Category: 1969

James Cooper Adams, 75, of Mount Airy, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, at Northern Regional Hospital. He was born June 1, 1947, in Forsyth County, the son of the late Allie Cooper and Margaret Greble Adams.

Mr. Adams graduated from Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem and later graduated from Davidson College, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He served in the United States Navy from 1970 until 1973.

He joined First Citizens Bank in 1973 and worked with the bank as the City Executive of Mount Airy until his retirement. Mr. Adams served on the North Carolina Banking Commission and served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Surry Arts Council and was a member of the Mount Airy Rotary Club. Mr. Adams was a pillar of the Mount Airy community. He will be dearly missed.

Surviving are his wife, Virginia “Ginny” Beddall Adams; his daughter and son-in-law, Frances Brooks and Philip Voss; his granddaughter, Greta Beekman Voss; and his sister, Katherine Elizabeth Adams.

A celebration of life service will be held Friday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church, with the Reverend Danny Miller officiating. A private interment will be held at Forsyth Memorial Park in Winston-Salem. The family will receive friends Friday from 1 until 2 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Central United Methodist Church, 1909 North Main Street, Mount Airy, NC 27030; The Surry Arts Council, 218 Rockford Street, Mount Airy, NC 27030; Mountain Valley Hospice, 1427 Edgewood Drive, Suite 101, Mount Airy, NC 27030; or Surry Animal Rescue, 1106 South South Street, Mount Airy, NC 27030. The funeral arrangements are entrusted to Moody Funeral Services in Mount Airy. Online condolences may be made at www.moodyfuneralservices.com.

John Turney Liipfert, Sr., age 75 of Lewes, Delaware, passed away on Saturday, December 24, 2022, at Beebe Healthcare, in Lewes, Delaware, with his wife, Mary and caretaker Kathy by his side. He was born on February 15, 1947, in Washington, DC, son of the late Eugene T. and Anne (Turney) Liipfert.

Mr. Liipfert earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College in 1969. While working toward his academic degree, he enrolled in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant at graduation and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Mr. Liipfert was awarded a bronze star for bravery in Vietnam. After his honorable discharge, he built a career in insurance and marketing.

On August 1, 1969, Mr. Liipfert married the love of his life, Mary Matan, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and together they enjoyed 53 years of marriage. He had many and varied interests and hobbies, including RV’ing across country with Mary, playing bridge with his Lewes friends and playing guitar and singing folk songs with friends around the campfire. Mr. Liipfert’ s next greatest love was for flying, which he had to stop due to his MS diagnosis.

He was a longtime parishioner at Holy Redeemer Church in Kensington, Maryland, as well as a docent at the Cannonball House for the Lewes Historical Society. Mr. Liipfert and his wife, Mary, also enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels in Lewes. Time spent with his family was what he treasured more than anything. Mr. Liipfert was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Loved by many, he will be deeply missed by all who had the good fortune to know him.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Matan Liipfert, his daughter, Carrie Anne Messina (Matthew), his son, John Turney Liipfert, Jr. (Sarah Hammond); his grandchildren: John Patrick Caulfield Scanlon, and James Draper Messina; his brother, Christian Liipfert (Pamela), his niece, Jocelyn Liipfert Lam (Paul), and his nephew, Todd Liipfert (Taylor); all the extended Matan family, and caretaker, Kathy Bennett. The Liipfert family would like to thank all the kind caregivers at Harbor Health Care.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday January 13, 2022, at 1:00 PM at St. Edmond Catholic Church, 409 King Charles Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE, where friends may visit beginning at 12:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to National Multiple Sclerosis Society https://mssociety.donordrive.com/campaign/John-Liipfert-Memorial.

Milton Douglas Crisp was born on April 22, 1947 in Welch, West Virginia to Milton Boyd Crisp and Mary Phyllis Scott Crisp. He lived happily in Welch until he was 15 years old, when he and his family moved to Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Cave Spring High School, where he was not only an excellent student, but also President of his Junior and Senior classes as well as President of the Monogram Club. He loved playing football for Coach Bill Edmunds, and found himself somewhat frequently in difficulty for his antics in the classroom.

He graduated from Davidson College in 1969. His fondest memories of Davidson were those of the Kappa Sig house, where he met lifelong friends he enjoyed until his death.

After a year of “career planning” at Cimmaron Apartments in Charlotte in 1969-1970, he joined First Union National Bank in 1970, where he had a diverse career that included the credit card division, Marketing, Director of Advertising, commercial lending, City Executive, Head of Consumer Real Estate Lending, and Consumer Credit Division Head.
After 26 years there, he left to form a mortgage banking company, Decision One Mortgage, with some associates from First Union in April of 1996. He retired from Decision One in February, 2000, after what was the most fun job he ever had.

