Obituaries 4/23/2004

N. Carpenter
CHERRYVILLE — Norman E. Carpenter, 56, of 324 S. Pink St., died April 20, 2004. A memorial service was held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Stamey-Cherryville Funeral Home. Burial was private.
Born in Iredell, he was a retired house carpenter.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Ware Carpenter; a son, Eddie Carpenter of the home; three daughters, Melissa Carpenter of the home, Tina Carpenter of Waco and April Carpenter of the home and his mother, Leta Bell Black Carpenter of the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Lincoln County, 107 N. Cedar St., Lincolnton, NC 28092.

Douglas Causey
SHALLOTTE — Douglas Leo Causey, 73, of Deep Branch Road SW, died April 19, 2004. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. today at Calvary Baptist Church. Burial followed in the Jennies Branch Baptist Church Cemetery with Masonic Rites.
He was a retired U.S. Navy veteran, retired from Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal and served as secretary of the Shallotte Masonic Lodge 727 AF & AM.
Survivors include his wife, Marilyn Martin Causey; two daughters, Dell Pittman of Fayetteville and Diana Carpenter of Lincolnton; three brothers, Frank Causey, Burnice Causey and Lonnie Causey all of Shallotte; three sisters, Reba Platt of Cooper City, Fla., Verona Hughes of Ash, NC and Emma Hewett of Holliday, Fla. and four grandchildren, Christina Pittman, Mary Pittman, Samuel Pittman and Ellen Carpenter.
Memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund, 623 Village Road, Shallotte, NC 28470 or the Oxford Orphanage, 600 College St., Oxford, NC 27565.
Brunswick Funeral Service and Crematory in Shallotte is in charge of arrangements.

Ramona Brown
ALBEMARLE — Ramona Cranford Brown, 74, of Brown Avenue, died April 21, 2004. Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Stanly Memorial Chapel in Albemarle. Burial will follow in Stanly Gardens of Memory. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 tonight at the funeral home.
Born in Stanly County, she was retired from Stanly Memorial Hospital and a member of Prospect Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Michael Brooks of Monks Corner, SC and Mark Brooks of Charlotte; a daughter, Sharon Westall of Sylvania, Ga.; two brothers, Rev. Charles Cranford of Lincolnton and Bo Russell of New London; a sister, Dolores Frye of Albemarle and four grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Stanly County, 960 N. 1st St., Albemarle, NC.

Joe Bingham
LAWNDALE — Joseph Ulyesses Bingham, 78, of 304 Plains View Church Road, died April 21, 2004. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 5 p.m. today at Plains View Baptist Church, where he was a member. The family will receive friends following the service. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rose Hill Memorial Park with military graveside rites by the U.S. Army and the Lawndale American Legion Post 302.
Born in Cleveland County, he was retired from Carolina Consolidated Coin Center and was employed by Hudson Hosiery, Coca Cola and Bingham Plumbing and Hardware. He was a member of the Baptist Men, a Sunday School teacher and an Emeritus Deacon.
Survivors include his wife, Willie Lee Hampton Bingham; a son, Joey Bingham of Shelby; a daughter, Jackie Willis of Belwood; two brothers, Harvey Bingham of Cherryville and Rev. Henry Bingham of Fallston; four sisters, Addie Wright, Ann Ramsaur, Shirlene Lewis and Ellene Lineberger all of Fallston and two grandchildren, Hannah Shytle and Jack Willis.
Memorials may be made to Plains View Baptist Church Special Account, c/o The Parsonage, 1413 E. Stagecoach Trail, Lawndale, NC 28090.

