildren: Amelia Chesnut Spradling, Wesley Timmons Spradling, Madeleine Rose Spradling, and Cade Thomas Spradling. He is also survived by many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews as well as dear friends.
Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Stan graduated from Pompano High School. Following high school, Stan played football at Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, North Carolina. There he discovered his love for the mountains and snow. Deciding to enter the dental field, he transferred to Palm Beach College where he enrolled in their Dental Tech program. While attending Palm Beach, he met the love of his life – Marcia (Marty) at a jazz concert. After graduating college and working in a dental lab, Stan opened up his own dental lab. Stan always loved Florida, but longed to return to the mountains. In 1990, Stan moved his family to northeast Tennessee. After working for a dental lab in Valle Crucis, NC for a short period of time, Stan opened his second dental lab, this time, out of his home. Working from home allowed Stan to spend more time with his boys exploring the Cherokee National Forest and instilling his knowledge of sports in them. It gave him the ability to coach his boys in football, baseball, and basketball, not only in Little League but also through middle school and even some high school. He enjoyed nothing more than watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports, both as players and as coaches. Any Sunday afternoon during football season, you were guaranteed to find him grilling and watching football. All were welcome on football Sundays in the Spradling household, as long as they cheer for the Miami Dolphins.
Stan was a world traveler and an amazing story teller – his stories all came from his life adventures, which included football, traveling, skydiving, scuba diving, or pranks he played as a youngster. Stan also had the ability to bring history to life in a way no one else could. Stan’s travels took him all over but he always held a special place in his heart for the beaches of Florida, especially the Florida Keys. After working for over 50 years, he retired in August of 2021 and moved back to Florida.
Stan enjoyed his family and friends, his career and many adventures, but the bedrock of his life was Jesus Christ. Stan was a faithful servant of the Lord, teaching Sunday school and Bible study for over 40 years. Most recently he was a member of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church where he served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher and VBS teacher. Many will remember his great stories and incredible personality but, most of all, they will remember his love for Jesus.
Arrangements: The family will hold a Celebration of Life service for Stan in a few months. In lieu of flowers, for those who wish to memorialize his life and legacy, the family suggests donations to Mt. Calvary Baptist Church – Mission Fund, P.O. Box 125, Banner Elk North Carolina 28604.
–Words of Comfort and Memories may be shared with the Spradling family by visiting our website www.rsfh.net
The care of Stanley and his family has been entrusted to Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland.
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Deborah Ann Bare Carpenter
September 23, 1961 – January 13, 2022
Deborah Ann Bare Carpenter, age 60, of Newland, North Carolina passed away on Thursday, January 13, 2022 at her home surrounded by her loving family.
Debbie was born on September 23, 1961 in Avery County, North Carolina, a daughter of the late Clyde Bare and the late Lula Vance Bare.
She loved her family and spending time with them, especially fishing. She will be missed.
Debbie leaves behind to cherish her memory Husband Steve Carpenter of the home; Son, Steven (Carrie) Carpenter of Newland, NC; Daughter, Courtney Carpenter of Newland, NC; Three Granddaughters, Erica Hope Carpenter, Zoe Grace Carpenter, Lauren Faith Hughes; Grandson, Kayden Carpenter.
No services are planned at this time.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks and appreciation to Hospice and Palliative Care of the Blue Ridge.
Words of Comfort and Memories may be shared with the Carpenter family by visiting our website www.rsfh.net
The care of Debbie and her family has been entrusted to Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland.
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