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Dane L. Taylor
Dane L. Taylor, 51, died Aug. 22. Born in Ayr, Scotland on Dec. 23, 1956, he was a resident of Raleigh for the past 12 years and worked at Builders FirstSource.
Taylor is survived by his wife, Song, his stepdaughter Kimberly Kirkhart, his mother Diane, his sister Darcy Connor and her husband Mike, his sister Marie Vammino and her husband Jack, her brother Kevin Newton and his wife Darcy, his sister-in-law Jackie Taylor, and seven nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father, Dawrence A. Taylor and brother Kenneth Taylor.
A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 28 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 S.E. Maynard Road, Cary. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to SPCA of Wake County, 200 Petfinder Lane, Raleigh, NC 27603.
Sarah Ridoutt Gower
Sarah Ridoutt Gower, 71, of Raleigh, went to be with her Lord and Savior, on Saturday, Aug. 16 at Rex Hospital. She was a faithful wife, mother, companion, and servant. She was a lady of integrity and the greatest grandmother to her seven grandchildren.
Gower is survived by her husband, Robert G. Gower, son Don Gower and his wife Brenda of Eugene, OR, daughter Dwan G. Young-Padgett and her husband Donald of Raleigh, daughter Beth Gower of Hillsborough and grandchildren Clinton, Sarah, Beatrice, Jeremy and his wife Carrie, and Trevor and his wife Tiana. She is also survived by great grandchildren Sophie, Audrey, Tyler and Destiny Gower, stepbrother Rudy Seymour of Willow Springs and sister Garnetta Hipp of Fuquay-Varina.
Mrs. Gower joins in Heaven her grandson, Rainey Young and her brother, B.T. Ridoutt.
The family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 at Apex Funeral Home, 550 W. Williams St. (Hwy 55), Apex.
A funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20 at Catawba Springs Christian Church, 3801 Ten-Ten Rd. Apex. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Hospice of Wake County, 1300 St. Mary's St., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27605-1276, or to Child Evangelism Fellowship of NC, 420 W. Academy, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526.
Joan Ann Pfeiffer
Joan Ann Pfeiffer was born on June 26, 1936 in Scranton, PA to George H. Pfeiffer Sr. and Evelyn L. Kelly.
She was the youngest of 5 children. Known as “Joanie” to her friends, she graduated from Scranton Technical High School in 1955.
There, she was an active member of the Glee Club and her caption in the class yearbook read: “She is such a friendly soul; you can tell success is her goal.”
While in the Senior Will of the Class of ’55, she bequeathed “her seat in the cafeteria to anyone who is hungry.”
Joan then worked for Fireman’s Fund Insurance before meeting the love of her life, Franklin L. Racine, at a neighborhood party and just over a year later they were married at St. Clare’s Chapel, Marywood College, at 9 a.m. on April 29, 1961. They were both so dedicated to each other and having a family that with the birth of their first son, Brian Stanley on April 17, 1963, that she left the workforce for good. They were blessed again with the birth of Christopher Louis on Nov. 19, 1966.
They lived in New Jersey and Joan, Frank, Brian and Christopher were rarely apart from each other. She loved to frequently travel with her family to Vermont, Norway, Denmark, Austria and Bermuda. The family then lived in Vermont for many years before moving to Cary, North Carolina in 1982; where she loved to vacation on the Outer Banks. She took great pride in her family and the accomplishments of her children. She also loved to read biographies, solve crossword and word jumble puzzles and listen to love ballads of the 40’s and 50’s before going to sleep at night.
On Sept. 9, the Lord saved her from cancer by bringing her from the arms of her loving family to be reunited with her parents, brothers and sister in heaven.
She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Frank; her sons Brian of Raleigh and Christopher and his wife Brenda of Irmo, SC; brother George Pfeiffer; nephew and nieces William, Karen and Susan all of Scranton, PA, Nancy of Springfield, PA and Rene of Lenoxville, PA.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers Frank and William, sister Mary and nephew Frank.
A memorial mass will be held 10:30 am Monday, Sept. 15, 2008 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center www.cancer.duke.edu/modules/makeagift56.
Sigifredo Cruz-Vega
Sigifredo Cruz-Vega, 72, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008 at Duke University Medical Center. Cruz was born on Jan. 18, 1936 in Puerto Rico to the late Vicente Laguna and Ramona Vega.