He met his wife of 52 years, Barbara Earl, at First Union. At the time of their wedding, the bank had a nepotism policy, and since Barbara was much more marketable, she left the bank and Doug stayed.

He spent his retirement years mostly in Blowing Rock, where Barbara and he had their honeymoon in 1971. At one time, he was actually a pretty fair golfer, but eventually lost interest in the game later in life.

During his career, he was active in civic affairs, having served on the Boards of the Gaston County Chamber of Commerce, the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Gaston and Mecklenburg United Ways, and also served as Chairman of the Board of Deacons and as a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Doug was a past speaker at both the North Carolina and Mississippi Bankers Association, a former instructor at the School of Banking of the South, and a former lecturer at the Consumer Bankers School at The University of Virginia.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara, his sister, Susan Crisp, his daughter, Jennifer Mathis and her husband James, his son Andy Crisp and his wife Katie, and his four delightful grandchildren, Grace, Owen, Anna Kate, and Mary Charlotte. He always felt his children were his greatest legacy. He dearly loved his daughter in law and his son in law, as well as his seven Scotties.

Paraphrasing the Rolling Stones,” Dougie liked women, wine, and song, and all the special pleasures of doing something wrong”. He lived life to the fullest and dearly loved his family and friends. “The road goes on forever, and the party never ends”.
Austin and Barnes Funeral Home is serving the Crisp Family.

Martin Luther Brackett Jr. passed away on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, after a short illness. He was without pain and in peace surrounded by his loved ones.

Martin was a native of Charlotte, NC, where he was raised by Martin Luther “Luke” Brackett Sr. and Helen Smith Brackett, the middle of three sons (with brothers Doug and Charlie Brackett as bookends). He was born in February 1947 itching for a fight, and channeled that energy into scouting and sports, earning his Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow, and a football scholarship to Davidson College.

Martin attended East Mecklenburg High School, Class of ’64. He graduated from Davidson in 1969 (although he really considered himself part of the Class of ’68), where he was a member of the football team and President of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Martin attended law school at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Class of ’72. He was full of stories from his school days, and some of them were even true.

Martin received his honorable discharge from the United States Army in 1969 and was subsequently commissioned as an officer in the United States Army Reserves from which he was honorably discharged as a Captain.

Martin was an esteemed and proud member of the North Carolina State Bar, with a career as a litigator that touched six decades and countless lives. For most of that career he was a partner with Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, which was a professional home but also the home for many of his most important and enduring friendships. Among the numerous honors and accolades bestowed upon him professionally, he was proudest of his membership as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

He also had the honor to serve on the Board of Trustees of UNC-Charlotte (2011-2015), North Carolina Railroad Company’s Board of Directors (2017-present), a Permanent Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Outward Bound School (1987-1995), and as a member and Chairman of the Charlotte Auditorium-Coliseum-Convention Center Authority (1981-1987).

Martin was recognized throughout his career for his pro bono service. He was also recognized throughout his career by peers, adversaries, clients and judges alike as a man to be reckoned with, but who was fair, honest and good to his word.

Martin’s appreciation for his professional accomplishments paled in comparison to his pride as a father to four children, grandfather to three grandsons and husband to a loving wife. The only joy in life that ever approached the joy he derived from his family was hiking in the high mountains of the American West and rolling hills of Western North Carolina, whether with good friends, a loyal dog or just his thoughts. If you need to imagine him now, imagine him there, walking stick in hand, hat on his head and pack on his back, ready to strike off on adventure.

Martin is survived by his wife, Lisa Kay Brackett; his children, Amelia Brackett, Lauren Brackett and her fiancé, George Docherty of Charlotte, NC, Hunter Brackett and his wife, Kristye and their son, McKay (11) of Raleigh, NC and Alex Brackett and his wife, Callie and their sons, Jones (18) and Ben (16) of Richmond, VA. He is also survived by his older brother, Doug Brackett and his wife, Sara Gwynn and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service for Martin will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, February 17, 2022 at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. The family will receive friends following the service in Oxford Hall. The service will be livestreamed at: https://myersparkpres.org/live/special/ for those unable to attend in person.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered in memory of Martin to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, 717 S. Marshall Street, Suite 105B, Winston Salem, NC 27101 (https://www.brpfoundation.org/donate) or the North Carolina Outward Bound School, 2852 Riceville Road, Asheville, NC 28805 (https://www.ncobs.org/donate/).

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.