ANTHONY EDWARD MEYER

PICKENS — Anthony “Tony” Edward Meyer, of Pickens, went home to be with Jesus on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019.

He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 22, 1947, and was born again into the Body of Christ at the age of 23.

He was a truck driver until he was injured at the age of 39, then moved his family to Pickens County in August 1990.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jane (Bayles) Meyer; a daughter, Antonette Rene’ Meyer; a son, Anthony “Tony” Edward Meyer Jr. (wife Cindy); seven grandchildren, Destiny Gantt, Brittany Arms, Nicholas Pancoast, Micheala Chavis, Katelyn Metcalf, Justin Meyer and Jessica Meyer; 16 great- grandchildren; and one brother, Daniel Meyer.

He was predeceased by his parents, Nathan and Martha Brody; a daughter, Barbara Ann Clardy; brothers, Matthew Gene Meyer, Andrew Seiberlich and Francis Meyer; and a sister, Joan Muckelston.

A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m. at Tri-City Baptist Church, 1401 Griffin Mill Road, Easley S.C, 29640. Pastor Cecil Allred will officiate, and music will be overseen by Karl Bayles.

BETTY LESLIE

LIBERTY — Betty Brown Leslie, 86, of 301 Joyce Road, died on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, at Magnolia Manor in Greenville.

Born in Liberty, she was the widow of Tommy Lawrence Leslie and the daughter of the late Robert Moses and Winnie Robinson Brown. She was retired from Champion Aerospace in Liberty, as well as Walmart. She was a wonderful, Godly mother who loved spending time with her family. She was a member of Golden Creek Baptist Church.

Surviving are a daughter, Kathy Brewer (Mike) of Easley; five sons, Nick Leslie (Genice) of Greenville, Freddie Leslie (Teresa) of Liberty, Victor Leslie (Melinda) of Anderson, Keith Leslie (Addie) of Liberty and Steve Leslie of Anderson; two brothers, Monroe and Buck Brown, both of Liberty; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was predeceased by a son, Randy “Pete” Leslie and a brother, Robert Doyle “Tooter” Brown.

Funeral services to honor the life of Mrs. Leslie will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Liberty Mortuary chapel. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 1:30 until 3 p.m. at Liberty Mortuary. Burial will follow at Liberty Memorial Gardens.

The family will be at the residence. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary is handling arrangements.

MARY R. WHITAKER

EASLEY — Mary Rose Whitaker, 88, of Easley, widow of the late James Edward Whitaker, passed away on November 16, 2019.

Born on July 9, 1931, in Meriden, Conn., she was the daughter of the late John Mettica and Immaculatta Valeriay. Mary was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church. She was a diligent worker and enjoyed serving her church and community. Mary loved her family and always had the funniest sense of humor.

She is survived by one daughter, Brenda Kickery; two sons, James “Jimmy” Whitaker Jr. and Richard Whitaker; two stepdaughters, Diane Sellers and Darlene Stancil; and two stepsons, James “Roger” Whitaker and Donnie Whitaker. She will also be remembered as a loving grandmother and great-grandmother. Along with her husband, Mary was also preceded in death by her son, Anthony “Tony” Whitaker.

A Mass will be held at noon Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Holy Cross Catholic Church. A graveside service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Hillcrest Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorials to Outreach to the Poor through Holy Cross Catholic Church.

Dillard Funeral Home is assisting the Whitaker family in making arrangements.

RUBYE S. GRAVELY

PICKENS — Rubye Smith Gravely, 85, of Pickens, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019.

Born on March 10, 1934, in Pickens County, she was the daughter of the late Grady and Lecy Ellenburg Smith. Rubye was retired from Ryobi, was a member of East Pickens Baptist Church and attended Elljean Baptist Church. She was an avid collector of dolls and Hallmark Christmas ornaments. She also enjoyed fishing and talking on the telephone.

Surviving are her two daughters, Glenda Fowler (Leon) and Teresa Mauldin (Don); one sister, Lois Rogers Carter; one sister-in-law, Rosalee Stone; two grandchildren, Crystal Dobson (Pete) and Dennon Fowler (Letha); four great-grandchildren, Peyton Fowler, Ava Fowler, Braydon Dobson and Cheyanne Dobson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Rubye was preceded in death by her two husbands, Christopher Gravely and James Clardy; one granddaughter, Andrea Fowler; three brothers, Lloyd Smith, Bill Smith and Roy Smith; and three sisters, Dorothy Black, Edna Durham and Frances Barker.

Funeral services were held on Sunday, Nov. 17, at Dillard Funeral Home, with the Rev. Brandon Wimpey and Rev. Robert Fowler officiating. Burial was held at Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Flowers are accepted, or memorials may be made to Elljean Baptist Church.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting dillardfunerals.com.

MINNIE BELL NEAL

PICKENS — Minnie Bell Neal, 69, of Pickens, born May 29, 1950, went to be with our Lord on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019.

Born in Hendersonville, N.C., she was the daughter of the late Woodrow Edwards and Dellnora Wright Edwards and the wife of the late Loyd Marshall Neal.

Minnie worked mainly as a seamstress in various sewing halls throughout her career and was known as a loving mother and grandmother to her extended family. She loved her family, coloring, fishing, card playing and bingo. She could cook a mean dish of polk salad.

