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thewidowstanton · 5 years ago

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Stav Meishar, multi-disciplinary performer and creator – The Escape Act: A Holocaust Memoir

Stav Meishar – a stage artist who mixes theatre, circus, music, dance, poetry and puppetry – was born and raised in Tel Aviv in Israel. She attended the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts and has worked professionally as an actress since childhood, notably starring in Wicked’s original Israeli cast.

After moving to the US in 2008, Stav has performed internationally in Hebrew, English and Yiddish. In 2012 she founded Petit Mort Productions to provide an outlet for multi-disciplinary artists whose works are “innovative, unique and perhaps a bit strange”. In 2013, her play The Dreamer and the Acrobat ran at the NY Frigid Festival, and she made her circus debut on silks in the Off-Broadway revival of The Megile of Itzik Manger.

Stav is now based in Bristol and this month embarks on a UK tour of her solo show The Escape Act: A Holocaust Memoir, which is based on the life of Jewish-German circus artist Irene Danner. Stav chats to Liz Arratoon in the run-up to its UK premiere at Jacksons Lane in London on 23 September 2019.

The Widow Stanton: Is there any showbusiness in your background? Stav Meishar: Almost everybody in my family is in love with the arts but nobody else makes it. Everybody does other things around it. My mother is an arts critic, lecturer and guide. She knows everything there is to know about arts but when I asked her if she ever wanted to make any, she said: “Heavens, no!” My dad owns a business he funded… it’s kind of hard to explain but it’s like an archive of Israeli folk dancing. So ever since I was little whenever a new Israeli folk dance would be created, he’d get the choreographer and a bunch of volunteer dancers and videotape it, with instructions, so that enthusiasts around the world can learn how to dance.

How did you start performing so young? I’ve always loved attention [laughs]. There’s video tapes of me when I’m two or three years old doing, like, hand puppetry. Not with actual puppets, just with my hands. I think it was a Mr and a Mrs who met at a movie theatre and fell in love. It was always something I wanted and I used to scour the newspapers when I was little for audition notices. So when there was one for an Israeli production of Oliver Twist I figured, why not be an orphan? [Laughs]

So you just auditioned and got the part? Yep! The production was first in Tel Aviv. There’s a big tradition in Israel on Hanukkah to have shows for the family because everyone’s off from school and the parents are going crazy trying to find something different for the kids. I was… 11, I think, and then the following year it toured all around Israel. I had a lovely time.

What happened about your schoolwork and all that boring stuff? If I remember correctly, the rehearsals were about a half-hour bus ride from my school and I had to get special permission to leave the last class a bit early, so that I could make it on time. All the kids were really mean to me about it: “Oh, you know, she’s hoity-toity with her rehearsals.” I’d rehearse every day and get home at about 7pm.

But being on tour… I think because Israel is so small it’s a bit different to what we think of as tours in the UK or US. There were about 50 kids in the cast so the production would hire a bus and I think there was at least one adult from the production with us.

Was the Thelma Yellin school like a Fame school or something? [Laughs] It’s pretty much what you imagine when you think of a performing arts school; a little bit like Fame. It’s a great school in Israel that still exists and has a great reputation. All the students have to be good at all the regular subjects. You can’t slack off in any of that but you also have to choose one of six artistic majors: theatre, classical music, jazz, cinema, visual arts and dance. So mine was theatre. I was there from 14 to 18.

Why did you move to the US? I always wanted to be in musical theatre, and originally the dream was London. I got accepted at a few schools here but none of them had international scholarships. There was a lot of crying and sadness around that [laughs] and then I picked myself up by the bootstraps and figured, ‘Well, I’ve got to come up with a plan B’, and I got accepted to a musical theatre programme in New York at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy that did have quite a generous international student scholarship.

I worked my arse off for about two years saving every shekel I could and got some help from my parents as well, God bless them, and yes, I moved to the States and studied musical theatre. I graduated and worked in professional musical theatre in New York for about a year and then one day I woke up and realised, ‘I hate it!’. Not musical theatre, I still love that, but the business around it; how mean everybody is and how soul-crunching open calls are. I couldn’t do it anymore.

This crisis was in about 2010 and I was in a really dark place for a while and decided, ‘I’m just going to see as much theatre and performing arts as I can and see if I can get inspired by any of it, and take as many classes as I can in all kinds of different things’. So I took yoga, and I took Pilates and all kinds of stuff… and I took a silks class and uh… well… yeah, fell in love. [Laughs]

Where did you learn your circus skills? I trained for a long time at the Circus Warehouse in New York, which is a fantastic space with really high-level professional training. It’s not a university, it’s not accredited, but the level is super high and the coaches are all fantastic.

I see also you play ukulele and do poi spinning… have you got anything else up your sleeve? I had a year or two of trying a bunch of different things. I still play the ukulele mostly for my own pleasure. I took a street show to the Edinburgh Fringe for a couple of years where I put together Shakepearean monologues with whatever was popular that day on MTV, on the ukulele. So Taming of the Shrew and how badly he treats her, how awful he is leading into Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. That was fun for a little while.

