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Dearest Friends/Family/Loved Ones/Coaldigger Class of '58

With a heavy heart, I wanted to let you all know that my mom, Janice, passed away yesterday Friday, April 17th at 6:02 in the morning.  She is now resting peacefully and comfortably with the Lord after 7 months of courageously battling pancreatic cancer.  The spunky Janice we all know & love managed to surprise & amaze all of her physicians and healthcare providers right up until the very end.  Mom was very brave and in true Janice fashion, she was far more concerned about everyone else's wellfare and needs rather than focusing on her own during this difficult journey....bless her heart.  Since October, not a day went by that she didn't recieve multiple loving and encouraging cards, emails, and care packages from her beloved friends & classmates.  You'll never truly know how special this made her feel.  When she was having a rough day, you all helped put a smile on her face.  It means the world to us that you all cared so much about her.  I feel certain that lots & lots of people must be praying for us because I'm feeling an amazing amount of strength in handling this loss. Please continue to uplift our family in your prayers.
 
Memorial Service: Thursday April 23rd 11:00am First United Methodist Church, Arlington, TX
                        Wade Family Funeral Home Arlington, TX
 
Donations In her memory may be made to:
 
Cancer Care Services
623 S. Henderson St.
Fort Worth, TX 76104
 
Vitas Innovative Hospice
Fort Worth, TX
 
FUMC-Arlington, TX
313 N. Center St.
Arlington, TX 76011
 
Warmest Regards,
Wendy Snedden Stewart

 

Janice Lorraine Sexton Snedden(1940 - 2009)

Janice Lorraine Sexton Snedden, 68, passed away Friday, April 17, 2009, in Fort Worth.
Memorial service: 11 a.m. Thursday in the Vandergriff Chapel at First United Methodist Church, 313 N. Center St., Arlington, the Rev. Francine Copeland officiating.
Memorials: Memorial gifts may be made to Cancer Care Services, 623 S. Henderson St., Fort Worth, Texas 76104; Vitas Hospice in Fort Worth; or First United Methodist in Arlington.
Janice was born Dec. 21, 1940, in Anawalt, W.Va., to William and Lillian David Sexton. She was a 14-year resident of Bridgeton, N.J., where she attended Berean Baptist Church and retired from Durand Glass Manufacturing in Millville, N.J.
Janice was a former resident of Arlington, from 1980-1992, and recently returned to her beloved Texas where she attended First United Methodist Church. She enjoyed arts and crafts, cross-stitching, collecting pineapples, crystal and china dishes and Longaberger baskets.
Janice was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Howard Snedden, Feb. 3, 2006.
Survivors: Daughters, Deborah Gant and husband, Ken, of Parkville, Mo., and Wendy Stewart and husband, Brian, of Arlington; and grandchildren, Colton Kelican and Claire Stewart.
Published in Star-Telegram on 4/19/2009

A Special Memorial for Janice, with picture of her and friends.We wil all miss Janice. KIM GREEN, Phylis Lambert Cates daughter has prepared this especially in memory of Janice Sexton Sneddon

Janice Sexton Snedden & Kimberly Green - Charleston, WV (7-9 Aug 08)
What a BEAUTIFUL LADY she was and always will be in our hearts
 
 

 Willie Spichek and Jan                                                                               Kimberly Green (ME) and my Angel on Earth Phyllis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Now you tell me -- How "PROUD" am I of Gary, WV and being an honorary COALDIGGER?
 
 <~~~~~ OUR COALDIGGER "HERO"
Mr BUDDY  FARMER
 
 
                                                                           The LOVE BIRDS Dickie & Linda
 

As I reflect back on my childhood days in the mountains of West Virginia, I realize that it was a wonderful time in my life. I'm reminded of a slower pace and how much happier people seemed to be. Yes, times were certainly different then. Children could just be kids and do the things that bring joy to childhood and leave happy memories. Of course we were taught values, manners and what close family relationships and respect for our elders meant. Learning responsibility started very early. And for that I am truly thankful.
Our playgrounds was the coal dirt road that was in front of our house on coke row in Pageton, the railroad tracks, the Coke Ovens and in the mountains at the back of our house, I remember my Sister Nancy and I, and our friends, we loved to play on the slate dump and pick blackberries all over the mountains. Our mother would tell us to be careful of Miners Cracks and snake holes, we used to swing on the grapevines in the mountains, and never even thought of being afraid, and we always had plenty of friends. And everyone knew everybody; we made up our own games Tin can alley. Go Sheepy Go, Hot tail, Bunny Hop, Hop Scotch, Red Rover, Paper dolls, Jacks, and many more.
 
