Richard Franklin Walsh

Mr. Richard Franklin Walsh, 78, of Lewisville, passed away Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home. He was born June 13, 1940, in Forsyth County to Hazel Black Walsh and Dixon Daughton Walsh. Mr. Walsh was a veteran who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He retired from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company after many years of service. He loved the beach, his RC planes and won many first place ribbons for his baking of pound cakes at the Dixie Classic Fair. Mr. Walsh was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Linda Walsh and a brother, Jack Walsh. Surviving are his wife, Dixie Hiers Walsh; two sons, Darron Walsh (Carmen) of Winston-Salem and David Walsh (Heather) of Lewisville; three grandchildren, Victoria Walsh of Winston-Salem, Griffin and Carter Walsh of Lewisville and a sister, Betty Wall of Raleigh. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel with Pastor Al Fausch officiating. Interment will follow in Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. The family received friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Trellis Supportive Care or to the Tab Williams Senior Services.

 

Mary Phelan Smith

Mary Smith Phelan died peacefully in her home in Advance, N.C., on Sept. 27, 2018, one month before her 102nd birthday, having lived her life fully. Friends, like handicrafts, came easily to Mary Phelan and she was devoted to both throughout her life. But family always came first. She will be remembered by her family and her many friends for the kindness of her heart and the tenderness of her laugh. Born in Chicago Heights, Ill., in 1916, Mrs. Phelan began playing the piano at age 14 and soon was accompanying the organist at the local Lincoln Dixie Theatre. During her life she was called on to be an accompanist for many programs. Her family were members of the Christian Church in Chicago Heights and she was a lifelong Christian. Mrs. Phelan found a home in North Carolina at the Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Lewisville. She was intrigued by and respected all faiths and loved a thought-provoking book or discussion about religion, regardless of denomination. She was briefly a second-grade teacher, but throughout her life friends and family spoke of all that they have learned from her. Her love of beautiful music — played by her or others — really was just one expression of her deep devotion to craftsmanship in all its forms. This was evident in her admiration for a witty and well-constructed sentence and her abhorrence of sloppy grammar, just as she winced at inelegant piano music. She believed that living was a craft that required dedication and principles, and she was guided by a strong personal sense of propriety that was balanced by an open heart that accepted others as they are. Her fondness for craftsmanship led her to pursue a broad and varied list of hobbies, beginning quite early in her life. An aunt taught her to crochet at age 4. This began her path to needlepoint, knitting, quilling, rug hooking, gold-leafing trays and card making, something that, with the help of a good friend, she continued until her death. Many will attest that she played a wily game of Hand and Foot and had a sly approach to Rummikub. One of her favorite hobbies was creating beautiful pictures made from hundreds of small pieces of postage stamps, individually cut and assembled. Although each picture required many, many hours of close work to create, Mrs. Phelan gave away many of the works to family and friends. Her stamp pictures were featured in an article in the Winston-Salem Journal. Mrs. Phelan was a member of PEO and valued the intelligence and kindness of the women she met through that organization. Once she became unable to attend meetings, she treasured visits from her sisters. Wherever Mrs. Phelan lived, she celebrated quality and beauty in design through color and composition. Family and friends throughout her life sought her advice on interior decorating and she delighted in helping others make their homes more colorful and lovely. In addition to the love she shared with her family, the constant of Mrs. Phelan’s life was her tireless, selfless desire to bring music, beauty and happiness to the lives of others. So it is that the world she leaves behind holds the echoes of loving music and the lasting joys of beauty because of the life she led. Leaving this life, she was united with the husband she loved, Jim, who died in 1974, and with a cherished son, Bob. Her family includes sons Jim, Tom and Dennis, and her daughter Mary Ellen, as well as eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, all of whom feel blessed to have been able to know and be loved by Mary Smith Phelan. A memorial service will be held in November.

 

Wanda Hayes Brown

Mrs. Wanda Hayes Brown, 92, passed Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at her residence. She was born Sept. 17, 1926, in Forsyth County, the daughter of Tory and Myrtle Utt Hayes. She was a member of Vernon Forest Baptist Church and had retired from J.C. Penney. Wanda was a sweet loving person who was devoted to her Lord. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband Rev. Jack Bruce Brown and a niece, Terri Hendrix Osborne. Survivors include her sister, Frances H. Hendrix of Clemmons; a nephew, Chris Hendrix and wife, Lynn of King and a great niece, Jessica Hendrix.  A funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel with Pastor Jim Brown and Pastor Billy Martin officiating.  Interment will follow in Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. The family received friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.  Memorials may be made to Trellis Supportive Care, 101 Hospice La., Winston-Salem, NC 27103.  Online condolences may be made at www.hayworth-miller.com.

