Category: 1950

James Murdock Vann, of Highlands Ranch, CO, forever joined his wife, Lee Stanton Vann in God’s Grace, on Saturday August 24, 2024, Jim began life in Badin, North Carolina, raised there and Hot Springs, Arkansas by mother, Florence Hughes Vann (Nonnie) and father, James Murdock Vann Sr. (Da).

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Lee, parents, sister, Jane (Sis), and son, Michael.

Jim attended Davidson College where he starred in track and field, throwing the discus. Later in life Jim continued tossing the discus in the Senior Games. After Davidson, Jim spent close to 30 years carving out an exemplary career with ALCOA. His time in sales with ALCOA was interrupted by an induction into the Army, where he taught bridge construction to cadets at West Point.

While managing an ALCOA plant in Vancouver Washington, Jim was introduced, by a family friend, to Lee Stanton. They were married in Oregon. Jim and Lee later moved to Perth, Australia where he headed ALCOA’s Mining and Operations, then to Fort Wayne, Indiana as President of an ALCOA subsidiary, Rea Magnet Wire Company.

In 1986, Jim along with 3 partners/friends purchased Rea Magnet Wire Company from ALCOA.

Jim and Lee also resided in Charlotte, NC and Highlands Ranch, CO.

Jim is survived by daughters Stephanie (Doug) Moen Castle Pines, CO, Sherry (Mike) Connolly Fort Wayne IN, Debbie Gilreath Wake Forest, NC, and son Jim (Dana) Vann Lafayette, IN. Also survived by 8 grandchildren Amanda, Whitney, Brody, Shane, Brian, Andrew, Jaimie, and Jimmy. And 13 great-grandchildren.

Jim lived a long productive and charitable life, touching, brightening, and enriching countless lives and organizations along his way. His memory and accomplishments survive, and he will be forever missed. Private burial to be held at a later date. The family requests memorial gifts, in the memory of James Vann and his life-long charitable works, be designated to research at Mayo Clinic.

Memorials can be made online at www.mayoclinic.org/development<https://www.mayoclinic.org/giving-to-mayo-clinic> or mailed to Department of Development, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905.

Alvin Judson (Al) Hurt of Roanoke, Va., passed peacefully on Monday, August 5, 2024, after 95 years well-lived.

Al was born, raised, worked, and lived in Roanoke his entire life with the exception of his education and his service in the Army Reserves.

After graduating from Davidson College, he attended the University of Virginia Medical School. He completed a residency in obstetrics-gynecology at Grady Memorial Hospital and the Emory University School of Medicine. This residency allowed him to defer his active duty as a captain in the United States Army Reserve where he served for two years as head of the women’s corp.

After his discharge he returned to Roanoke to join his father and brother in the practice of obstetrics and gynecology. He delivered multiple generations of babies in the Roanoke Valley and delighted in being remembered for his role in each birth. He retired from medicine when he was 70 years old.

Al was an early advocate of the Planned Parenthood chapter in Roanoke because of his belief in the importance of women’s health. During his retirement he delivered Meals On Wheels and enjoyed his weekly check-ins with his residents. He volunteered at the Bradley Free Clinic which provides comprehensive healthcare to the underserved. He also supported the Rescue Mission and Feeding Southwest Virginia because he wanted to do whatever he could to ease the burdens for residents in the Roanoke Valley. Al was a member of Second Presbyterian Church where he volunteered.

Al was blessed with remarkable surgical skills and an insatiable desire to learn. He frequently traveled to attend classes on new surgical techniques and would share his newly acquired knowledge with other physicians in the Roanoke Valley.

He developed an appreciation for music from his mother and always said she had the family’s singing voice which created his deep love for classical music. Al was a talented artist and enjoyed taking photos when traveling so he could return home to recreate the images with his watercolors. He had a particular fascination with bridges and in his later years would ask family members to share photos of any interesting bridges during their travels.

Al is survived by his wife, Anne Crable Hurt; his son, David Edgar Hurt; and daughter, Anne Hurt Krieg (Kenneth). He was blessed by the addition of four grandchildren, Allen Joseph Krieg (Sabrina), Meredith Aileen Krieg, Lauren Hurt DeNoi (Douglas), and David Evan Hurt. He loved his nieces and nephews and filling his role as their Uncle Alvin.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George Samuel Hurt and Corinne Lockett Hurt, and his siblings Corinne (Peggy), Hurt Turner (Morris), George William Hurt (Elizabeth), and David Edgar Hurt.

