In Memoriam

John Robert "Bobby" Spencer

John Robert “Bobby” Spencer, D.D.S., died unexpectedly Wednesday evening, October 2, 2019, at Novant Rowan Medical Center.

The son of the late Olive Pearl Abernethy and Frederick Brunell Spencer, M.D., he was born September 13, 1928, in the family home at 528 South Fulton Street, Salisbury.

Dr. Spencer was educated in the public schools of Salisbury and was a member of Class of 1945 of Boyden High School. He attended Virginia Military Institute and graduated from Catawba College in 1950. He pursued his graduate studies at The Dental School of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and received his doctor of dental surgery in 1955. After serving two years in the United States Air Force, he returned to Salisbury and set up a private dental practice. He retired in 1993.
An avid hunter and trapshooter, Spencer was a crack shot and won many trophies at the state and national levels. He was inducted into the North Carolina Trapshooters’ Hall of Fame in 2005. At the N. C. Trapshooters Homegrounds in Bostic, one of the trap fields is named for “Doc” Spencer, as he was affectionately known to his shooting pals. In 2010 he was recognized at the Grand American Trapshoot (the national tournament) for his forty consecutive years of attendance and participation. Earlier in his shooting career, he was president of the Rowan County Wildlife Association.

He was a member of the American Dental Association, North Carolina Dental Society, and served terms in the Rowan County Dental Society as secretary, treasurer, and president; a life member of the Amateur Trapshooters Association, a life member of the N. C. Trapshooters Association, Historic Salisbury, Inc., Rowan Museum, Inc, and Waterworks Visual Art Center. From childhood, he was a member of the First United Methodist Church where, at one time, his grandfather, the Reverend Dr. Joseph Edgar Abernethy, was pastor.  

​He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Frederick Brunell Spencer, Jr., M.D. and Allen Spencer, M.D.

He is survived by his wife, Betty Dan Nicholas Spencer, and children Gay Kathryn Spencer New- some of Rockwell; John Robert Spencer Jr. and wife Laura Tripp Spencer of Charlotte; brother James Edward “Pat” Spencer of Salisbury; and grandchildren, William Spencer Newsome and fiancée, Cindy Ellis, of Advance; John “Jack” Robert Spencer III and wife, Ann Sauvain Spencer of Charlotte; James “Jim” Anderson Spencer of Nashville, Tennessee; sisters-in-law, Marlene Peeler Spencer and Pamela Childers Spencer of Salisbury; four nephews, Frederick “Rick” Brunell Spencer III of Gig Harbor, Washington, Mark Lewis Spencer of Salisbury, Steven Allen Spencer of Charlotte and Burton Scott Spencer of Duluth, Georgia. Five stepchildren and their families also survive. They are Anne Scott Gilliam Clement and husband Donald Clement III, Tyler Laurence Speir, Ruth Nicholas Clement, Marlee Eva-Melene Speir of Salisbury; Mary Duane Gilliam Hale and husband Charles Herbert Hale Jr., of Morehead City, Mary Charles Hale of Durham and Charles Herbert Hale III of Morehead City; Melene Nicholas Gilliam Hatcher and husband, Walter Benjamin Hatcher, M.D., and Laura Anne Hatcher of Fayetteville; Murtis Maynard Gilliam Worth and husband Walker Yeatman Worth III, of Fayetteville, Rebecca Anne Keefe Kwasnick and husband, William Kwasnick of Southern Pines, John Gilliam Keefe, and Walker Yeatman Worth IV of Fayetteville; and Joseph Duane Gilliam Jr. and wife Jan McDonald Gilliam of Fayetteville.

SERVICE: Graveside service at 2:00 p.m. Friday (Oct 4) at Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Salisbury.
MEMORIALS: John Robert Spencer Endowment Fund, Rowan Public Library, 201 W. Fisher Street, Salisbury, N.C. 28144; or First United Methodist Church Music Fund, 217 S. Church St., Salisbury,
N.C. 28144
​
Summersett Funeral Home is serving the Spencer family. 

Senator Richard Lugar

Retrieved from Washington Post

Richard G. Lugar, a six-term senator from Indiana who became one of the foremost voices on U.S. foreign policy — championing efforts to end apartheid in South Africa, oust Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos and secure the former Soviet Union’s weapons of mass destruction — and whose GOP primary defeat in 2012 by a tea party candidate shocked the political establishment, died April 28 at a medical center in Falls Church, Va. He was 87.

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Randall Eston Brown

Randall Eston Brown, 69, of Salisbury passed away Wednesday, April 3, 2019, after a 15 year battle with Parkinson's Disease and a year battling cancer. He was born May 15, 1949, in Salisbury to the late Ralph and Iva Sills Brown. Mr. Brown was a 1967 graduate of East Rowan High School and later graduated from Pfeiffer University.

​Mr. Brown was a member of St. Luke's Reformed Church where he was a devoted member of the Disciples of Christ Sunday School Class, church council and choir, which he especially enjoyed. He was also a member of the Mensa Society and served in the Air National Guard. He more recently enjoyed working with the local Parkinson's Support Group. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Phyllis Brown Robinson. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Linda Huffman Brown, whom he married April 1, 1972. He is also survived by children, Kristi Samples and husband Chris, Courtney Cooper and husband David; and four grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Connor Samples and Maci and Maggie Cooper. Visitation & Service:

The family will receive friends on Sunday, April 7, 2019, at St. Luke's Fellowship Hall from 1:15-2:15 p.m. with the funeral at 2:30 p.m. with Pastor Jon Schell and Dr. Johnny Boggs officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Parkinson's Foundation, 200 SE 1st St., Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131; St. Luke's Reformed Church, 1775 St. Luke's Church Rd., Salisbury, NC 28146; or Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House, 1229 Statesville Blvd., Salisbury, NC 28144.

Special thanks to the staff of Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House for their special care. Powles Staton Funeral Home of Rockwell, honored provider of Veterans Funeral Care, is assisting the Brown family. Online condolences may be made at www.powlesfuneralhome.com.

Juanita Fisher Lagg

Juanita Fisher Lagg, 91, of Salisbury, passed away Sunday, March 11, 2018, at Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House. Mrs. Lagg was born April 24, 1926, in Rowan County, daughter of the late Jacob Lawson and Mary Brown Fisher.

Mrs. Lagg was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Elmer B. Lagg, who passed away April 28, 2015. Also preceding her in death was her daughter, Mary Elizabeth “Libby” Lagg Huggins on December 5, 1998, and her beloved brother, Willard Lee Fisher on March 30, 2006.

Mrs. Lagg loved her family history and community and was a charter member of the Brown-Fisher Association where she held the position of membership coordinator and has been instrumental in improvements to the Old Stone House and grounds. 

​She is survived by a large extended family and worldwide friends.

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