Shelby Darnell
No picture of Shelby would be complete unless she was shown surrounded by the people she loved so dearly, her family.
Among Shelby’s many talents and pleasures was her ability to prepare and cook delicious meals. She spent many hours, daily, to make sure the arrangement of food items and table setting was impeccable, just for me. Many days though, she delighted in cooking extra to share with our next door neighbors. And at Christmas, her favorite time of year, her bridge club enjoyed a feast fit for a king.
I remember well how my Thanksgiving holidays were spent going up and down two flights of stairs to retrieve seventeen boxes of precious Christmas decorations accumulated over the years from family and friends. Over several days, and many hours, she lovingly placed hundreds of ornaments on the tree until everything looked just right.
Another of Shelby’s loves was her cats. The feral cats who adopted us over the years, Freddie, Baby, Scooter, and others, would soon become tame with her patience and soft, tender talks to them.
With her ability to grow many different kinds of flowers, our once barren yard, over many tiring but enjoyable days, was transformed into a beautiful oasis. It was such a great pleasure to see the attraction of many species of colorful birds, butterflies and hummingbirds.
From Shelby, her final act of kindness before going Home was part of herself to enrich the lives of others with her organ donations.
She is sorely missed.
If you wish to see a face as bright as a ray of pure sunshine, look in the picture at the angel in the blue shirt.
Rodney Davidson
I am thankful to have the opportunity to share my wonderful husband, Rodney, with you. He was a loving son, brother, husband and dedicated father of two sons. His greatest joy in life was to spend time with his boys, Ben and Seth. They both have said, “Daddy was our best baseball coach ever.” He worked hard teaching them to do their best at whatever they loved. He also shared with them his great passion for nature and hunting. They are safe and respectful hunters today because their father taught them well.
Rodney was a kind, caring, and fair-minded person. He set an example for all of us to treat everyone we meet with kindness. He truly cared about other people. He was always ready to make a donation to help a charity. Giving and helping others made him very happy. His coworkers and many baseball parents remember him as a person who took the extra time to care.
Being an organ donor was very important to Rodney. At first, we didn’t think he could be a donor because of the cancer; he was delighted when he was told he could still donate the corneas. It seems like a small gift, but it was huge to him. Just knowing that someone has received the blessing of better eyesight has brought comfort to our family. Rodney’s last act of kindness was true to the way he lived his whole life. We have all been touched deeply by that.
Dallis Ray Davis
Dallis Ray Davis was born August 1, 1944 to Barney and Elsie Davis of Roseboro, NC. He married Rosie Owens on April 30, 1968. To this union they had seven children. In all, Dallis had eight children, four boys and four girls: Jean Simpson, Allen Owens, Geraldine Faison, Hettie Faison, Dennis Owens, Dallis J. Davis, Bobby Davis, and Jennifer Corbat. He has fourteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He loved to go fishing and to work in his garden. He loved to watch sports. But most of all he loved his family, and we loved him, and he is very much missed.
David (Isaiah) Davis
April 16, 1980 – January 16, 2006
Isaiah was and always will be the light of our life. He was always full of life and love. Isaiah had a smile that would melt anyone’s heart. In 1989, Isaiah lost his brother, Shane, whom he had loved and looked up to. That is when he became interested in organ donation, although his chance to donate came way too soon. We are so proud of him for being willing to give life and sight to those in need. One of his favorite things to do was to go to the North Carolina mountains. It is our hope that the lucky person who got Isaiah’s corneas will one day visit the North Carolina mountains, and that they will enjoy them the way Isaiah did.
Isaiah was my first grandchild and was the sweetest baby. When he became a toddler, he was so busy and such a happy smiling little boy. He loved to try to build things. I have a chair he would try to saw, and picture frames he made from wood. He would hammer anything. When he became a teenager, he made some bad choices, but learned from them. Then he became a responsible young man. Through it all, he never lost his loving and kind heart. He would help anyone he could. One day he was coming home and saw an elderly lady in a wheelchair trying to get her firewood in. He stopped and helped her get all of it in her house. That was the kind of person he was. He had a beautiful smile, and was so kind. I love him so much and miss him so much. I think Jesus is teaching him carpentry. That is a comfort.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower,
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
Loretta B. Davis
Mrs. Loretta B. Davis was a wonderful wife of 24 years and mother. She wore many hats and wore them well. She was a nurse (LPN), a great cook, and could make the best cakes in the world. She was also a preacher’s wife. She was a giver always and never expected anything in return. She was someone you could talk to and laugh with. She had a great sense of humor. She would have you crying your eyes out from the true stories that she told. Our mother was beautiful inside and out. Her heart was full of pure gold and nothing in this world could replace that. She wasn’t a big talker, kind of reserved, but it’s not always what a person says, but what they do and she did so much for anyone in need. One time there was this family, a woman who was raising four children alone and had no transportation and no way of getting around. Our mother waited for her taxes to come back and bought this woman a van. That was the kind of person that our mother was. She was never selfish. Our family has shared so many great memories with her, like the time at a church play when she renewed her wedding vows as part of the skit and our dad was completely clueless. She was one to surprise you. She made you feel special and now I understand why God had to take her from us to be with him. She will be missed here but I know she is resting there. “Let the work I’ve done speak for me!” We love you mom.