Al’s family is immensely grateful to the staff of the Blue Ridge Community at Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. They showered him with love, laughter, and tender care and we treasure their memories of moments shared with him.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church on Saturday, August 10, 2024. The family will receive friends after the service in the fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Rescue Mission, Feeding Southwest Virginia, or Bradley Free Clinic. Condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting www.Oakeys.com.

Jim was born in 1930 to Herman and Katherine Saxon of Sylacauga AL. He then spent his childhood in Bradenton and Miami, FL. As a young teenager he moved to Charlotte NC, then attended Davidson College and the University of South Carolina, graduating in 1950. He wed his beloved first wife, Frances, in 1949, and they went on to have 8 children. After college he went to work with his father in their company, Saxon Vending, a successful regional company headquartered in Charlotte. He was actively involved with his church, Trinity Presbyterian in Charlotte, then felt called to the ministry. He moved his young family to Richmond in 1961 where he obtained a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary. He went on to lead a congregation at Ashland Presbyterian Church in Ashland VA.
After leaving the ministry Jim moved his family to Deland FL in 1967 to start a business, Sterling Vending. He sold this business to a national company and moved with his family back to Charlotte in 1973. He was very supportive of his wife Fran as she returned to college and later founded a nonprofit advocacy organization called Woman Reach. In the mid 80’s he became involved in the Senior Olympics, becoming an effective, and hardworking volunteer even before his retirement. He was very proud of completing a marathon in Charlotte at the age of 60 and a half marathon at age 80!
Jim’s passion for sports of all kinds was well known, and he had fond memories of watching his kids play sports either in the backyard or at organized events. He was also an avid golfer and fisherman throughout his life. He was very proud of being one of the first season ticket holders for the Carolina Panthers.
In the late 90’s life turned difficult for him as he lost his wife Fran in 1999 after 49 years of marriage. He turned to playing bridge as a social outlet and not only achieved “Master” ranking, but was blessed by God’s grace with meeting Liz Hannon, whom he married in 2000. They retired to Florida living in Marco Island and then Fernandina Beach. They hosted countless visits from their grown kids and the grandkids, and eventually great grandkids. They remained inseparable for 22 years, until the good Lord called him home. He was never happier than when having his family visit Liz and him in their Florida homes. Being a lifelong animal lover, he so enjoyed it when they brought their dogs which he considered his “granddogs”.
His legacy is twofold, first love and support your family no matter how difficult it may be. And secondly, always respect and befriend other people, no matter their ethnic, social or racial background. Though he rarely spoke about it, as a young minister he was an early and outspoken advocate for desegregation and social justice in the South, a position which ran counter to the opinions of his church and his community in the early to mid 60’s.
Jim is survived by his wife, Liz and eight children, Jim, Jr., Frank, Scott, Suzy, Carol, Andy, Dottie, and David; 11 grandchildren, Jamie, Chris, Amanda, Marie, Kevin, Andrea, Jessi, Adrienne, Melissa, Ashley and Dillon; and 13 great grandchildren. He is also survived by 3 stepchildren, Patrick, Kathleen, and Megan, and 6 step grandkids.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Osprey Village, Fernandina Beach FL, on Jan. 14, 2023, at 12 noon. Internment will be held in the spring in Charlotte NC. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the animal welfare organization of your choice.

George Washington Brown Jr., 98, of Hickory, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.

Born June 2, 1924, in Gastonia, he was the son of the late George Washington Brown Sr. and Ethel Albright Brown. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Nan Littlejohn Brown; three sisters, Mildred B. Walsh, Frances B. Laubach and Christine Brown; and two brothers, Harold Brown and Gene Brown.

A long-standing member and Elder of First Presbyterian Church in Hickory, George was a U.S. Air Force veteran, serving during World War II. After the war, he was a 1950 graduate of Davidson College and went on to be the owner of Stylecraft Furniture, which allowed him to do what he loved.

He is survived by his children, George A. Brown and wife, Sandra of Hickory and Jean Brown of Durham; grandchildren, Robbie Griffin and wife, Ashley of Asheville, Charlie Griffin and wife, Jennifer of Granite Falls; great-grandchildren, Jenna, Jackson, Natalie and Hunter Griffin; brother, Roger Brown of Kinston; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 30, at First Presbyterian Church in Hickory, with the Rev. Heather Davis and the Rev. Dr. Richard Floyd officiating. A reception will follow the service in the fellowship hall.