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Watauga County Obituaries – Compiled Jan. 13, 2014

Watauga County Obituaries – Compiled Jan. 13, 2014 

Bonnie Huneycutt, D. Jan. 13, 2014

Myra Bonnie Huneycutt, age 74, of Collingwood Drive, Charlotte, a native and former resident of Watauga County, passed away Monday, January 13, 2014.

Funeral arrangements for Myra Bonnie Huneycutt are incomplete at this time.

Online condolences may be sent to the Huneycutt family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com.

Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Frank Randall, D. Jan. 10, 2014

Dr. J. Frank Randall, 95, a long time member of the Boone, NC, community and retired Professor of Biology at Appalachian State University, died on January 10, 2014 at Watauga Medical Center.

J. Frank Randall
J. Frank Randall

Born in 1918 at the family farm on Big Pine Creek, Madison County, NC, Dr. Randall was the fifth child of John Wesley Randall, Jr., and Lou Ella Randall. Like so many in the Randall family, he pursued a career in teaching and education, receiving an A.A. from Brevard College, an A.B. from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.S. from The University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Biology from The University of South Carolina. Before joining the faculty of what was Appalachian State Teachers College in 1957, Dr. Randall taught for two years at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY, for seven years in the public secondary schools of North Carolina, and for three years at the then newly-established Alpena (MI) Community College.

Dr. Randall’s enthusiasm for teaching was evident in his early morning ornithology classes. He readily shared his avid interest in birds and their environment and nurtured this same appreciation and love of nature in his students. He had a breadth of interest that led him to help develop a series of Biology Department classes ranging from ecology and biogeography to mammalogy, ichthyology, vertebrate zoology, evolution, and endangered species. He was a proponent of the idea that understanding the natural world around us is an important part of an education. In that vein he created a special biology course for home economics majors and constantly shared his love of field biology formally and informally with students, family, and friends. His two academic trips with students to Alaska (1974 and 1977, respectively) and three trips (1979, 1982, and 1985) to South America to the Galapagos Islands and portions of mainland Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru, including Machu Picchu, were cherished experiences and robust learning exercises for the participants.

He took pride in, and his students benefited from, his multidisciplinary knowledge. He delighted and surprised many students from small communities with his detailed knowledge of their communities, some of which was acquired during his comprehensive survey of fish in the Catawba-Wateree river basin. Focused on more than just their academic success in a particular class, he conveyed to his students the importance of development of the whole person by challenging them to think deeply about ethics, politics, and human impact on the Earth.

He was keenly aware of his responsibilities as an educator and teacher and played a major role in establishing the Appalachian Faculty Senate, serving as its first chairman. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Dr. Randall was active in the Audubon Society, North Carolina Nature Conservancy, Bluff Mountain Stewardship Committee (where he conducted hiking tours), and the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee for North Carolina. He was active with Boy Scouts, serving as a Scoutmaster and as an Explorer Post Advisor.

His lifelong commitment to conservation and preservation was fostered by appreciation for plants, animals, and ecosystems that he absorbed from his father during childhood in the rural NC mountains and by the love of geography and education inspired by his mother. These characteristics were expanded and reinforced when, as a young man, he hitchhiked throughout much of the western US.

Dr. Randall was a kind, gentle, patient, and non-violent person and a conscientious objector during the second world war—an unpopular but genuine belief for which he had to mount legal challenges to state and federal agencies to defend. He served through the American Friends Service Committee and other organizations, performing conservation work in California and Oregon, as well as helping migrant workers and American citizens of Japanese heritage who were relocated to internment camps by the federal government. As part of his alternate civilian service, he volunteered to become a ‘smoke jumper’ for fighting forest fires in west; although, that program was canceled before he was deployed.

Since his retirement in 1990, Dr. Randall spent much of his time adding to, enjoying, and working on his Roaring Fork nature preserve in the Meat Camp section of Watauga County. He shared his love and enthusiasm for this favorite spot with friends, relatives, scouts, students, and beloved canines, Snowzey and Baxter.