Sharon Wallace
CHERRYVILLE — Sharon Rickman Wallace, 57, of 619 Mary’s Grove Road, died April 21, 2004. Funeral services will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Wesleyan Church in Cherryville, where she was a member. Burial will follow in Mary’s Grove UMC Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Saturday at Carpenters Funeral Home.
Born in Winston Salem, Forsythe County, she was a homemaker, Sunday School teacher, choir member and a member of the Wesleyan Women.
Survivors include her husband, Ronald Wallace; three daughters, Meredith Wallace of Cherryville, Rhonda Wallace and Carmella Wallace both of Gastonia; three grandchildren, Ashleigh Wallace, Kyle Wallace and Taylor Bunn; two brothers, Dr. Claude Rickman of Clemson, SC and Rev. Cary Rickman of Jackson, Miss. and her mother, Evelyn Tucker Rickman of Central, SC.
Memorials may be made to First Wesleyan Church Building Fund, 800 N. Pink St., Cherryville, NC 28021 or Hephzibah Children’s Home, Macon, Ga.

Shirley Schronce
CONOVER — Shirley Shook Schronce, 59, of Recycling Road, died April 23, 2004.
Arrangements are incomplete at Burke Mortuary in Newton.

Eddy Beam
VALE — Eddy Elwyn Beam, 43, of 661 Hwy. 274, died April 22, 2004. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cedar Grove Lutheran Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends following the service at the church.
He was born in Cleveland County.
Survivors include his parents, Elwyn and Barbara Beam of Vale and a sister, Loretta Beam of Vale.
Memorials may be made to Cedar Grove Lutheran Church Building Fund, 261 Cedar Grove Church Road, Vale, NC 28168.
Warlick Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

A.G. “Tommy” Thompson, Jr.
Azariah Graves Thompson, Jr., formerly of Lincolnton died Tuesday, April 20, 2004 at the Asbury Care Center in Charlotte, NC.
He was born in Caswell County NC on August 13, 1918, to the late Azariah Graves and Lula Belle Stephes Thompson, Sr. He was preceded in death by a brother, John N. Thompson, and a sister, Nancy T. Crater.
Mr. Thompson was known to his friends as A.G. or Tommy and to his family as Azzie. He grew up on a farm in Caswell County. In 1941, he graduated from Elon College. He remained very involved with his alma mater, receiving the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1970. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 1977 and Trustee Emeritus in 1996. He was also a graduate of The Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Navy and entered Officer Candidate School at Columbia University. He served in World War II as captain of a mine sweeper and was recalled for duty during the Korean War. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 1964 with the rank of Captain. Upon his return from the Korean War, he began his banking career in Wilmington, NC, with Security National Bank, a predecessor of NCNB. He served the bank in various capacities in Burlington, Durham, Greensboro, and Charlotte. In 1970, he was named President of Carolina First National Bank in Lincolnton. When the bank merged with NCNB in 1981, he stayed on as Senior Vice President and Area Executive until his retirement in 1983. After retirement, he continued to be actively involved in his community. He is a past president of the Lincolnton Rotary Club, receiving the Lincoln County Man of the Year Award 1991; chairman of the Lincoln County Hospital Board, 1984-1990; president of the Lincoln County Economic Development Council; member of the Piedmont Council Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Silver Beaver Award in 1990. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Lincolnton and served on the finance committee. He was a competitor and played to win. As a young man he wrestled as a member of the Elon College team and played semi-pro baseball. He was an avid golfer, winning many tournaments and shooting a hole-in-one more than once. He loved fishing and playing bridge. He was a true Southern Gentleman with a wonderful sense of humor and will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
Mr. Thompson is survived by his wife of 61 years, Rachel; daughters Jo Swords, of Gastonia, Sue Simpson of Charlotte, Kiska Thompson of Atlanta, Steva Goulding and her husband, Bill, of Naples, FL; a brother Lawrence Thompson and his wife, Mary, of Bonita Springs, FL; a sister Ella T. Hobbs of Roanoke, VA; a sister-in-law Faye Thompson of Reidsville; grandchildren Pam Perle of Charlotte, Kelly Swords of Chapel Hill, Katie Swords of Brooklyn, NY, and Conor Goulding of Naples, FL; and one great-grandchild.
The family will receive friends on Friday evening, April 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 at Warlick Funeral Home, Lincolnton. Services will be held Saturday, April 24, at 2:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church In Lincolnton. Burial will be in Hollybrook Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the First United Methodist Church, 201 E. Main St. Lincolnton, NC 28092.