Oh, and poi spinning… I do a lot of things none of them in any way as professional as I do theatre. You can’t do too many things well. You do a lot, you end up being OK at most of them. I’m skilled in a lot of things but wouldn’t consider myself expert in all of them. Theatre is where I’m most confident… history, specifically World War II history is something I’m very confident in, and Jewish education is something I feel an expert on. Circus is always a tricky thing because I’ve been doing it long but I have never done it with enough… let’s put it that way, I started late and I’m lazy.

Have you done stuff at Circomedia, being in Bristol? Yeah, I just did one year full time there, basically shadowing their foundation degree students doing all the practical stuff but none of the academic stuff, because I already have my degree. It sounds much more than I’m capable of. Yes, I just graduated from a full-time programme; I’m still pretty shit at circus but I never intended, like, I don’t market myself as an acrobat. I’m a multidisciplinary artist who has a lot of tools and because this current project is about a circus artist, I had to have some circus skills thrown into the melting pot of the show, but I’ve been really adamant with everybody where I’m performing, don’t market it as circus show or people will be really disappointed. It’s a theatre show. It has puppetry, it has circus but I’m no more a circus acrobat than I am a puppet master.

So let’s talk about The Escape Act. How did it come about? It was completely random. I started my Jewish education company, Dreamcoat Experience, and our niche, so to speak, was teaching progressive Jewish education using performing arts: drama, music, puppets, thing like that, and I started weaving circus methods into our curriculum. I was curious if anyone had done that before and I went to Google and I typed in ‘Circus Jews’ and one of the first things to come up was the New York Times obituary for Adolf Althoff, the German circus owner who saved this Jewish family. I just remember reading it and my jaw dropping to the floor going, ‘How is there not a movie about this?’. It was incredible. I just started going into this Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole from which I never emerged.

You’ve written about Irene Danner’s story for Circus Talk, but give us a brief outline of her story. In seven years of research, I uncovered a lot and it’s a big story. The short of it is, Irene, born Danner, was a descendent of the Lorch family, Jewish Circus royalty; they were the most famous Risley act of their time. They performed with the Ringling Brothers in America, they went on tour with Circus Sarrasani in South America, they really were the celebs of their time. The circus closed when she was about seven years old; they went bankrupt around 1930 with the rise of anti-semitism and people not really wanting to see ‘the Jew circus’ anymore.

Irene trained as a acrobat from when she was little and got her first job when she was 13, with Circus Busch. She was the flyer for the horse-riding troupe The Carolis and was there for three years until the law changed and Jews weren’t allowed to work anymore. About three years later she went to see the Circus Althoff and fell in love with their clown, Peter Bento. Peter asked Adolf if he would give her a job. Adolf knew it wasn’t legal but he didn’t really give a shit, excuse the language. That’s his, not mine. She was not allowed to marry Peter because of the racial laws of the time but they had two kids during the war and three more afterwards.

At some point when the Jews were starting to get deported, she persuaded Mr Althoff to let her family join as well; so her sister and her parents, and all four of them survived the war. Other members of her family didn’t make it. If you visit their house there are a few stumbling stones outside for all those who perished. The idea is that you shouldn’t just be reminded of the Holocaust when you decide to be by going to a memorial, but that you stumble upon them.

The Escape Act is as faithful to the story as I could make it but I took some artistic liberties. For example, she joined the Althoff circus because she fell in love, but in the show I’ve made it that she joins because she misses performing and she wants to do what she loves. It’s a bit of a feminist twist; she’s making her own path.

So in the show, you’re doing a bit of trapeze and juggling but it’s a theatre show? It is definitely a theatre show. It’s quite text heavy.

How did you go about your research? I started at the Yad Vashem Museum – the big Holocaust museum in Israel – because the obit mentioned that Adolf Althoff and his wife Maria, had received the honour of the title ‘The Righteous Among the Nations’ from Yad Vashem, which is a special sort of order, I guess, for Gentiles who saved Jews during World War II. As they’d given them this honour I assumed they’d have files on them and indeed they had.

They had interviews with both Adolf and Irene… photos… and then I just started visiting museums, archives, libraries, just picking information wherever I could, speaking to whoever I could. I wish I spoke German; my research would have been so much better. A lot of my info came from a wonderful book called Jewish Identities in German Popular Entertainment. It’s the only English book available that talks about circus performers in Germany during that era. Of course I looked at the bibliography and saw where I could branch off from there.

One of the books I got in German is this tiny little book that’s all interviews and testimonies from Irene, her husband, Adolf, basically everybody involved. I crowd-sourced the translation. I just reached out on Facebook and got something like ten German speakers to translate two chapters each voluntarily. So I got the whole book translated out of the goodness of their hearts. One of my favourite things described was the friendship that Irene and her husband had with a Moroccan acrobat called Mohammed; Muslim, of course, and being Jewish, I was like, yes, Jewish/Muslim friendship, yay! He was their best friend during the war and he helped hide them, he protected them, they were really each other’s backbone.

Years later when I went to Irene’s town and interviewed her kids, who are now in their seventies, I asked them if they were still in touch with any of the saviours. Her eldest son was like: “Ja, ja, we still speak, Christmas cards, birthday cards, but the one we are really in touch with, we speak every week on the phone, is Uncle Momo.” It just took me a second… I’m like, ‘Do you mean Mohammed?’. He goes: “Yes, yes, he lives in Tangier now.” ‘I’m sorry, is he still alive?’. “Yes, he just celebrated his 94th birthday.”