 

Rose (Maccia) Briante

Mrs. Rose Maccia Briante, 96, of Lewisville, passed away in the Palliative Care Unit of Forsyth Medical Center on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, after a long and difficult battle with macular degeneration and dementia. She had resided in the reminiscence care community of Brighton Gardens. Rose was born in Newark, N.J., on Feb. 12, 1922, to the late Giuseppe and Aldorada “Dora” Maccia. She was the youngest in a family of seven children, with four older sisters and two older brothers. In addition to her parents and siblings, Rose was preceded in death by her husband, Salvatore, who passed away in 1992 after a battle with cancer. In 1998, Rose moved to Winston-Salem to be near her daughters and their families. She was described as independent, outgoing and kindhearted. She made friends easily and was very generous with them. Rose enjoyed traveling with her husband and their friends. They traveled extensively and on one of their trips to Europe, she visited her ancestral hometown of Foggia, Italy. She loved music and singing and dancing, particularly with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed sewing, cooking and reading. Rose often sewed outfits for her daughters and her granddaughter and created many decorative items for her daughters’ homes. She passed on recipes from her childhood to her daughters as they cooked together. Sunday dinners and holidays were a gathering of her extended family where they enjoyed Italian favorites learned from her mother.  Rose lived a long and busy life, amazed by the many advances she saw in her lifetime. She lived through the effects of WWII, awaiting the return of her husband and friends. She witnessed the invention of television, the space program, advanced air travel, computers and mobile phones. Rose is survived by her daughters, Lois Felten and Doreen Sorensen; son-in-law, Harry Sorensen; grandchildren, Kristen Absher (Darren), Robert Sorensen (Michelle), Jason Felten (Jeannie), and Matthew Felten; and great-grandchildren, Michael and Lindsay Absher, Madelyn and Nathan Felten, and Olivia Sorensen. The vibrancy of Rose will be sorely missed by all who knew her. A memorial service for Rose will be held in New Jersey at a later date.  Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel is assisting the family of Mrs. Briante.

 

Snyder, William Franklin “Bill”

William Franklin “Bill” Snyder, 81, of Mechanicsville, Va., departed this life on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde William Snyder and Esther Katherine Jones Snyder of Winston-Salem. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Wilma Jones Snyder; his daughters Kelly Pauley (Stephen) and Lucinda Whitehurst (Mark); his grandchildren Megan, Alexander, Charles, and Rosemary; his sister Ann Miller (Norman); as well as beloved sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews.

Dr. Snyder graduated from Clemmons High School in Clemmons; from Appalachian State University in Boone; from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem; and from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

After helping on his family’s farm, stocking at the A&P, inspecting cigarettes for Reynolds Tobacco and working at Hanes Textile Mill, Dr. Snyder began his professional career as a middle school teacher in N.C. and Ct. He taught biology at West Forsyth High School, then moved into administration at Forsyth Technical Institute in Winston-Salem and Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro. Dr. Snyder became Dean of Instruction at Wytheville Community College in Wytheville, Va., in 1974, later serving as its president for more than 20 years.

Dr. Snyder worked to develop economic and educational opportunities through his participation in local boards and organizations. His involvement demonstrated his devotion to civic responsibility and his commitment to cultivating positive change within his communities.

Dr. Snyder was an avid fisherman, serving as “Admiral” of the Lateral Pier Fishing School during multiple trips to the North Carolina Outer Banks. He also loved golf and dancing.

Bill and Wilma were welcomed warmly into the church family of Shady Grove United Methodist Church in Mechanicsville after moving to the Richmond area in 2015.

A memorial service will be held Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Wytheville, Va., where Dr. Snyder was an active member, singing in the choir and serving on church governing committees for 40 years. The family will receive visitors at the church from 1-3 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Dr. William F. Snyder Scholarship Endowment at Wytheville Community College, 1000 East Main Street, Wytheville, Va., 24382. Expressions of sympathy may be made online at www.woodyfuneralhomeatlee.com.