Local Obituaries for Tharp Funeral Home

The Lord called home his servant, George Laurence (Larry) Mills, 69, of Bedford, VA, on Saturday, October 23, 2010. All who knew Larry knew of his passion for Jesus Christ, for his family, for his friends, and for his music. Left to cherish his memory are his father, Melvin Mills, of Bedford, VA; wife, Margaret (Maggie), also of Bedford, VA;...

Carl Edmond Licht passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 9.  He was born on April 11, 1919, to Edmond and Tekla Licht of Aurora, IL.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in chemical engineering.Carl married Bernice Aber from Wyandotte, MI in 1947 and was a loving father to Greg and Diana.  Carl owned and operated Licht...

Kevin Stuart Ring, 48, Lynchburg, went to be with his lord on April 29, 2013. Born March 2, 1965, he was a son of Albert Stuart Ring and Nancy Bedsaul Ring of Lynchburg. Kevin, as a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church, served his country in the United States Navy, and was employed at Lees Carpet. He was predeceased by...

William (Bill) Simmerman, 80, of Thaxton, Virginia, died on May 28, 2010, in Bedford Memorial Hospital, Bedford, Virginia.Bill was the youngest of five children of Thomas Edward and Miriam Robinson Simmerman.  He was born in Wytheville, Virginia, on December 12, 1929.  He grew up on the family farm in Max Meadows (Wythe County) and graduated from Max Meadows High School...

Walter Hildreth Abbott, 83, died Sunday July 29, 2012 at Lynchburg General Hospital, Lynchburg, VA.   He was married to Edna Levasseur Abbott on June 23, 1957.He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont on September 8, 1928.  He was the only boy out of four children born to the late Wallace and Olive Abbott. He was a graduate of Brattleboro High School...

Eileen Virginia Riess Murtha, 83, of Lynchburg, died Wednesday, June 29, 2011.  She was the loving wife of the late James Edward Murtha.Born in Brooklyn, NY, May 20, 1928 she was a daughter of the late Andrew Riess and Mabel Burbach Riess.  Eileen attended St. Thomas More Catholic Church.She is survived by two daughters, Deborah Peterman and husband, Ralph of...

Rachel Bair Blandford, 87, of Lynchburg, passed away Monday, November 28, 2011. Born in Bourbon, IN, she was a daughter of James Ulmont Bair and Mina Keyser Bair. A teacher for 27 years in Lynchburg Public Schools, Rachel loved and valued the worth of teaching. In addition to her parents, Rachel was preceded in death by her husband of 50...

All I ever wanted was my baby girl, she was mine for a short time and she knew how to rock my world, \"you are my baby girl, my world\". Debra Gaye Leftwich Custer, 46, of Bedford, went home to be with The Lord Friday, August 2, 2013 at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. She was born in Roanoke, July 10, 1967. ...

Alliene Robbins Hooks, 96, formerly of Goldsboro, N.C., died February 26 in Lynchburg, Va. She had been a resident of Valley View Retirement Community in Lynchburg for the past 16 years and most recently of Heritage Green Assisted Living in Lynchburg. Mrs. Hooks was born September 8, 1917, in Shannon, Miss., the daughter of the late Robert L. and Pearl...

Isola Johnston, presently of The Summit Assisted Living Facility, formerly of Rustburg, known to friends as \"Shug\", passed away on September 25, 2012. She was born May 10, 1922, to Herbert and Jeanette Nelson in Frankfort, Indiana. She attended Western University for Women, now part of Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, where she met and married Donald N. \"Buck\" Johnston,...

Randi \"Laila\" Helgeson Bruggeling, 92, left this world on Saturday, March 3, 2012 to join Frank her husband of 66 years. Born on July 19, 1919 in Oslo, Norway, she was the daughter of the late Olaf and Agathe Helgeson. Randi was one of twelve children all of whom have predeceased her.Randi is survived by one daughter, Sylvia Mistretta and...

John Milton Barnes (Jack), 80, passed away Tuesday July 31, 2012, with loved ones by his side, at home in Lynchburg, Virginia. Born in Barrington, Rhode Island on September 25, 1931, Jack was a son of the late Milton T and Florence G Barnes of Barrington, Rhode Island.   He was the devoted husband of Joyce McCann Barnes for 59 years.In...

Eugene Ould \"Sonny\" Showalter, 82, of Lynchburg, died on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 in Lynchburg. He was the husband of Anne Carson Showalter for 56 years.Sonny was born January 14, 1930 in Lynchburg, a son of the late Fred Leslie and Mattie Ould Showalter. Sonny was a member of Peakland Baptist Church, owner of F. L. Showalter, Inc. and a...

Alice Short Arthur, 63, of Lynchburg, VA, died Thursday, November 4, 2010.  She was the wife of Stephen Royston Arthur for 38 years.Mrs. Arthur was born Tuesday, June 10, 1947 in Lynchburg, VA, a daughter of Jeannette Fulks Short of Lynchburg, VA, and the late Robert Louis Short, Sr. Alice received her Master\"™s Degree in Special Education from North Carolina...

B. Blair Brooks, 88, of Cocoa, Florida, passed away April 9, 2013. He was a 1950 graduate of Virginia Tech and a construction engineer for 35 years with Sherlock, Smith and Adams in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a WWII veteran, having served in the US Air Force.He is survived by his wife of sixty-five years, Lucy Key Brooks; daughter, Sharon...

Karen Lynn Becker, 53, of Lynchburg, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, January 22, 2011.Ms. Becker was born Monday, April 8, 1957 in Albuquerque, NM, a daughter of Fred and Helen Young Becker of Lynchburg.  She worked for New Editions Consulting as a website developer for many years.  An avid animal lover, she especially loved her Gordon Setters. ...

Madaline McCausland Martin, 97, passed away on Monday, February 11, 2013. She was the first of four siblings, born August 24, 1915, to Hugh Glenn & Madaline Shaner McCausland.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel Thomas Martin; sons Samuel Thomas Martin, Jr., Stephen Noble Martin, and David Sperry Martin; and siblings Hugh Glenn McCausland, Jr., and Jean...

Raymond F. Irby, 89, of Bedford, died Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at the Joseph C. Thomas Center, Richfield Retirement Community.  He was born June 2, 1924 in Louisville, KY, a son of the late Raymond Edward Irby and Mary Henehan Irby.   Ray served with the Army Signal Corps during World War II in England, where he met his wife, Helen. ...

Charles Whitney Grove, 93, from Groveland Farm in Forest, VA, died Wednesday, January 8, 2014 in Lynchburg General Hospital.  Whitney was born in Waynesboro, VA on August 28, 1920, the son of the late Raymond Charles Grove and Mary Glena Grove; he was the second of eight children.  Whitney was manager of Old Elkton Farm and Creswell Farm from 1940-1958....

Kathryn Cummins Mays, 77 of Lynchburg, died unexpectedly February 18, 2011.  She was born Sept 16, 1933, in Nashville, TN, daughter of the late John Fenner Cummins and Marjorie Devereux Cummins.  She graduated from Peabody Demonstration School (1947), from Ward-Belmont School (1951), from Holton Arms Junior College in Washington, DC (1953) and from Hollins College in Roanoke, VA (1955).   In...