It was just incredible! So here I am in a living room in Germany, learning that there’s one person still alive from that era, and here’s the real amazing thing… this was in May and in June my husband and I were booked on our honeymoon, guess where? Morocco! That was incredibly random. It was meant to be. I told Irene’s son, ‘It so happens we’re going to Morocco. Will you please connect me with Mohammed?’. So a few weeks later, there we were in his living room in Tangier.

What does it mean to you to be performing the show in Germany on the anniversary of Kristallnacht? I think I’m actually more terrified than honoured, because her kids are probably going to be there and I’m so terrified that they’ll be angry at me for making changes. That’s my own demons and whatnot. I think as an artist it’s something of a trait to imagine a worst-case scenario. It’s something we do to ourselves but I’m sure it will a wonderful experience and hopefully her kids will love it. I did ask for their blessing and they gave it to me.

But just talking to you I get emotional about bringing the show on Kristallnacht because this is where it all took place. Even when I visited there last year it was really emotionally difficult to be in that synagogue where I know Kristallnacht happened, and to be in the family’s home where I know Irene saw her own grandmother being snatched away. In those places there’s a visceral element to being in the spot where it happened. Like visiting Auschwitz is different than reading about it. And there is a scene in the show that takes place on Kristallnacht, so to be at the synagogue where it actually happened, in the town where it actually happened, in front of that family, I mean, it’s… ahh! It’s an incredible gift that they’ve given me to invite me to do my show there.

Do you feel, with the rise of the far right, that your show is even more relevant now and it’s even more important that people should hear this story? Yes, absolutely. It’s been in my mind ever since I started researching this history, and every time I think it’s going to become less relevant, it has to get better from here, it doesn’t. It’s getting worse. Every historian has this feeling of helplessness where you see history repeating itself and yet people do it anyway. Even with Germany and all that history, when I talk politics to people, they’re like: “Oh, but it’s getting better now. Gays have the right to marry, trans people are accepted.” But if you look at history, the Weimar Republic happened right before the Nazi regime. They had, like, the biggest gay parties, they had cross-dressers, they had cabarets, they had this amazing period of artistic and sexual liberation and then this happened. I’m not sure that an improvement necessarily says an upward motion.

When I first starting working on the show the thing I really kept thinking about was how the Holocaust was taught to me. Growing up in Israel it’s a big subject in our curriculum. We study it, I dare say, a bit too early, but one of the most powerful experiences that I had growing up and that I saw as a Jewish educator in America is that schools would bring survivors to tell their stories first hand. And that’s always been for me and my students the most powerful experience, more than watching movies, more than seeing pictures of naked skinny bodies. Just having a person there telling you this is what happened, this is what they did to me, to my sister, to my parents, it’s different. And it’s a resource that’s not going to be available forever. Survivors are dying out and the thought that led me in this work is, ‘OK, what experience can I create that would get as close to a first-hand telling as possible?’.

I’d like to think this show is a good alternative. It’s not perfect, it’s never going to replicate that, but telling a story in the first person as if it were my story and taking those moments of stepping away from the character, and being myself and telling my own experiences, more about the after-effects it has, I think that’s powerful for everyone. What’s it like for someone who is descendent of refugees from a genocide? How does that affect you? Here’s this person who was never in the camps, who never starved and who had a pretty cushy, privileged life and yet there’s this scar that was her inheritance, and it’s never going to go away.

Would you say this show is the highlight of your career so far? It’s definitely the most ambitious project I’ve taken. I’ve been a performer for most of my life but I’ve always interpreted other people’s work. That’s what actors do, and this is not the first time I’m doing my own project but it’s the first time I’m doing, first of all a project that I’ve vested so much time and effort in, but it’s also the first project that has autobiographical elements. So the show I would say is 95 per cent Irene’s story but the rest is me and my history.

The way it’s structured is when there are points when her experiences sort of trigger my own memories growing up, I take a step out of Irene and become myself, the house lights go up and I talk to the audience about my own experiences. It’s a wonderful thing as an artist to be able to share that sort of vulnerability with an audience, and it’s absolutely terrifying and it’s difficult. It’s so raw and it’s weird because those things haven’t happened to me. I’m telling the stories of my ancestors and still, yeah, it’s right there in the really innermost parts.

vimeo

Stav Meishar performs The Escape Act: A Holocaust Memoir at Jacksons Lane in London on 23 and 24 September 2019, before a UK tour.

Picture credits: Michael Blase; Asaf Sagi; Kati Rapia: Shirin Tinati: Gilad Kfir

For Jacksons Lane tickets, click here

For tour dates, click here

Stav’s website

Twitter: @stavmeishar

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

#stav meishar #the escape act #holocaust #theatre interview #jacksons lane #circus #aerialist #jewish artist #yad vashem

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dirjoh-blog · 7 years ago

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I stumbled across this story by accident. I was actually doing research on a Jerry Lewis movie called “The Day the Clown Cried “The film was met with controversy regarding its premise and content, which features a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Lewis has repeatedly insisted that The Day the Clown Cried would never be released because it is an embarrassingly “bad work” that he is ashamed of..

