Author Mary Higgins Clark, ‘Queen of Suspense,’ dead at 92
HALL, James Edward
Mr. James Edward Hall, age 82, of Rome, GA, passed away Thursday, January 30, 2020, in a local hospital.
Mr. Hall was born in Memphis, TN, on August 16, 1937, son of the late Samuel W. Hall and Frances Ney Long Hall. He attended Whitehaven High School in Memphis and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1959. Mr. Hall owned and operated Hardin’s Gift Store in Rome from 1973 until 1994. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Waunel Murray “Winnie” Hall on April 28, 2012, whom he married January 22, 1970.
Mr. Hall is survived by three children, Bart (Lisa) Hall of Knoxville, TN, Laura (Jeff) Ivie of Cave City, KY, and Jimmy Hall of Rome. Seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews also survive
The family will plan a private service for Mr. Hall in the future.
Salmon Funeral Home makes this announcement for the family.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mary Higgins Clark, the tireless and long-reigning “Queen of Suspense” whose tales of women beating the odds made her one of the world’s most popular writers, died Friday at age 92.
“Nobody ever bonded more completely with her readers than Mary did,” her longtime editor Michael Korda said in statement. “She understood them as if they were members of her own family. She was always absolutely sure of what they wanted to read — and, perhaps more important, what they didn’t want to read — and yet she managed to surprise them with every book.”
Mr. Walter Lee Holden, age 74, of Rome passed away at his residence, January 31, 2020.
Mr. Holden was born in Rome on December 30, 1945 to the late John W. and Laura Kinsey Holden.
Walter, at the age of 12, won 1st place award for guitar playing at the boys and girls club. He was a Prolific steel guitar player for the Singing Skylights Gospel Band and continued playing in church for many years. He was an active member at First Apostolic Church (FAC) of Rome. The loves of his life were God and his church, his ZLIH IDPLO\ PXVLF DQG ¿VKing. He attended Model High School, worked at Champion Garments where he met his wife, Bobbie, of 55 years and retired from Pharr Yarns.
Walter was preceded in death by his parents, John W. Holden and Laura Kinsey Holden, brother, Thomas James Holden (TJ).
Survivors include his wife, Bobbiette Holden, daughters, Nancy Louise (Clif ) Terhune, III, Tammy Marie (David) Nicholson; brothers, John Holden (Junior), Jimmy Holden; sisters, Evelyn Hight, Geraldine Bramblett (Judy), Virginia Barrett (Ginner), Mildred Willerson (Mil); Grandchildren, Amanda Nicole Garlin (Ryan) Sloan, Kevin Bradley Garlin, Jordan Bradley (Ellen) Sartin, Chase C. Terhune; Great Grandchildren, Judah Sloan, Lydia Sloan, Maria Terhune, Hope Sloan, Edwin Sartin.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Monday February 3, 2020 at Good Shepherd Funeral Home, with his Pastor Johnathon )RUWQHU RI¿FLDWLQJ ,QWHUment will follow in Oaknoll Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 12:00 P.M. until the service hour at Good Shepherd Funeral Home, 2750 Shorter Ave., Rome, GA 30165.
Pallbearers include, Sid Willerson, Barry Rayburn, David (Buddy) House, Chad Bramblett, Chris Lankford, Jimmy Lewis, and Honorary Jason Holden.
Please visit our website, www.goodshepherdfh.net to post your tributes and view the DVD on the life of Walter Lee Holden.
Parnick Jennings, Sr.’s Good Shepherd Funeral Home, 2750 Shorter Ave. Rome, GA 30165 has charge of the arrangements.
KING, J. W.
Mr. J. W. King, age 82, of Rome, GA, passed away on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at his residence.
J. W. was born in Centre, AL on March 27, 1937, son of the late Lorenza D. King and the late Fannie Bell Fuqua King. In addition to his parents, J. W. was preceded in death by a sister, Elizabeth Cribb, and by a brother, Troy King. He was employed as an electrician at Galey & Lord, retiring in 2006. He was a member of Enon Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Betty Jean Johnson King, to whom he was married on November 3, 1956; his son, Johnny Wayne King; his daughter, Melinda Faye Bagley (Pat); his grandson, Cody Tristen King; his brother, Charles Jackson King; several nieces and nephews.
At the request of the King family, there will be no formal services.
Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, North Chapel, makes this announcement for the family.
As the country prepares for the upcoming presidential election, Floyd County prepares for local contests.
Qualifying will take place March 2 through March 6 and the Floyd County Clerk of Court’s office recently published the qualifying fees for the county elections.
Two county commissioner posts are up for reelection and both fees are $216.
Commissioner Allison Watters (Post 3) and Wright Bagby (Post 2) have already announced plans to run for reelection. Both commissioners are up for a second term and are running on Republican platforms.
So far, no one else has announced plans to run for the seats.
At the end of the year, Sheriff Tim
While she has not formally announced, Model area school board member Melinda Strickland has said she plans to run for a second term on the Floyd County Schools Board of Education.
Strickland said she has served in the school system for over 30 years, and has a desire to keep an educator’s voice on the board.