How I wish that children today could experience some of the simple joys we knew then. Mothers stayed home and took care of the home and the kids, and Fathers was the only one to work. Everyone had the same Mommy and Daddy, no divorces, I never heard the word until I married and left home.
I remember only Good Times in the 50’s with my friends, There was June, Connie, Betty, Gloria, Frances, Dickie Joe, Danny, Paul, Carl, Fred, I can’t even begin to name them all, it would take more than the pages here. But these were special friends. I remember my sister Nancy and I going to June Lovelace’s and Betty Helmandollars house and dancing, which wasn’t allowed at our house., our Dad was really strict when it came to anything that he thought was a sin. No dancing, playing cards were allowed. On the weekends there were times when I’d go to Chilhowie, VA with June and Connie Lovelace to their Grandmothers house, and we’d go Roller skating, and to Hungry Mothers Park and being teenagers in the 50s was a great time. I loved going with June and Connie to Chilhowie, which was a special time. Of course we liked looking at the cute boys too, one in particular was Ambers Haga, and he could roller skate, and that’s what I liked to do.
I remember the summer of 1956, when it was so hot, when a bunch of us wanted to go swimming, and there was a special swimming hole that we used to go to on Elkhorn Mountain, It was where the Pageton Methodist Church used to baptize their members and that’s where we were suppose to go, it was called the Baptizing hole, however one of the boys, Fred Boggs or Danny Dillon mentioned, lets go to the Dam, so we walked to the Crozier Dam, and the walk from Pageton may have been 3-4 miles. When we got there I had noticed not too far from the area we were at, was a Man and boy fishing, and I thought at the time, we were going to make too much noise for him to catch any fish. But as kids, we jumped in the water, and was playing around, and Danny said lets go to the other side, we all started to the other side. I realized that I couldn’t move my legs, and the rest of them were already there. I panicked, and called out HELP, but they thought I was playing and started laughing and telling me to come on, I remember Danny started to come out there, but Fred said she’s going to dunk you when you get there and he turned and went back it seemed to me I had gone down and up more than 3 times, I kept hollering HELP, and the next thing I knew, Someone grabbed me, and I was fighting him, and he slapped me to calm me down. I remember seeing his face, and it looked like my Grandpa, who was blind. And my Grandpa was already dead. He carried me out of the water onto the side, and He told me “Don’t you go back into the water”, I realized then that the Man who pulled me out of Crozier Dam, a Dam that had no bottom to it, that’s what we had always heard. Was Tom Lovelace, He was the man fishing there with his son Tommy and June and Connie’s Dad. He said to me you’re Steve Sims’ girl aren’t’ you? I shook my head yes, He said you kids have no business being up here without an Adult, this is a dangerous place to swim, and I’ll bet your Mom and Dad don’t know that you’re here.. I remember telling him “Mr. Lovelace, please don’t tell Daddy”. He said you kids should go home.
 
My friends started playing in the water again, and I wanted to go back in,however, my sister Nancy, was almost in tears telling me not to go back in, so I didn’t go back in, and probably if I had gone in, I could swim today, but I can’t, and of course Mr. Lovelace and Tommy stopped by the Pump House on their way home, where my Daddy worked, and told Daddy he had to pull his daughter out of Crosier Dam,. When Daddy come home from work, I wasn’t home, and Mr. Lovelace didn’t say which kid it was so I don’t know why Daddy thought it was my sister Patty., but he bawled Patty out and Patty told him it wasn’t her it was me, He didn’t say anything else until I got home, and he said, I don’t want to catch you in any water over a cup full. He said if Tom Lovelace hadn’t taken his son Tommy fishing, you would have drowned. Everyone in the family from that day forward never let me forget that. I always thought of Mr. Lovelace as MY HERO. And that’s a memory that will always be with me
I can see and remember all the good times back home in West Virginia. Walking the country roads, riding up the hollers, sitting on the front porch in the swing, breaking green beans with our Mother, watching trees fall when lightning struck them, hearing the tipple running all day and listening to the whistle blow in the morning, lunch and time to get off work, waiting for the mail truck to pass the house so we could walk to the Post Office.
 
Thank God for all those memories, because no one can ever take those from me and whenever I am lonely and homesick for the Mountains,. I can go back, if only for a little while on the West Virginia Websites and the memories come back.
 