In Europe, circuses used to travel across national borders, spending weeks moving through forests and little-used trails, and then set up shop in small villages. During the direst parts of World War II, villagers would flock to see the circus–especially in Germany. “Even during the Third Reich, a traveling circus meant a diversion from the daily drudgery of work.

Adolf Althoff, the young heir of the famous Althoff circus, with a family tradition reaching back to the 17th century, directed the circus during the Nazi period. The circus continued its regular activity throughout the war years, traveling from one place to another.

He was born into the family in Sonsbeck, Germany. At age 17 he became publicity director for his families of the circus.

In his twenties Althoff and his sister formed their own circus, of which he was the ringmaster for 30 years. In 1940, Althoff began five years work in concealing four members of the Danner performing family in his circus. Althoff provided the Danners with false identity papers and had the family working under pseudonyms.

In the summer of 1941, the circus stopped for a prolonged round of performances at a camp site near Darmstadt in Hesse. One of the visitors at the site was a young girl by the name of Irene Danner. She was a descendant through her mother’s side of the Lorches, a celebrated German-Jewish circus dynasty that had settled in the small town of Eschollbrücken near Darmstadt in the 19th century.

Although he was well aware of her Jewish descent, Althoff agreed to engage Irene, a gifted acrobat in her own right, in his circus under an assumed name. She soon fell in love with another circus artist, the young Peter Storm-Bento, also a member of a famous family of acrobats and clowns from Belgium. In 1942, the persecution of the Jews of Darmstadt entered a new, lethal phase. On March 20, the first deportation to Lublin in Poland took place, which was followed by the next two deportations in September 1942 and in February 1943.

Irene Danner’s beloved grandmother was among the deportees, but her mother and sister could still escape in time to make it to Althoff’s circus camp, where they were received with open arms. They were later joined by Irene’s Aryan father, who was granted a temporary release from the army on the pretext of arranging a divorce from his Jewish wife. Harboring four illegals during the war years was at best a high-risk undertaking, although the camp’s relative seclusion did afford some protection from inquisitive eyes.

The Althoff couple had to reckon with the ever-present possibility of a denunciation by one or another disgruntled worker. The threat actually materialized once, but the wily circus director, who had been tipped off in advance by a good friend, knew how to distract the Gestapo officers’ attention with a drink or two, giving the illegals extra time to disappear for a while. The Althoffs also saw to it that Irene received proper medical care during her two births. This was especially complicated because they were both Caesarean sections. The Althoffs assumed this risk as a matter of course, without requesting any material remuneration, even though they had never met either Irene Danner or her family before the war.

Althoff warned the people he rescued with the code Go Fishing.

On January 2, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Adolf and Maria Althoff as Righteous Among the Nations.

The Circus that saved a Jewish family I stumbled across this story by accident. I was actually doing research on a Jerry Lewis movie called "The Day the Clown Cried "The film was met with controversy regarding its premise and content, which features a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.

#Circus #History #Holocaust #Jerry Lewis #Righteous Among the nations #The Day the Clown Cried #World War 2

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todayclassical · 7 years ago

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July 12 in Music History

1468 Birth of Spanish composer Juan del Encina in Salamanca.

1666 FP of Cesti’s “Nettunno e Flora festeggianti” Vienna.

1757 Birth of composer Christian Danner.

1675 Birth of Italian composer and conductor Evarista dall'Abaco in Verona.

1701 FP of Ariosti’s “La fede ne’ tradimenti”.

1703 FP of Ariosti’s “Mars und Irene”.

1742 Death of Italian composer and conductor Evarista dall'Abaco in Verona.

1773 Death of German flutist Johann Quantz in Potsdam.

1799 FP of Paer’s “Il morto vivo” Vienna.

1802 Birth of composer Charles-Louis Hanssens.

1821 Birth of composer Cesare Dominiceti in Desenzano del Guarda.

1847 Birth of German pianist Karl Barth. 1847 Birth of Italian musicologist Father Angelo de Santi in Trieste. 1861 Birth of Russian conductor, professor and composer Anton Stepanovich Arensky in Novgorod.

1876 Birth of bass Edmund Burke in Toronto.

1885 Birth of English composer George Sainton Kay Butterworth in London.

1888 Birth of tenor Browning Mummery in Melbourne.

1892 Birth of bass Mario Basiola.

1893 Birth of English french-hornist Aubrey Brain in London.

1895 Birth of Basque composer Juan Telleria Arrizabalaga. 1895 Birth of Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad Hamar, nr Oslo.

1895 Birth of American musical theater lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.

1900 FP of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem at the Paris World Exhibition in Paris. 1902 Birth of tenor August Jaresch. 1908 Birth of Dutch composer Johan Henri Gustave Franco in Zaandam, Netherlands. 1922 FP of Paul Hindemith’s Kleine Kammermusik for winds, Op. 24, no. 2. Frankfurt Chamber Winds in Cologne, Germany. 1924 Birth of composer Jaap Geraedt. 1925 Birth of Japanese composer Tasushi Akutagawa in Tokyo. 1925 Birth of tenor Albert Lance in Adelaide. 1926 Birth of Opera director John Crosby in New York. 1929 FP of Boero’s “El Matrero” Buenos Aires. 1931 Birth of Belgian composer André Laporte in Oplinter. 1934 Birth of American pianist Van Cliburn in Shreveport Louisiana. 1937 Birth of soprano Nelly Ailakowa.

