Lloyd “Earl” Gaskins, Sr.
Lloyd “Earl” Gaskins, Sr. was a native of Craven Country. Through the years he did various jobs including heating and air conditioning. He retired from Craven County in 1965 after having heart surgery.
We went on a cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary. We had such a wonderful time, Earl became an outside salesman for the cruise agency. We eventually decided to open our own agency, Master Cruises. He enjoyed talking with others and many went with us each year. As a matter of fact, we had booked a cruise December 18th to take our two oldest grandchildren to the Bahamas. Grandma is still keeping that promise to them as well as a two-day visit to Walt Disney World.
Earl was “Papa” to his grandchildren, Tyler (8), Hannah (6), Parker (4) and Hayden (1). Since his death, Mattie has been born. He was really looking forward to a new grandbaby.
Every Thursday to Sunday, Papa would go to our daughter’s to help since her husband was stationed in Japan. The kids could hardly wait to be spoiled by Papa.
Earl’s desire to help others inspired me to donate his eyes. He would be proud to know that through your wonderful organization, others are being given the gift of sight.
In this way, his life has more meaning and his memory will live on, not only in his family’s heart, but through others as well.
God bless each of you.
Sandra Gaskins and family
Ravinder Gayam
My father, Ravi, was a great dad in many ways. As a doctor, he helped patients who were suffering from lung related problems. More importantly, he was like their friend.
As a father, he took very good care of us. He helped me with homework, especially math, and did extracurricular activities with me.
When he became sick, he was tired, but still found energy to do things with us. He is gone now and it is a great loss for our family. But he still lives on because he is in our hearts. In the end, donating his eyes to help others who have lost their sight is another example of how he was a great man who has touched many lives.
With love, your daughter,
Priya
My dad, Ravi, was a very nice father. He was a good doctor, who helped a lot of people. He played baseball, videogames and took us to Chuck E. Cheese’s. It is not the same without him. He gave his eyes away to help people see and I am so proud of him. I love him and will miss him very much.
With love, your son,
Pranesh
Howard Gray George, Jr.
“Buddy”, “Pop” and Pastor.
Pastor George was born August 23, 1952 in High Point, North Carolina. He served with the High Point Police Department from 1968 to 1978. He graduated from High Point Central in 1970 and from Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma in 1991. He was married for 34 years to me, whom he adored. He was Dad to two sons, Gray and Martin, and two precious daughters-in-law, Heather and Sally. He was “Pop” to two granddaughters, Sarah and Riley, and two grandsons, Henry and Gabriel. He loved to teach the Word, see the grandbabies, fish, laugh, and talk. He was wise and wonderful. He was my very best friend.
His loving wife, Esther
Michael “Mick” Georgin
My husband, Michael “Mick” Georgin was born in California and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He served in the United States Navy aboard an aircraft carrier, where his love of airplanes began.
Our family moved to North Carolina in 1984. He was a veneer wood salesman and enjoyed traveling the country. On his many trips he would always try to stay off the highways and travel the back roads, because, as he put it “This is where the beauty is”.
He loved his two children, four grandchildren, two granddogs, and his black lab Casey, very much. His hobbies were building radio controlled airplanes (24 at last count, most of which survived takeoff and landing!) and collecting replicas of airplanes and antique cars.
“Papa” is greatly missed by his family and will forever be remembered in our hearts.
My family’s hope is that through his eyes, the recipients will be able to enjoy a clear day, great for flying and watch the country pass by through the window of a car on a summer trip.
Mrs. Michael Georgin
Craig Grant
Craig Grant was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, and most of all, a friend to all he met. He was a devoted and loyal employee of Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation in Lexington, NC, where he served as the Maintenance Director. He loved caring for the elderly and felt he not only worked in the facility but he also gave back a portion to God’s people and fulfilled his duty as a Christian in witnessing to all he came in contact with.
He also loved stock car racing where he spent most of his free time since he was a young man driving in various divisions and different short tracks across North Carolina. Starting from Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem in the Blunderbuss division in the early 1980’s, where he won several races, then to Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC, in the Enduro division, and winning a state championship at Tri-couny Speedway in Rutherford, NC. He also ran at Concord Motor Speedway and Ace Speedway at different times throughout his career, but his most outstanding accomplishment during his career was when he ran in the Limited Sock division at Caraway Speedway and won Rookie of the Year in 1999.