Love, Perry, Midea, Brandon, and Jamie Davis
Queenie M. Davis
To our mother and grandmother (R.I.P. Queenie M. Davis)
Mom, grandma, we love you and we are going to miss you. We thank you for the life that you shared with us. We thank you for the teaching and the upbringing. We had very few bad moments. We thank you because you were a mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend. You taught us that life was going to take some sacrificing, some giving and some waiting, but if we put our trust in the Lord and wait on Him and ask for his guidance, that he would lead us. We want to pattern our life after yours and when our time is done down here, you will be the first one we look for in heaven. Until that day you rest in peace and we will keep the family together down here. And you keep them together up there. We have to go for now, we have work to do. You are where we all desire to be one day. You just made it there before us. We’ll miss you mom and grandma. Now you rest and rejoice with the angels, shouting Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Love you, from your
Daughters, son and grandchildren
Russell Davis
My husband turned 47 years old on September 19, 2006. That same night he suffered a massive stroke—we lost him five days later. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was also the comedian of the family, he always kept us laughing. He loved to ride motorcycles and play the drums. We have a daughter Kim, 27, and a son Matthew, 20. Our daughter blessed us with a wonderful grandson, Chase, in March of 1999. He was Paw Paw’s little man. They went and did everything together. I know that he would be thrilled to know that through his untimely death, he is still helping people. We will love and miss him forever.
Pam, Kim, Matthew and Chase
I just want everyone who reads this to know that while my Dad was alive he would always do anything for anyone. Now that he is gone, he has given sight to two people. I am proud of that and I know that he is. I will miss him everyday until the time comes for me to be with him again. I love you Dad.
Your little girl always, Kim
Joseph Draper
Dr. Joseph Collins Draper, Jr., 69, passed away on March 28, 2006 at the University of North Carolina Hospital at Chapel Hill, NC, surrounded by his loving and devoted family.
Dr. Draper was born May 4, 1936, in Rich Square, NC. He was predeceased by his parents Joseph Collins Draper, Sr. and Hazel Chappell Draper. He is survived by his devoted wife of forty-five years, Susie Gary Draper; two daughters, Katy Lynn Draper Garber and husband John Gray Garber, Allison Dorn Draper Gant and husband Edmund Ravenal Gant, Jr.; one son, Dr. Joseph C. Draper, III and wife Sharon; three grandchildren, Joseph Gray Garber, Allison Olivia Gant, and Edmund Ravenal Gant, III, all of Burlington, NC; and one sister, Betty Lynn Draper Roebuck and husband George Allen Roebuck of Starkville, MS.
Dr. Draper attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Bachelor of Science degree and his optometric degree from Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN, where he was a member of the Omega Delta fraternity. Following graduation he served a tour of duty as a Captain in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army at Fort Sill, OK.
He was a member of the Main Street United Methodist Church in Suffolk, VA. He belonged to the North Suffolk Social Club, Suffolk Progressive Men’s Club, Traveler’s Protective Association, Suffolk Lions Club, American Legion Post 57, Elks BPO Lodge BPO 685, and the Masonic Order.
He was a devoted and loving husband and father. His greatest pleasure was sharing his life with his family, snow skiing and being at the beach. He enjoyed traveling and experiencing different cultures. He practiced optometry for forty years in Suffolk with a second office in Rich Square for twenty years. He considered his patients very special and respected their loyalty.
He was buried on March 31, 2006 in the family plot at Cedar Lawns Cemetery in Rich Square, NC at a private family service. A memorial service for family and friends was held at noon on Saturday April 1, 2006 at Main Street United Methodist Church in Suffolk, VA.
The twinkle in his beautiful brown eyes and his smile are lasting memories of a dear, loving, generous and compassionate gentleman.