"I've come to realize, after many years, If you're born in McDowell County it seems as if it becomes part of you and you're never the same living anywhere else. You can take the girl out of the Country, but you can’t take the Country out of the girl. It’s always there with you.
I have lived in several States and different Countries, and I still think the country roads of West Virginia are the most beautiful.
I realized how fortunate I am. Truly blessed by God growing up where you could hear the sound of whippoorwills and crickets. And catching Lightning bugs and taking the light out and putting on our fingers for rings. And to tie a string on a June Bug and let it fly around making a buzzing noise. The Coal camp children knew how to have fun the W.VA. Way..
In my senior yearbook, beside my picture says “This little Kitty plans to move to a big city” Well that I have done, and my heart still belongs to the hills of West Virginia. I have a lot of wonderful memories of Southern West Virginia, and especially of Pageton and McDowell County.
WEST VIRGINIA, Maybe it was the original GARDEN OF EDEN, after all, it's ALMOST HEAVEN
 
 
                                                                Janice Sexton Snedden & Fred Richardson
 
 
                                 MARIE KISH (TALK ABOUT PROUD)!!!!!
 
 
 
Here's my entry on Barbara Sims website (her GUESTBOOK)
 
Posted: November 21st 2008   06:08:25 PM
What is your name?  Kimberly Ann Green (Phyllis Lamberts 'Class of 58') FAV daughter
How did you find this website?  From Mom "Phyllis" and Barbara Simms
Where are you from?  Stafford, Virginia
Please enter your comments?
I LOVE THEM COAL-DIGGERS - ALL OF YOU!! Thems some GOOD PEOPLE and I am thrilled to pieces to be a part of you all. I thoroughly enjoy going to Whites Truck Stop several times a year with my mom (Phyllis Lambert - Class of '58). We have a ball on the drive down and back home. Eat, talk, sing, joke, LAUGH!! I love my mom MORE THEN LIFE itself, is that possible? Sure is. We had THE BEST TIME in Charleston, WV 7-10 Aug 08 at moms 50th High School Reunion. Wished we could go back to those days. They were a highlight in my life and I can't remember having a better time with such remarkable people. I am so touched at the closeness, heck "FAMILY" of Gary High. I would have LOVED to be one of yals classmates back in the 50's & 60's. Yal had such good clean fun and I missed it :( but watch out cause I'm in yals lives FOREVER now and I ain't leavin!
 
Question? Can we have a Reunion once a month? My life is so boring and yal are so fun (hehe) kidding. For those of you who know my mom - you can probably tell me about her school years but let me tell you what kind of mom she's been to me and my baby brother Jimmy. Mom is the most loving, giving, strong, understanding, and CARING "rock" in everyone's life that has known her. She the funniest and most intelligent person I've ever met. She's never met a stranger. She talks to EVERYBODY unlike her shy self that you all knew in school. She the best COOK I've ever known and can make THE BEST HOMEMADE ROLLS you'll ever eat! She makes Hungarian Nut Rolls around the holidays (I can't wait). And my Aunt Charlotte makes the best Fried Chicken when she's not burning herself cooking. The Smoke Detector is actually Ant Skars kitchen timer - honestly! I'd like to say I'm kidding Ant Skar - but you know it's true! haha
 
I've met some of the most wonderful people I'll ever meet since Oct-06 when I went to my first Gary Reunion in Princeton, WV with my mom. Got all my hair cut off (it was long) - that weekend and it's remained short since then. I danced the night away while mom was busy being "herself" (to those who know her - you know what I'm talking about.... haha). I keep telling her we were born at the wrong time. I should have been born in 1940 and she should have been born in 1960. Somehow the man upstairs got our birthyears wrong? Don't know how he managed that one? I LOVE THE 50's, 60's (Happy Days) (LaVerne & Shirley) and everything about those years & times. All you people make me smile ALL the time.
 
I love to hear your stories and watch your beautiful SMILES while telling them. I can't wait to see you all again and again and AGAIN. Are yal sick of me yet? Sorry Barbara, I must have taken up several pages of your website -- so I'll close for now to let others get their 2-cents in (haha). Bottom Line: I LOVE YOU MORE then any of yal can ever imagine and can't wait to see you all again. Take Care, Be Healthy and Love LOTS! Kimberly~Ann, Phyllis Lamberts "favorite daughter" : ) oh, by the way - she only has one daughter ..... hehe See yal REAL soon, I hope..... bye bye for now, Kim
-----------------------------------------------------
 
For Wendy (Jans daughter):
What do you say - when you don't know WHAT to say?
 