Everyone who knew Craig loved him. He had a beautiful smile and his whole face lit up when he smiled. His eyes were always shining like bright stars, and no matter how bad you felt he could make you feel better just being around him. He had a compassion for life and all people. No one ever felt uncomfortable around him and everyone was always welcomed with open arms. You could count on him to never change or treat you differently. He believed we are all God’s children and it is our duty to love everyone. He always helped anyone who was in need of anything, whether it be a helping hand, food, money or maybe just a shoulder to lean on. He has been referred to as a “gentle giant” by a lot of people who knew him. And as we are reminded in the Bible, II Corinthians 5:8, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I truly believe Craig has taken on his new body at God’s side and is working with him every day.
Kathleen P. Griffin
She devoted her life to her church and her family. Mama was a very independent woman. She was very involved with our church. She helped fold the newsletter and helped with the Hands of God Ministries. She also helped deliver Meals-on-Wheels. She was a member of the Red Hat Babes chapter of the Red Hat Society. Several years ago she was a member of a senior cheerleading squad that won a bronze medal at the Senior Olympics.
Mama worked in the banking business for 41 years. When she retired, she was an Assistant Vice President of Southern National Bank.
She was a wonderful mother and grandmother. My sister passed away at the age of 2 1/2 years and my dad passed away at the age of 48. If he had lived 4 more months they would have been married for 26 years. How ironic that mama passed away on what would have been their 53rd wedding anniversary.
We will cherish our memories of her.
William James Robert Griffin
William was born in Hudson, NC to Mr. and Mrs. William A. Griffin. He was the 10th child in an extended family of 12. Even though the family would be considered financially deprived by today’s standards, we were blessed in many ways. We were challenged to make ends meet but it was a total family struggle that was not uncommon in our area of the country or to our friends and neighbors.
Growing up, William was an outstanding individual who had many friends and was well liked by many people. Oddly enough, he always looked upon himself as being out of the mainstream and blazing a trail all to himself. He was never very fond of formal education but was extremely capable in almost everything he set out to do. He was an accomplished electrician, carpenter, mechanic, mason and an overall capable person in almost any field he had an interest in. He was the owner of a repair service that was depended on by many for quality repairs which were made with pride, promptness, good conversation and a smile.
He married soon after his departure from high school and then joined the Navy. His son Jimmy was born during this marriage. Jimmy has followed his dad’s footsteps and appears to have similar talents, similar selection of careers/avocation and looks like a total duplicate of his dad at a similar age. Willie found true happiness late in life. He met and married Myra Phillpotts, the person who held the keys to his happiness. Both being talented in their own right, together they developed the independent lifestyle that he loved and always yearned for. She put the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence for Willie’s life.
Willie also rediscovered his family late in life. Toward the end, he could not get close enough, communicate enough or spend enough quality time with his siblings. At times we would have to insist that he go home and get some rest because his face showed that he was getting weaker and needed much required rest. Looking back, he seemed to be trying to make up for his years of being aloof regarding the importance of family relationships. He made a point of telling each of us that he loved us and of the importance of the family to him. All of us tried to be supportive in our own ways to his struggle with cancer but none were able to meet his needs to the degree that his sister Magdalene (Maggie) was. She made a point of being there, day or night, early or late and whenever and whatever the need. She became entrenched in Willie and Myra’s life which they both drew great comfort from. Her strong Christian faith helped bring clarity and much needed solace to a very confusing and desperate situation.
Toward the end, Willie also found the comfort that Maggie had talked with him about and demonstrated in her own life. After a long and valiant fight with cancer he finally succumbed to its ravages. In his own words, “I may die from cancer but it will know that it has been in a fight”. During his illness, he was always upbeat and never once complained about his fate. He left an indelible mark on people’s lives and all of us are better as a result of knowing and loving him. To epitomize the kind of person he was, as his final gift, he gave the gift of sight to someone else in need.