1938 Birth of American composer Lee Noble in Detroit. 1940 FP of Alberto Ginastera’s ballet Panambi in Buenos Aires.

1942 Birth of American clarinetist Richard Stoltzman in Omaha, NE. 1943 Birth of English pianist Roger Vignoles.

1946 FP of Benjamin Britten’s opera The Rape of Lucretia at the Glyndebourne Festival in England.

1947 Death of tenor Bjorn Talen.

1948 FP of Vaughan Williams Partita For Double String Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall, London, by BBC SO with RVW conducting. 1951 Birth of soprano Sylvia Sass in Budapest. 1953 Death of Belgian composer Joseph Jongen at age 79, in Sart-lez-Spa. 1966 Birth of Italian composer Giovanni Grosskopf in Sesto S.G., Milan. 1968 Death of soprano Ada Sari. 1969 Birth of Italian composer Luca Belloni in Milan. 1972 FP of Peter Maxwell Davies’ opera Taverner at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. 1974 Death of baritone Christo Brambarov. 1976 Birth of British composer Louise Thompson in Portsmouth, England. 1976 FP of Hans-Werner Henze’s opera We Come to the River at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. 1979 Death of Finnish conductor and choral director Kalervo Tuukkanen in Helsinki.

1992 FP of Christopher Rouse’s Violin Concerto. Aspen Festival Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, soloist Cho-Liang Lin at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen CO. 1996 Death of Swiss composer Gottfried von Einem in Vienna.

#classicalmusic #musichistory #todayclassical #today in music history #onthisday

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the-record-obituaries · 5 years ago

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March 11, 2020: Obituaries

Carol Martin, 75

Carol Yates Martin, age 75, of Purlear, passed away Monday, March 9, 2020 at her home. Carol was born April 6, 1944 in Wilkes County to Theo Thad and Fannie McNeil Yates. She was a member of Boiling Springs Baptist Church, where she played the organ. She also enjoyed playing the piano. She taught school in Seattle Washington, in Oregon, at Boomer Ferguson Elementary and for many years at Millers Creek Elementary. Carol loved her family. Mrs. Martin enjoyed her African grey parrot, Jaro; her cat, Roscoe; and dog, Laddie. Mrs. Martin was an avid reader and doing crosswords. She was loved by so many and will be greatly missed. Mrs. Martin was preceded in death by her parents.

Surviving are her husband of 52 years, Fred Martin, Jr. of the home; son, Christopher Lynn Martin and spouse Susan of Purlear; and granddaughter, Ava Grace Martin of Purlear.

Funeral service will be held 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at Boiling Springs Baptist Church with Pastor Joey Moore officiating. Burial will follow in the Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Boiling Springs Baptist Church from 12:00 until 1:00 on Wednesday, prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Boiling Springs Baptist Church, 1390 Boiling Springs Road, Purlear, NC 28665. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Robert "Bob" Reid, 84

Robert "Bob" Lee Reid, age 84, passed away on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at Wake Forest Baptist-Wilkes Medical Center.

Funeral services will be held on 2:00 PM Thursday, March 12, at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Wilkesboro with Pastor Derek Kilby officiating. Burial with Military Honors and Masonic Rites will be in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Wednesday evening at Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home in North Wilkesboro.

He was born November 14, 1935 in Iredell County to Pearl Beshears and William Marsh Beshears. He graduated from Central High School in Iredell County and then moved to Michigan in 1955 to work for General Motors. He served in the U.S. Army from 1958-1960.

He met and married the love of his life, Lynn Ann Jurek, in 1970. He retired from Cadillac after a 35-year career. Bob was an avid golfer, playing (and winning) in the Cadillac golf league for many years. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Detroit and the Blue Ridge Shrine Club in Wilkesboro. He loved spending time with his family and friends and never met a stranger. Helping others gave him great joy. He was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2019, yet continued on with his same enthusiasm for life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters;Fern and Grace, and a brother, Denny.

He is survived by his wife, Lynn of the home, his son; Greg Reid (Andrea) of Boxford, MA, their daughter; Cheryl Easterwood (Rich), of Mesa, AZ, and their son; Robert Reid (Sherry), of Wilkesboro; two grandsons; Landon and Dylan Easterwood, of Mesa, AZ., one brother; Marshall Reid, one sister; Shelby Coppola (Eddy), an uncle; Ray Hartley (Betty) Beshears, and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.

The family requests no food or flowers.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Blue Ridge Shrine Club, P.O. Box 442, North Wilkesboro, NC, 28659.

Jimmy Brown, 57

Jimmy Ray Brown, age 57, of North Wilkesboro, passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem. Jimmy was born October 24, 1962 in Wilkes County to James Vernon and Sarah Louise Knight Brown. He was of the Baptist Faith. He enjoyed taking care of stray animals and watching drag racing. Mr. Brown was preceded in death by his father; and brother, Jeffery Brown.