Dr. Randall was one of a close family of eight children. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by all of his siblings and their spouses: brothers Herman, Paul (Evelyn), Robert (Elizabeth), Fred (Myrtle), and sisters Virginia Roberts (Gordon), Maye Hill (Jim), Nina Roberts (Sam), as well as niece Carolyn Roberts Woodrow and nephew Robert L. Randall, Jr.

Surviving Dr. Randall are his wife of 63 years, Lera Britt Randall, formerly of Chadbourn, NC, and son, Richard R. Randall, of Durham, NC. He is also survived by dozens of nieces and nephews and their children, whose friendship and love he cherished.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to The Nature Conservancy, American Friends Service Committee, Southern Environmental Law Center, National Audubon Society, institutions of higher education, UNC-TV, or other non-profit, charitable organizations of the donor’s preference.

The family welcomes favorite recollections from students and friends wishing to share them at jfrankrandall@gmail.com. Visitation will be 3:00-5:00 p.m. Sunday, January 12, 2014, at Austin and Barnes Funeral Home (828.264.8888, www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com/) in Boone. A memorial service, to be scheduled, will be held in the Spring.

Pauline Mayr White, D. Jan. 10, 2014

Pauline Mayr White
Pauline Mayr White

Mrs. Pauline Mayr White, age 71, of Boone, died peacefully with her family on Friday, January 10, 2014, at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem.

Pauline was born in Boston, Massachusetts, raised in West Roxbury, graduated from Notre Dame Academy and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Emmanuel College. For 16 years, as a sister of Notre Dame she dedicated her life to educating young men and women. Later in life, she was a Chief Administrator for the Vermont Department of Transportation. She has been an active member of the St. Elizabeth community since arriving in North Carolina.

Mrs. White is survived by two sisters, Barbara M. Stinson and husband Jack of Hanover, New Hampshire, and Joanne M. O’Rourke and husband Ted of Nantucket, Massachusetts, three nephews, Jack Stinson and wife Donna, Paul Stinson and wife Michelle and Raymond Stinson and wife Gillian, six nieces, Gretchen Rice and husband Melvin, Heidi Li and husband Yin Ching, Lisa Stinson and husband Ken Carder, Maura Beck and husband Michael, Julie McNaught and husband Brian and Amy Bridges and husband Jim.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Armond White, her father and mother, Paul Andrew Mayr and Mary McGee Mayr, her step mother, Katherine Feeney Mayr and one Nephew, Francis O’Rourke.

A Funeral Mass for Mrs. Pauline Mayr White will be conducted Wednesday afternoon, January 15, 2014, at 12:15 PM, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.

A luncheon will follow the Funeral Mass.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, 259 Pilgrims Way, Boone, North Carolina 28607.

Online condolences may be sent to the White family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com

Hampton Funeral and Cremation service is in charge of the arrangements.

Cleta Coffey Buckner, D. Jan. 9, 2014

Cleta Buckner
Cleta Buckner

Cleta Coffey Buckner, age 62, of 412 Chestnut Knob Trail, Blowing Rock, passed away Thursday morning, January 9, 2014, at her home.

Cleta was born February 13, 1951 in Watauga County, a daughter of the late Floyd and Nellie Coffey. She was a manager and cook, for 35 years, at the Blowing Rock Hospital Cafeteria.