She leaves behind a daughter, Rebecca Moore (Lloyd) of Pickens; three sons, Bobby Ray Neal (Melisa) of Pickens, Kenneth Neal (Crystal) of Six Mile and Robbie Lee Neal (Charity) of Easley; her sister, Mamie Blackwell (Luke) of Seneca; and sister-in-laws, Rosa Edwards and Janie Anders. Ms. Minnie has 12 precious and loving grandchildren and nine loving great-grandchildren.

Minnie is predeceased by brothers, Woodrow Edwards, Sam Edwards, Carl Edwards, Will Edwards; and sisters, Martha Mitchell and Mary Richards.

A visitation was held at Dillard Funeral Home on Nov. 19, followed by a processional to Six Mile Church of God of Prophecy, located at 133 Furman L. Smith Memorial Highway, Central, for a graveside service.

Dillard Funeral Home is assisting the Neal family.

Online condolences may be sent to dillardfunerals.com.

JOE GILSTRAP

EASLEY — Joe Horace Gilstrap, 75, of 200 Anne Drive, passed away peacefully on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, at Fleetwood Health & Rehab.

Born in Liberty, he was a son of the late J.B. and Annie Bell Stewart Gilstrap.

Surviving are a brother, Sammie Gilstrap of Pickens; two sisters, Martha Gibson of Walhalla and Doris Burgess of Norris; and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, David, Herbert and Herman “Pete” Gilstrap.

Graveside services were conducted Nov. 18 at Liberty Memorial Gardens. No visitation is planned.

The family will be at their respective homes. Online condolences may be left for the family by libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary is handling arrangements.

EARLINE JONES EVETT

PICKENS — Earline Jones Evett, 86, daughter of the late Edward L. Jones and Essie S. Jones, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019.

She is survived by her children, Sandra Kelley of Pickens, Judy Trammell of Pickens, Ricky (Becky) Evett of Pickens, Donna (Doug) Holcombe of Pickens and Stacy Evett of Pickens; 10 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and a sister, Virgil Byers.

She was predeceased by her parents; a son, Stanley Evett; four sisters and three brothers.

A funeral service was held on Nov. 18 in the chapel of Mountain View Funeral Home.

Mountain View Funeral Home is serving the Evett family.

LINDA COOK

PIEDMONT — Linda Taylor Cook, 71, of 23 Charlwood Ave., died on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, at her home.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she was a daughter of the late George Washington and Agnes Lucas Taylor. She retired from the Pickens County Child Development Center, where she worked many years. She was of the Catholic faith.

Surviving are her husband, Ralph D. Cook of the home; a son, Dennis Cook of Easley; a sister, Delores Hauck of Cleveland, Ohio; and two grandsons, Cameron and Dylan Cook.

Services and burial will be held at a later date at Liberty Memorial Gardens.

Online condolences may be left for the family by visiting libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary and Cremation Services is handling arrangements.

LARRY MARTIN

SIX MILE — Larry Gene Martin, 75, of 929 Crowe Creek Road, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, at his home.

Born in Westminster, he was a son of the late Willie and Lucille Sheriff Martin. He was retired from Duke Power with 34 years of service and then later retired again from DZ Atlantic after seven years. He enjoyed horses, drag racing, camping and especially his two fur babies, Coco and Sissy.

Mr. Martin attended The Rock Baptist Church.

Surviving are his wife, Peggy Morris Martin of the home; three sons, Bobby Martin (Linda) of Clover, Brad Martin (Becky) of Central and Mark Martin (Lori) of Six Mile; a sister, Frances Rholetter of Westminster; a brother, Harold Martin (Mattie) of Westminster; eight grandchildren, BJ Martin, Dustin Martin (Tiffany), Bradley Martin, Kaitlyn Stewart (Jake), Hunter Martin, Ashton Martin, Amber Becknell and Justin Becknell (Jessica); and five great grandchildren, Laken, Drake, and Conner Martin, Hudson Giles and Kensley Becknell.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant, four sisters, Faye Moss, Rachel Jones, Bonnie Spoone and Joyce Kelley; and four brothers, Wilton, Howard, Joe and Jimmy Martin.

Funeral services to honor the life of Mr. Martin were held on Nov. 16 in the Liberty Mortuary chapel. Burial was held at Oconee Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to the St. Francis Cancer Center, for Pancreatic Research, 104 Innovation Drive, Greenville SC 29607.

Online condolences may be left for the family by visiting libertymortuary.com. Liberty Mortuary is handling arrangements.

JEFF STEWART

DACUSVILLE — Mr. Jeffrey “Jeff” Newton Stewart, 50, husband of Tina Burdine Stewart, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019.

Born in Pickens County, the son of Brenda Farmer Stewart of Pickens and the late Fred Arlin Stewart, Mr. Stewart was a 1987 graduate of Pickens High School and the owner and operator of Stewart Enterprises of Upstate SC. He was a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church, where he belonged to the Unity Sunday school class.

Jeff was an avid outdoorsman who loved and cherished hunting and farming with his son, Hunter.

Surviving, in addition to his wife of 27 years and his mother, are a son, Hunter Stewart of Dacusville; three sisters, Melinda McJunkin (Tony), Tammy Pinion (Bryan) and Mary Spearman (Mike), all of Pickens; 16 nieces and nephews; and numerous great-nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Rock Springs Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the Cedar Rock Baptist Church cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Collide Student Ministry, 346 Sweetbriar Way, Easley, SC 29640.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the doctors and staff of Prisma Health Cancer Centers, Grove and Easley offices, for the love and care they have provided for Jeff.

Visit robinsonfuneralhomes.com or Robinson Funeral Home & Crematory-Powdersville Road, Easley.