Surviving are his mother, Sarah Brown of North Wilkesboro; sisters, June Young and Debbie Perry both of North Wilkesboro; special uncle, James Thomas "Red" Knight of North Wilkesboro; uncles, Marvin Knight of North Wilkesboro, Johnnie Knight of Winston Salem, Tony Brown and Carvin Brown both of North Wilkesboro, Roland Brown of Arkansas; aunts, Jean Wyatt, Betty Walker and Linda Royal all of North Wilkesboro, Joyce Hill of South Carolina; best friends, Danny Hayes and Mark Shumate.

Memorial service will be held at a later date. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Grady Smith, age 71

Grady Lee Smith, age 71, of Moravian Falls, passed away March 6, 2020 at his home. He was born February 24, 1949 in Wilkes County to Atwell Ray and Mary Annie Hester Smith. Mr. Smith was a member of Rocky Creek Baptist Church in Moravian Falls. He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Joseph Lee Smith; and brothers, Bill and Bob Smith.

Surviving are his wife, Talethia Houston Smith; daughters, Angela Vance and spouse James Michael of Cadet, Missouri, Revonda Adams and spouse Leland, Lisa Eller and spouse Jeremy all of Moravian Falls, Jolaine Wilson and spouse Greg of Statesville; sister, Hazel Foster and spouse John of Moravian Falls; ten grandchildren, Christopher Vance, Samantha Vance, Nicholas Watson, Zachary Watson, Tiffanie Adams, Duncan Eller, Brittany Rutherford, Hunter Eller, Jonathan Wilson, Katherine Wilson; and four great grandchildren, Kloe Watson, Tyler Watson, Emma Watson, Remington Rutherford.

Funeral service was March 10, at Miller Funeral Chapel with Rev. Ronnie Allen and Rev. Michael Dyess officiated. Burial followed in Millersville Baptist Church Cemetery in Taylorsville. Flowers will be accepted. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements. Pallbearers were Nicholas Watson, Duncan Eller, Hunter Eller, Jonathan Wilson, Greg Wilson and Jeremy Eller.

Dorothy Stroud, 90

Mrs. Dorothy Elizabeth Smithey Stroud, age 90 of Wilkesboro, died Saturday, March 7, 2020 at her home.

Private family graveside services will be held.

Mrs. Stroud was born December 25, 1929 in Wilkes County to the late William and Rosie Gentle Smithey. She was a member of Oakwoods Baptist Church.

In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Royal Edward Stroud; one sister, Sybil Treadway; and three brothers, Jim Smithey, Pete Smithey, and Charlie Smithey.

She is survived by one daughter, Nancy Denny and husband, Jack, of Ronda; six sons, Robert Cardwell and wife, Brenda, of Wilkesboro, Wayne Cardwell and wife, Betty, of Wilkesboro, Tony Cardwell of Rutherfordton, Ricky Stroud and Sandra Johnson of Wilkesboro, George Stroud and wife, Ellen, of Wilkesboro, Ronnie Stroud of Blanch; twelve grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Betty Jean Queen of Wilkesboro and Marian Cleary of China Grove; and two brothers, Wade Smithey and wife, Opal, of North Wilkesboro, and Calvin Smithey and wife, Vera, of Wilkesboro.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Wake Forest Care at Home Hospice for their care and kindness.

The family requests no food or flowers. Memorials may be made to Oakwoods Baptist Church Senior Meals, 2385 Brushy Mountain Road, Wilkesboro NC 28697 or Wake Forest Care at Home Hospice, 126 Executive Drive Suite 110, Wilkesboro NC 28697.

Carrie West, 79

Mrs. Carrie Harris West, age 79, of Wilkesboro passed away Friday March 6, 2020 at her home surrounded by her loving family.

Funeral services were March 10, at 2pm at Davis Memorial Baptist Church with Pastor Hadley Triplett, Rev. David Winebarger, and Rev. Brandon Lowe officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.

Carrie was born September 25, 1940 in Wilkes to Emit and Olee Harris. Carrie retired from Kmart. She was an avid baker, seamstress, and reader. She loved to cook and bake for the family. Carrie was a lifetime member of Davis Memorial Baptist Church, where she served the Lord faithfully.

She was preceded in death by her parents and also her husband Arnell West. Carrie is survived by two daughters Debra Kilby (Bruce) of Hendersonville, NC and Wanda Love (Dwight) of Wilkesboro; four sons Terry West (Elaine) of Wilkesboro, Gary West (Kathy) of Laurel Springs, Brent West (Trish) of Wilkesboro, and Eric West (Loretta) of Millers Creek; Fifteen grandchildren; twenty two great-grandchildren; two sisters Shirley Griffin and Irene Minton both of Wilkesboro; and two brothers Lloyd Harris of Wilkesboro and Travis Harris of Ferguson.

Diane Adams, 65

Diane White Adams, age 65, of North Wilkesboro, passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Forsyth Medical Center. She was born March 18, 1954 in Yadkin County to Max and Beaulah Nichols White. Diane attended Sulphur Springs Baptist Church in Hiddenite. She enjoyed working in her yard. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, greagrandchildren and her dog "Spud." Diane was preceded in death by her parents; and brothers, David White and Mark White.

