Parsons Advocate Obits, 28 Jan 2009

Obituaries from the Parsons Advocate,

28 January 2009

Winifred Gibbs

Winifred Johnson Kerns Gibbs, a native of Tucker county, passed away in Marietta, Ga. on Jan. 16. She was a wonderful wife, daughter, mother, sister, friend and nanny/granny to many. Her greatest pride was her children, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter.

She was born in Hendricks, on June 20, 1935, the eldest of eleven children of the late Fred and Ruth (Long) Johnson of Douglas. The proud daughter of a coal miner, she was the second mother to her siblings, and was the salutatorian of the Thomas High School class of 1952.

Following the death of her husband 1st Lt. Earl Kerns also of Thomas, she married Gary Gibbs and moved to Oak Ridge, Tenn., then to Atlanta, Ga.

She is survived by her husband of 47 years Gary Gibbs; five children Mike (Cathie) Gibbs of Oakdale, Conn., Marilyn (Jim) Wagner of Roswell, Ga., Mark (Gayle) Gibbs of Thompson's Station, Tenn., Donna (Jere) Hook of Canton, Ga., and Alison (Seth) Butler of Marietta, Ga.; eleven grandchildren Malcolm (Melinda) Gibbs of Tampa, Fla., Benjamin Gibbs of Osaka, Japan, Ashley (Elmar) Narayan of Berlin, Germany, Colin and Matthew Gibbs of Oakdale, Conn., Trevor and Garrett Wagner of Roswell, Ga., Haley and Justin Hook of CAnton, Ga., and Emma and Caden Butler of Marietta, Ga.; one great-granddaughter Madeline Gibbs of Tampa, Fla.; her sisters Millie Davis of Thomas, Sharon Hancock of Camden, S.C., Elizabeth Kennedy of Fairmont and Margaret Fowler of Greenville, S.C., and her brothers Fred Johnson of Thomas and Cudge Johnson of Owings, MD.

In addition to her parents and first husband she was preceded in death by her brothers, Tom, Harvey, Dale and Gail.

A celebration of her life was held in Atlanta, with an inurnment planned at a later date at Rose Hill Cemetery in Thomas.

Josephine Gruden

Josephine (Sophie) Gruden, 94, of Thomas, died Jan. 22 at Cortland Acres Nursing Home, where she had resided for the last year.

She was born in Lumber Camp # 70 in Davis, on March 3, 1914, a daughter of the late Louis and Mary Kranjc Gruden.

Josephine was a housekeeper at the Worden Hotel in Davis from 1930 to 1941. There, in 1939, she was introduced to a family visiting from New York City. At their invitation, she spent six months in NYC as a live-in housekeeper and nanny, then returned home to Davis. In 1941, she moved to Garfield Heights, Ohio, to live with her sister, Anna Danhoffer, and brother-in-law, Bernard. Josephine began working for Jack & Heintz Inc., manufacturers of aircraft parts, in 1947 and retired in 1966. Josephine was a housekeeper for the Davis family of Garfield Heights, Ohio, from 1959 to 1982. In 1983, she moved to an apartment in Fairmont to be closer to her sisters, Jenny Gruden and Mary Merrifield. Longing to return home, she moved to Pineview Apartments in Thomas in 1986. She volunteered at Cortland Acres Nursing Home and was honored as Volunteer of the Year in 1990.

She was preceded in death by brothers, Frank and Tony Gruden; sisters, Louise, Frances and Jenny Gruden, Mary Merrifield and Anna Danhoffer.

She is survived by sister-in-law Josie Gruden of Hudson, Ohio; and many nieces and nephews.

Friends were received at Hinkle Funeral Home on Sunday, Jan 25 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A Rosary service was held at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was held on Monday, Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church with Father Timothy Grassi as celebrant. Interment followed in the Davis Cemetery. Hinkle Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Freda Parsons

Freda Gertrude Gray Parsons, 98, a resident of St. George, departed this life Friday afternoon, Jan. 23, at the Cortland Acres Nursing Home, with her children by her side.

She was born Tuesday, Aug. 9, 1910, in a log home at the John Felton Farm, one mile north of Parsons, a daughter of the late Herman E. and Ida Evans Gray. During 1931, at Parsons, she was married to Maurice V. "Twitty" Parsons, who preceded her in death in August of 1979.

Surviving are one son, Marvin E. "Bud" Parsons and wife Jane of Parsons; three daughters, Alice E. Phillips and husband James of Blackman Flats, Lois A. Gilfillan and husband John of Arlington, Va., and Laura J. Clark and husband Robert of Winchester, Va.; two brothers, Odford "Buck" Gray of Parsons and Harold Gray of Philippi; two sisters, Virginia Gray Bohon and Wanda Gray Carr and husband Leon; thirteen grandchildren; twenty-three great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson; and numerous nieces and nephews. She had a special cousin, Sibby Rummel Poling; and many special friends, Shirley Cassidy, Juanita Nestor, Joyce Ziesemer, David Hudnall and the late Lena Jones' children.

Preceding her in death are one son, Vernon D. "Buckwheat" Parsons; one daughter, Sharon Rosemay Vance; three brothers, James Gray, Johnny Gray and Herman E. Gray Jr.; one sister, Evelyn Utt; and two grandsons, Gregory Phillips and Vernon "Skip" Parsons.

Freda was a homemaker and loved gardening, flowers, canning and entertaining her family and friends with her home cooked meals. She was a member of the St. George United Methodist Church and the Methodist Women's Society for fifty-four years. She was a long time leader of the St. George Senior Citizens Outpost and treasurer of the St. George Academy Preservation Association, in which she donated the property for the moving and preservations of the Academy. She attended the Horseshoe Bend School of Holly Meadows and the Blackfork District School in Parsons and Parsons High School with the class of 1931. She loved local history and voted in every election from 1932 until 2008, including for President Barrack Obama.

The family received friends at the Lohr & Barb Funeral Home of Parsons on Monday, Jan. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. Final rites were conducted at the funeral home parlor on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 11 a.m. Pastor Robert Leard and Pastor Carolyn Shreve officiated and interment followed in Bethel Cemetery at Holly Meadows. The family suggests that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Saint George United Methodist Church or the Saint George Academy Preservation Society. The Lohr & Barb Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements for Freda Gertrude Gray Parsons. Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.lohrbarbfuneralhome.com.

Obituaries reprinted courtesy of the Parsons Advocate.

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