Cruz served in the National Guard and the U.S. Army, with 30 years of service to his country. He served in the Field Artillery and retired at the rank of Command Sergeant Major in 1980. Cruz’s last assignment was as the Regular Army Advisor to the North Carolina National Guard. Some of the commendations and decorations earned during a long illustrious career include the Bronze Star Medal (2nd award) with V Device (Valor), Air Medal, Purple Heart (2nd award), Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Meritorious Service Medal. Upon retiring from the military, Mr. Cruz worked for 21 years at Bristol Myers as a Processing Mechanic Supervisor in Morrisville. Cruz was a charter member of the Genesis United Methodist Church in Cary.
In addition to his wife, Ruth N. Cruz, he is survived by son Sig and his wie Linda of Concord, son Ric and his wife Mae of Knightdale, son Victor and wife Kristen of Cary, son Manuel and his wife Lisa of Charlotte, son Jose of Cary, daughter Marta and her husband Felipe Maldonado of Miami, FL, daughter Ruth and her husbnd Ray Nichols of Raleigh, and grandchildren Pachence Johnson, Melissa, Corey, Victor Martin, Joseph Sigifredo and Gabriel. He is also survived by great grandchildren Travis Johnson, Cameron Johnson and Aleysha Johnson. Cruz is survived by siblings Gladys Torres, Maria Antonia Laguna and Angel Laguna.
A Worship Service celebrating his life will be held on Monday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. at Genesis United Methodist Church, 850 High House Road in Cary. Interment with military honors will follow at Wake Memorial Park in Cary.
Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 S.E. Maynard Road in Cary.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 8300 Health Park, Suite 10, Raleigh, NC 27615.
William Franklin Stephenson
William Franklin Stephenson, beloved husband and father, passed away Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008 in Raleigh at age 82. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Nancy Stephenson, his daughter Sandy Thomas of Apex, daughter Meredith Heckmann of Billerica, MA, and his brother James Stephenson of Huntsville, AL.
Stephenson was born on Nov. 25, 1925 in Chattanooga, TN. He graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1943 and served as a cadet in the Army Air Corps from December 1943 to November 1945. He attended Georgia Tech during 1946 and 1947 and the University of Chattanooga in 1948.
Stephenson joined Southern Railway in 1948 (later Norfolk Southern) and had an illustrious career and held positions in several location (Chattanooga, TN; Cincinnati, OH; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; Baltimore, MD; Rochester, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Knoxville, TN). He retired from the railroad as district sales manager in Knoxville, TN in 1987 after 39 years of service.
He was an active member of the Knoxville Traffic and Transportation Club in Knoxville, TN where he held several offices and was elected president in 1978. He was also an active member of the Delta Nu Alpha Transportation Fraternity and the Rotary Club of Knoxville.
He and his wife had moved to Raleigh, NC in recent years where they were member of the North Raleigh Church of Christ.
The family will receive friends from 1-2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19 at Apex Funeral Home, 550 W. Williams St. (Hwy 55), Apex. A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. in the Chapel of Apex Funeral Home conducted by Rev. Ken Chamffin. Burial will be in Wake Memorial Park, Cary.
Kathy Clement Wilson
Kathy Clement Wilson experienced her personal rapture on April 12, 2008 after 14 days in ICU due to a sudden onset of acute leukemia. She was born July 26, 1959 in Marion, SC, and attended elementary school in Marion, SC and Plymouth, then finished high school in Apex
She completed secretarial courses at Hardbargers and Wake Tech. She was very excited about receiving her Associate's degree in Early Childhood Education in May, 2008 from Wake Tech. Wilson worked at the State Employment Security Commission until she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1998.
Although she could not continue working, she kept as active as her body allowed, teaching children at Collins Grove Baptist Church and at Lay Renewals. Since September 2007, Wilson thoroughly enjoyed being an assistant at United Methodist Church Preschool in Apex. She loved Jesus and through the years sang her favorite song, "Jesus Loves Me" to many children.
Wilson's family includes her husband Billy Wilson, parents John and Martha Sue Clement, parents-in-law Bill and Millie Wilson, brother Kip and his wife Judy, sister Rebecca and her husband Brian Wingler, brother William Clement and his wife Stephanie, brother-in-law Kirk and his wife Darlene Wilson, along with three nieces and five nephews.
The family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 14 at Apex Funeral Home, 550 W. Williams St. (Hwy 55), Apex.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 15 at Olive Chapel Baptist Church, 600 Olive Chapel - New Hill Rd in Apex. Burial will be in Collins Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, 3400 Avent Ferry Rd. in New Hill.
Memorials may be made to Children's Bible Ministries of NC, 9927 Falls of Neuse Rd, Raleigh, NC 27614-9770 or to the Mabopane Foundation, 3110 Campbell Road, Raleigh, NC 27606.