She is survived by her husband, Jerry Adams of North Wilkesboro; daughter, Renee Peal and spouse Jeff of Taylorsville; son, Joseph Royall and spouse Daloma Jarratt of North Wilkesboro; step-mother, Sue White of Roxsboro; sister, Pamela Dimmette of North Wilkesboro; brother, Stevie White of Roxsboro; grandchildren, Savannah Wilson and spouse Ryan, Baylee Peal, Elijah Peal all of Taylorsville; and great grandchildren, Ivy Wilson and Grant Wilson both of Taylorsville.

Memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 2020 at Sulphur Springs Baptist Church with Rev. Mitch King officiating. Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Sulphur Springs Baptist Church Youth Program, 116 Patterson Road, Hiddenite, NC 28636. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Zenith Walker, 97

Mrs. Zenith Inez Canter Walker, age 97 of North Wilkesboro passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at her home.

Funeral services were Sunday at Reins- Sturdivant Chapel with Rev. Paul Siceloff and Rev. Bryan Danner officiating.

Mrs. Walker was born June 6, 1922 in Wilkes County to Thomas J. and Zollie Yates Canter. She was a homemaker and a member of Northside Baptist Church. Recently she enjoyed attending services at the Chapel in Wilkes Towers.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Gilbert Taylor Walker, a daughter, Mrs. Linda Walker Sturdivant, and a son, Jerry Taylor Walker; four sisters, Mary Linda Burton, Flora Lee Souther, Annie Chamberlain, Irene Dotson, and seven brothers, Jake Canter, Ralph Canter, Fred Canter, George Canter, Henry Canter, Burton Canter, Roby Canter, and two son in laws, J.D. Childress and Jack Vannoy.

Mrs. Walker is survived by two daughters, Ruth Walker Childress of North Wilkesboro, Doris Walker Vannoy of Wilmington, seven grandchildren, Andrea Childress Johnson, Joseph Childress, Lisa S. Nathan, LeAnne Sturdivant, Bill Sturdivant, Justin Vannoy, and Jason Vannoy. Eleven great grandchildren, Ty Johnson, Dylan Johnson, Jada Childress, Jenna Childress, Jaxson Childress, Leslie Sturdivant, Taylor Sturdivant, Lara Jarvis Klibansky, Ashley Jarvis, Kamalaya Vannoy, and Everly Vannoy, and seven great, great grandchildren Micah Johnson, Payson Johnson, Parker Mathis, Brayden Byrd, Elizabeth Gray, Ellie Klibansky, Roan Klibansky, and a brother, Jack Canter of Irving, TX.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care 401 Technology Lane, Suite 200 Mt. Airy, NC 27030 or Bibleway Baptist Church, P.O. Box 185, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

Kenneth Triplett, 75

Kenneth Albert Triplett, age 75, of Wilkesboro, passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Accordius Health of Wilkesboro. Kenneth was born December 13, 1944 in Wilkes County to Wilmer Lovejoy "Bud" and Hallie Bowman Triplett. Kenneth loved playing softball and golf when he was able throughout his life and also enjoyed coaching softball. He was preceded in death by his parents; and great grandson, Luke Combs.

Surviving are his children, Denise Triplett of Hickory, Dawn Giplin and spouse Red of West Virginia, Kenneth Triplett and spouse Ashleigh of Lenoir, Anita Trapp and spouse Randy of North Wilkesboro; brothers, Loyd Triplett and spouse Fannie of Boomer, Gary Triplett of North Wilkesboro; sisters, Linda Price of Wilkesboro, Sara Lewis of North Wilkesboro; eleven grandchildren; sixteen great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews.

Memorial service will be held from 4:00 until 5 p.m. Sunday, March 15, 2020 at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Boomer with Rev. Derek Kilby officiating. The family has requested no flowers. Memorials may be made to Wake Forest Baptist Health & Hospice, 126 Executive Drive, Suite 110, Wilkesboro, NC 28697. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Walter Lovette, 86

Mr. Walter "Sonny" Lovette, age 86 of Millers Creek passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at his son's home in Biloxi, MS.

Graveside services were March 9, at Charity Community Church in Millers Creek with Pastor Steve Laws officiating.

Mr. Lovette was born November 18, 1933 to Eugene and Blanche Blackburn Lovette. He retired from poultry farming and then went into the rental property business.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother; Billy Eugene Lovette.

He is survived by his wife; Peggy Bumgarner Lovette, a son; Bobby Walter Lovette and wife Vickie, two daughters; Tammy Lovette Gragg and husband Kevin, Susan Caroline Lovette, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Rouie Bentley, 93

Mrs. Rouie Mae Tedder Bentley, age 93 of Moravian Falls passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at Wake Forest Baptist-Wilkes Medical Center.

Funeral services were March 6, at Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Moravian Falls with Rev. Sherrill Wellborn, Rev. Tom Moore, Rev. Darrel Poole and Preacher Chuck Combs officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery.

Mrs. Bentley was born August 21, 1926 in Wilkes County to Rellie Jefferson and Pearl Luvenia Treadway Tedder. She was a member of Walnut Grove Baptist Church. She loved her family, they were the most important part of her life.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband; Charlie Edward Bentley, one grandchild, two sisters and four brothers.

She is survived by one daughter; Linda Hawkins and husband Bill of Millers Creek, one son; Robert Bentley of Mulberry, three grandchildren, ten great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.

Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to Walnut Grove Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 6165 NC Hwy 16S, Moravian Falls, NC 28654.