Cleta is survived by her husband, Raymond Lloyd Buckner of the home; one daughter, Kimberly Greene and husband Mark of Vilas; three sons, Jason Buckner of Vilas, Lloyd Buckner and wife Pat of Blowing Rock, and Doug Buckner and wife Betty of Zionville; one brother-in-law, Grady Buckner of Hudson; two sisters-in-law, Madeline Carver of Lenoir, and Ruth Hollars of Granite Falls; a brother and sister-in-law, Benny and Mary Buckner of Lenoir; nine grandchildren, Gage Greene, Gavin Greene, and Gemma Greene, all of Vilas, Carlie Buckner of Vilas, Crystal Harmon of Whitnel, Mandy Matherly of Elizabethton, Tennessee, Sabrina Buckner of Winston-Salem, and Elizabeth and Rebecca Buckner, both of Blowing Rock; one great-grandson, Wesley Buckner of Whitnel, and four sisters, Carolyn Pasley, Bonnie Faulkner, Brenda Kaelin, and Carla Coffey. She is also survived by a number of nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Mac and Esther Coffey; her paternal grandparents, Tom and Alice Coffey; one daughter-in-law, Nichole Buckner; one brother-in-law, Earl Buckner; three sisters-in-law, Esther Buckner, Grace Coffey, and Neal Boucher; her father and mother-in-law, Lloyd and Ella Mae Buckner, and a number of aunts and uncles.

Funeral services for Cleta Coffey Buckner will be conducted Sunday afternoon, January 12, 2014, at 2:00 o’clock, at Hampton Funeral Home Chapel. The body will lie in state, at the chapel, from 1:00 until 2:00 o’clock. Officiating will be Reverend Glen Luttrell. Burial will follow in the Boone Fork Cemetery.

The family will receive friends Sunday afternoon, from 1:00 until 2:00 o’clock, at the funeral home, prior to the service. At other times, friends may call at the residence, 412 Chestnut Knob Trail, Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Buckner family, in care of Hampton Funeral Service, 683 Blowing Rock Road, Boone, North Carolina, 28607.

Online condolences may be sent to the Buckner family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com.

Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Herbert Greene, D. Jan. 8, 2014

Herbert Clayton Greene, age 76, of Draper, Virginia, formerly of Fleetwood, North Carolina, died Wednesday, January 8, 2014.

Mr. Greene is survived by his wife, Juanita Miller Greene of Draper, Virginia, one son, Larry M. Greene and wife Susan of Warner Robbins, Georgia, One brother, Kenny Greene and wife Dorothy, of West Jefferson, North Carolina, five sisters, Betty Gentry of Abingdon, Virginia, Annie Clyde Gentry and husband Bill, of Todd, North Carolina, Mary Hardin and husband Tommy of West Jefferson, North Carolina, Doris Phillips, and husband Johnny of Jefferson, North Carolina, and Martha Brown and husband Joe, of Jefferson, North Carolina, two grandchildren, Heather James and Ashley Brewer, three great-grandchildren Wyatt Norris, Brooklyn James, and Braden Clayton Brewer, and several nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Herbert Claude Greene and Annie Johnson Greene, two brothers, Bland Greene and James Greene and one sister, Violet Hartzog.

Funeral services for Mr. Herbert Clayton Greene will be conducted Tuesday, January 14, 2014, at 7:00 P.M. at Seagle Funeral Home, in Pulaski, Virginia. Reverend Mike Mowery and Reverend Judy Younce will officiate.

Military graveside services will be conducted at Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery, Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 11:00 A.M.

The family will receive friends Tuesday afternoon from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. at the funeral home.

Flowers are appreciated or memorial contributions may be made to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

James Arnette, D. Jan. 8, 2014

James Arnette
James Arnette

James William Arnette, age 85, of Arnette Hollow Road, Vilas, passed away Wednesday morning, January 8, 2014 at Life Care Center of Banner Elk. Born February 4, 1928 in Watauga County, he was a son of the late James Wesley and Pearl Arnette. Mr. Arnette was a member of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church. He was retired from ASU where he worked in building services. James was also a farmer and beekeeper. 