In everyones life - you are blessed to meet someone that's cheerful, bubbly, energetic and has such a huge ZEST FOR LIFE & FRIENDS.  From making her delicious pepperoni bread to making you laugh about her special stories from her GARY HIGH SCHOOL DAYS Class of '58, Jan was very full of life and excitement - that was just Jan - naturally.
 
Jan had such a great passion for her daughters and her newest edition - her little grand daughter
in Arlington, TX.  The 50th High School Reunion held 7-9 Aug 08 in Charleston, WV ... was so very special to all of us that attended.  Jan acted like a High School teenager all over again.  It was truly a memorable 3-days that I wish would have never ended - it was ALL BEAUTIFUL.
 
All the girly talk and sentimental stories went on into the wee hours of the night without a pause.
When we all received our gorgeous homemade bracelets made by Marie Kish, Jan leaned back on the bed like a movie star and modeled hers.
It was way too cute and witty and so Jan.
 
Jan rode to the Whites Get Together with me and mom one time.  We stopped at a Yard $ale,
ate breakfast at a little country dive and chatted nonstop all the way there and back.  It was such a fun FUN day for all of us.
 
From her golden brown locks to her bright nail polish - Jan was truly one polished Lady through and through. She was the kind of person who was always upbeat, spunky, witty, intelligent, caring - a VERY CARING soul who we were all so very blessed to have had her in our paths of life.
 
Jan was REAL.  That's the highest compliment I could ever give anyone.  If she thought it - she said it and meant it.  True honestly flowed from her everytime she spoke.  If she liked you - you knew it.  She made no bones about saying "HEY GIRLFRIEND" I love you (and it was REAL).
 
They say you should never question GOD.  That HE knows exactly what he's doing.  But it does make you wonder why he would take such a beautiful person as Jan -- in such a short period of time -- in such a short-lived and ugly illness (cancer).  My grandmother used to always tell me as a child that
"God takes the good and leaves the bad to do better".  Well my dear beloved Nannie --- truer words have never been spoken in Janice Sexton Sneddens life.  She was truly one of the GOOD people that you'd be oh so honored to have known.  She was truly a good person inside and out.
 
I guess GOD had to meet his quota for April 17, 2009, Friday morning, at 6:02am
for accepting ANGELS into Heaven.  That was the time HE chose to transfer a beautiful Angel
to his glorious Kingdom.  He did not want Jan to suffer mentally or physically another day.
HE knew the time was right -- although we all may totally disagree with his timing.
 
I've enclosed as many pictures of our Beautiful Jan as I could.  Hopefully, you will all smile and remember what a loving soul she was and always will be in our hearts.
 
Jan (My Second Momma, as I would lovingly call her)
May you rest in peace, free from pain, and definitely save me a seat right next to your
bright & bubbly soul when my time comes . . . .
HEY GIRLFRIEND ~ I LOVE YOU!
Kimberly Green, Phyllis Cates' daughter
 
April 18, 2009, our first day without our Angel
 
Wendy - be proud, be VERY proud of your loving Mom - we all are
and Thank You so very much for being your moms ANGEL here on earth.
We love you
Take Care,  Kim



ANAWALT — Eva Sue Rash, age 59, of PO Box 528, Anawalt, W.Va., passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Monday, May 18, 2009 at Bluefield Regional Medical center following a long battle with cancer.Born on November 11, 1949 in Anawalt, she was a daughter of the late Flay and Helen Day Rhodes.

 She had been a lifelong resident of Anawalt and was of the Baptist faith. She was a graduate of Gary High School and received a degree in interior decorating. She formerly worked for Sears and Stone and Thomas as an interior decorator.
God needed a mayor so she currently was serving her tenth year as mayor of Anawalt and was also a municipal judge for War.
Eva has spent her life helping people.

.In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, James H. Woolridge. Survivors include her husband, Fred Rash of the home; two sons, Robert Rash of Anawalt, and Scott Rash and special friend Jennifer of Rock Hill, S.C.; five grandchildren; and five brothers, Bob Woolridge and wife Shelby of Pageton, Bill Woolridge and wife Agnes of Bassett, Va., JD Rhodes of Green Valley, Bobby Rhodes of Michigan, and Paul Rhodes of Michigan; one sister, Virginia Rhodes of Va.; and numerous nieces and nephews

.Funeral services will be conducted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. at the Long Point Missionary Baptist Church at Spencer's Curve in Anawalt with the Rev. Donnie Farmer officiating. Burial will follow at Grandview Memory Gardens in Bluefield, Va. where her past and present employees will serve as pallbearers.Friends may call on Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. at the Long Point Missionary Baptist Church in Anawalt.Online condolences may be left by visiting www.cravens-shires.comCravens-Shires Funeral Home in Bluewell is serving the Rash family.