“I have a good educational perspective,” Strickland said. “It’s important to have an educator’s voice on the school board.”
Strickland was elected on the board as a Republican in 2016. She ran unopposed in the general election, but faced Keith Hester in the
TUESDAY
The Floyd County Republican Women meet Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Red Lobster, 700 Shorter Ave. Lunch is at 11:30 a.m., the meeting begins at noon. Guest speakers will be the Floyd County Clerk of Court candidates, incumbent Barbara Penson and Joe Costolnick.
WEDNESDAY
The February meeting of The Access Collaborative will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the office at 527 Broad St. Light refreshments will be provided.
THURSDAY
One Community United invites area residents to attend the fifth annual Hearts United Gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in the Wilder Center at Rome First United Methodist Church. 202 E. Third Ave. Local leaders including Rome High Principal Eric Holland and pastors Millie Kim and Jim Buice will address such issues as education; race relations and reconciliation; and community improvement. For more information, contact Rick Stevenson at 706-936-7576 or Charles Love at 706-2903437 or go to OCU’s Facebook Event page
The Highland Rivers Foundation Board of Directors will meet on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 1:30 p.m. in the Northside Cherokee Hospital Administrative Board Room, 450 Northside Cherokee Blvd. in Canton. The meeting is open to the public. For additional information or directions, please call 706/270-5000.
UPCOMING
The Rome chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is offering a free course about mental
Burkhalter will be retiring after 15 years of serving Floyd County.
Three Republican candidates have announced their plans to run: former Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell, reserve deputy Ronnie Kilgo and Maj. Dave Roberson. The sheriff qualifying fee is $2,347.
A Democratic candidate hasn’t been announced yet.
Clerk of Superior Court is up for reelection and two candidates have announced plans to run. Current Clerk Barbara Penson was elected in 2008 and plans to run again as a Republican.
Republican Joe Costolnick has also announced he plans to run for the position of clerk. The qualifying fee is $2,034.
Chief Magistrate Judge Gene Richardson’s seat will be on the Primary/ General Election ballot. Richardson was appointed to the position of Magistrate Judge back in 2010 after Chris Mathis stepped down.
Probate Court Judge Steve Burkhalter will also be up for reelection. primary. She defeated Hester overwhelmingly, gathering 69% of the primary vote in 2016.
Jay Shell, who serves the Coosa area, declined to say whether or not he was seeking reelection, but said he will announce soon. In 2019, Shell served as the vice-chair of the board. School board members recently voted for Melinda Jeffers of Cave Spring to serve as the vice-chair for
illness and how to live in recovery. Peer-to-Peer is an eight-week course starting Sunday, Feb. 9, and meets from 2 to 4 p.m. People living with a mental illness are invited to take the class. For more information and registration contact NAMI Rome at 706-506-5010.
Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home will host a free event with regular admission on Sunday, Feb. 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. “Tea With Frankie” will combine tea and cookies with the temporary exhibit “Style With Substance: The Designs of Frankie Welch,” which runs through Feb. 29. For more information, call 706-2919494 or visit the website at www.chieftainsmuseum.org.
The Floyd-Rome Retired Educators Association will meet at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 10, at the Thornton Recreation Center for a catered soup, sandwich and dessert meeting. The program will be on Elder Law.
The Rome Community HeART Project is adding “Movie Night with Heart”
Burkhalter has served Floyd County since 1996 and, if reelected, will serve his seventh term.
The qualifying fees for both judgeships are set at $2,034.
The Floyd County coroner’s seat will also be on the ballot. Gene Proctor was appointed to the post after Barry Henderson left in 2017. Proctor has confirmed he will be running for reelection this year. The coroner qualifying fee is $1,140.
Tax Commissioner Kevin Payne was appointed to his office in 2008 after Jim Ford stepped down. The seat will be on the upcoming ballot with a qualifying fee of $2,034. Payne has confirmed with the Rome News-Tribune that he plans to seek the office again, but has not yet publicly announced.
The general primary election will be held on May 19. For more information or to register to vote, contact Floyd County Elections Office at 706-291-5167 or visit the office at 12 E. Fourth Ave. 2020. This is Jeffers’ outgoing year on the board.
After Danny Waits announced his candidacy for the Cave Spring seat on the board, Jeffers confirmed she is not seeking reelection after just one term. Instead, she is planning to retire and move to Maryland to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren.
Like Strickland, Jeffers served in the Floyd County
on Feb. 13 to its annual public art display. Tickets are $25 and include a preshow reception at 7 p.m. school system for a number of years. Right now she is a vocational coach in Cave Spring.
Danny Waits is the only newcomer who has announced a run for the school board. Jeffers has backed his candidacy.
“If you can earn an elected position, he’s earned it,” Jeffers said. “Anything he can come to, he’s there. He’s done his homework and he asks all the right questions.”
Waits grew up in Floyd County and went to Pepperell High School for a few years before moving to Villa Rica. Presently, he serves as an operations manager for Coca-Cola, but spends some of his free time at school board meetings and work sessions.