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary Hodges Arnette, four sons; Bill Arnette and wife Gina of Boone, Vernon Arnette and wife Debbie, Danny Arnette and wife Jane, and Bynum Arnette and wife Dianne all of Vilas, one daughter; Kathy Simmons and husband Allen of Vilas, one half sister; Flowers Yates of Lenoir, one half brother; Fred Arnette of Zionville, two grandchildren; Spencer Arnette and friend Jessie Henderson, and Vanessa Hensley and husband Andy, three great grandchildren; Grant, Isaac and Elijah Hensley, two step granddaughters; Alisha Byrd and husband Shane and Cassie Gladney and husband Curtis, five step great granddaughters; Kendall Williamson, Hallie Byrd, Lexi Byrd, Alayna Gladney, Averie Gladney, one step great grandson, Nathan Byrd, and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by three brothers; Ralph, John and Clyde Arnette, and four sisters; Mary Hicks, Annie Darnell, Verda Hicks and an infant; Verda Arnette.

Funeral services for Mr. James William Arnette will be conducted Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home Chapel. Officiating will be Rev. Derick Wilson. Burial will follow in the Arnette family cemetery. Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to the Arnette Cemetery Fund, in care of Junior Arnette, 366 Arnette Hollow Road, Vilas, NC 28692. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1 o’clock until 3 o’clock at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home. Online condolences may be shared with the Arnette family at austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com

Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Arnette family. 

James Austin, D. Jan. 8, 2014

James Austin
James Austin

James Claud Austin, age 77, of Johnson Street, Boone, passed away Wednesday afternoon, January 8, 2014 at Forsyth Memorial Hospital in Winston-Salem. Born May 7, 1936 in Watauga County, he was a son of James and Della Hayes Austin. Claud was a proud breeder of Hereford cattle. He was employed as service manager for Suburban Propane in Boone before retirement. Mr. Austin was a member of Westview Baptist Church.

Surviving are his wife, Virginia Barlow Austin; his daughter, Claudia Austin of Sanford; and one step-son, Bobby Archer and wife, Debi, of Denver, NC.

He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Della Hayes Austin; and one brother, Craig Austin. 

Funeral services for James Claud Austin will be conducted Sunday afternoon, January 12, 2014, at 2:30 at Westview Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. Kenny Lang and Rev. Zane Tester. The family will receive friends Sunday afternoon from 1 until 2:30, prior to services, at the church. Burial will follow in the Westview Baptist Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to Westview Baptist Church, in care of Gary Cook, l851 Watauga River Rd., Sugar Grove, NC 28679.

Mary Moore Barclay, D. Jan. 7, 2014

Mary Barclay
Mary Barclay

Mrs. Mary Moore Barclay, age 86, of Boone, passed away Tuesday evening, January 7, 2014 at Deerfield Ridge Assisted Living. She was born February 25, 1927 in Uniontown, Kentucky, she was a daughter of the late J. P. (Bud) and Catherine Moore. 

Mary was a homemaker. She had an endearing personality that captivated everyone she came in contact with. Because of her brilliant red hair and movie star looks, she was affectionately nicknamed Lucy by some of her friends. She always kept an upbeat attitude, making others feel better after seeing her, even when she was facing her difficult battle with cancer. 

She is survived by one brother, Wayne Moore of Morganfield, Kentucky, a number of nieces and nephews, and her many friends and caregivers including; Roland and Cathy Hardy, Betty Hayes, Debbie Andrews-Warren, Robert Warren and Kim Smith. She was preceded in death by the love and joy of her life, Dr. Robert W. Barclay; one brother, Clifford Moore, five sisters—Lorene (Sissy) Girten, Maude Wedding, Catherine Cavins, Frances Froehle, and Peggy Connor.

Graveside services for Mary Barclay will be held 12:15 PM, Saturday, January 11, 2014, at Mount Lawn Memorial Park & Gardens in Boone, NC. Officiating will be Father Dave Brzoska. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 11:00 AM to 12: Noon, Saturday, January 11, 2014, at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Medi Home Health & Hospice, 136 Furman Drive, Suite 2, Boone, NC 28607. Online condolences may be shared with the Barclay family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com.

Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Barclay family.