                                                                                   

                                                   Published: May 19, 2009 07:31 pm           

                          Friends, colleagues, community remember Anawalt Mayor Rash

By CHARLES OWENS

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

ANAWALT — Eva Sue Rash, a tireless leader who guided the small town of Anawalt on the long road to recovery following the devastating 2001 flood, was remembered Tuesday by friends and fellow mayors as a dedicated public servant who spent her life helping others.

“She was always out front heading up everything that needed to be done in Anawalt,” Judy Cortellesi, a member of the McDowell County Commission, said. “She was the first on the scene, and the last one to leave. She will be dearly missed by everyone. The town of Anawalt will never have a mayor I’m sure that will equal the force that Eva Sue was in the town.”

Cortellesi said Rash worked as hard for McDowell County as she did for the town of Anawalt.

“Wherever Eva Sue was needed, Eva Sue was there,” Cortellesi said. “Whether it was on the town level or county level, or as a friend, she was there for you. It’s devastating. She’s battled problems for a while, and she was very brave. She never gave up. She always looked forward to tomorrow, and always kept a smile on her face.”

Rash, 59, was serving her 10th year as mayor of Anawalt at the time of her death Monday.

Bramwell Mayor Louise Stoker said she first met Rash following the horrific July 8, 2001, flood, which ravaged the small McDowell County town.

“That is my greatest memory of her is meeting her when that flood occurred,” Stoker said. “We took some supplies down. She was there overseeing all of the recovery of the flood, and everything that was going on. It’s a great loss. A great loss to the town and the county. It’s a great loss to this area and a personal loss to many people.”

War Mayor Tom Hatcher said Rash also worked as a judge in the city of War.

“She was just here on Wednesday of last week,” Hatcher said. “She talked to us about her medical problem. It’s really sad. I don’t really know how the town of Anawalt will be the same.”

Hatcher said Rash was a special person who loved her town and wanted to help it in all ways possible.

“Eva was such a wonderful and beautiful person and she was loved by many,” Hatcher said. “And she in turn loved us back. Above all, she loved her family. She adored Fred and her sons and spoke of them often in her conversations. She would do anything for them. She loved them tremendously and this love showed in her actions. Eva was dedicated to the people of Anawalt. She was mayor because she loved her town and wanted to help in any way possible. Being the mayor of a small town is not an easy task, but Eva gave ‘her all’ in everything she did. She worried about how to pay the town bills; she fretted over the water, garbage, roads, and other needs and where the next dollar to pay for those needs might be coming from. But this never seemed to get her down.”

Northfork Mayor Nick Mason said Rash also previously worked as a town judge in Northfork.

“She was a nice lady and a good mayor,” Mason said. “She tried to do a whole lot for the town over there. Of course sometimes it is hard to get any financial help to do those things, and it takes money. I’ve got that problem too. Her husband used to be a deputy sheriff. I’ve known Fred for years and years. Eva and I were good friends.”

Gary Mayor Henry Paul said Rash was a “hard worker” for the town of Anawalt.

“She was always pushing for projects to try to get everything better,” Paul said. “She was a nice person to be around, and always had a positive attitude. She’s done a lot for the town
 





8/25/05

|WELCOME| |09 MIRACLE MTN REUNION| |BLAST FROM THE PAST | |CLASS REUNION GROUPS | |CLASS REUNION INDIVIDUALS| |COALDIGGER MILITARY| |FUN & CHUCKLE| |GARY COALDIGGER PAGE| |GHS TEACHERS| |GHS SKIDOOS GATHERING | |GARY, WVA INFO PAGE| |INSPIRATIONAL| |MEMORIAL AND OBITS 1| |MEMORIAL AND OBITS 2| | MEMORIALS & OBITS 3| |MY MTN MEMORIES OF WVA| |NEWS & EVENTS| |PHOTO'S:ANAWALT | |PHOTO'S GARY AREA| |PHOTO'S PAGETON| |PHOTO'S WILCOE| |FLORIDA REUNION| |WHITES GET TOGETHER| |SPECIAL MEMORIALS| |MEMORIAL PAGE FOUR|