Charlie Willis, 64

Mr. Charlie Willis, 64, of Roaring River, passed away on Monday, March 2, 2020 at W.G. Bill Hefner VA Medical Center.

Charlie was born on May 2, 1955 in Durham County to Joseph Willis and Emma Blackburn Willis.

Charlie is preceded in death by his parents.

Charlie is survived by his wife, Nellie Jean Spears Willis, daughters, Esther "Jane" Santos of Mt. Airy, Jessica Weatherman of North Wilkesboro, Misty Minton of Hays, Jennifer Love of Wilkesboro, Larenda Darby of Atlanta Georgia; sons, Justin Willis of Myrtle Beach, Jason Willis of Millers Creek; sisters, Laura Peeler of Gold Hill, Dena Morris of Richfield,Barbara Powers of Salisbury, Paula Almond of South Port, Sherry Hodge of Raleigh; brothers, Robert Willis of China Grove, Troy Willis of Missouri and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

No services will be held.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given in Charlie's name to The ALS Association PO Box 37022 Boone, IA 50037.

Adams Funeral Home of Wilkes has the honor of serving the Willis Family.

Parks Kilby, 66

Mr. Parks Gary Kilby, age 66 of Moravian Falls passed away Monday, March 2, 2020 at his home.

Funeral services were March 7, at Goshen Baptist church with Rev. Tim Pruitt officiating.

Mr. Kilby was born September 29, 1953 in Wilkes County to Parks Junior and Pauline Walsh Kilby.

He was preceded in death by his mother, his first wife; Carol Lynn Kilby, and a daughter; Pamela Carol Kilby and brother-in-law; Jim Lambert.

He is survived by his wife; Helen Smith Kilby of the home; his father; Parks Junior Kilby, one son; Wayne Kilby and wife April of Roaring River, step-son; William Davis of Fayetteville, two step-daughters; May Davis and Linda Kay Speight and husband Chris all of Fayetteville, sixteen grandchildren; Jaymie Marley, Dalton Kilby, Cheyanne Roark, Taylor Lambert, Daven Kilby, Avril Kilby, Katlin Bennet, Alex Bennet, Tori Burhop, Brittany Burhop, William Davis, Jessie Speight, Zachary Speight, Sebation Davis, Preston Davis and Tony Davis, two sisters; Gail Lambert of Millers Creek, Rita Billings and husband Mike of Roaring River and two brothers; Robert Kilby of Goshen and Randy Kilby and wife Sandy of Millers Creek.

Flowers will be accepted.

Jacob Isenhour, 59

Jacob Terry Isenhour, age 59, of Wilkesboro, passed away Sunday, March 1, 2020 at his home. He was born June 12, 1960 in Wilkes County to Jake Junior and Carrie Naomi Calloway Isenhour. Mr. Isenhour enjoyed motorcycling and joking with people He was previously employed with Tyson Foods in maintenance. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Aaron Joseph Isenhour, James Horton; and sister, Barbara Jean Redman and Dawn Chamberlin.

He is survived by his wife, Elicenda Rodriguez Isenhour of the home; sons, Jacob T. Isenhour, Jr. of North Wilkesboro, Eli Andres Isenhour of the home; son Omar Rodriguez Alvarez of Greenville, South Carolina, daughters, Kayla Isenhour Martin and spouse William of North Wilkesboro, Heydi Lizbeth Isenhour of the home; brothers, Johnny Horton of Charlotte, Ricky Morrison of Wilkesboro, Joseph Horton of Wilkesboro; sisters, Melvia Isenhour, North Wilkesboro, Marilyn Morrero of Brown's Mill, New Jersey, Dare Lynn Isenhour of West Jefferson, Betty Parks, Maria Harris of Wilkesboro, Carolyn Horton, Tammy Farmer of Columbus, Ohio; many others not listed by name; six grandchildren, Elsia Martin, Talia Martin, Elias Martin, Jacobian Isenhour, Aiden Alvarez, Esther Alvarez; many nieces and nephews.

Funeral service was March 8, at Miller Funeral Chapel. Flowers will be accepted. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

Dustin Walters, 32

Dustin Paul Walters, age 32, of North Wilkesboro, passed away Thursday, February 27, 2020. He was born January 5, 1988 in Wilkes County to Daniel Keith Walters, Sr. and Amy Vandervort Walters. Dustin was preceded in death by his parents; and grandmother, Judith Elaine Vandervort. Dustin loved fishing, listening to music, loved animals and nature whether hiking, camping or taking the dogs for a walk.

Nothing is going to stop the pain this senseless tragedy has caused. However, to know Dustin Paul Walters meant you were blessed and your life would never be the same. Ask almost anyone and the answer is Dustin was the most selfless, loving, loyal, honest, caring and beautiful soul anyone had met. No one can quite believe or understand "Why Him"? Dustin might not have seen the amazing legacy he was leaving behind but he definitely left a light to guide us through the dark. The family and friends he left behind in the world is definitely better off having had him in it, no matter how short it seemed.

Dustin judged no one, cared strongly, loved deeply and always gave it his all no matter who or what it was, even if he was, occasionally late. Dustin and his wife of almost 13 years were madly, deeply devoted to each other, and anyone who knew one knew the other. The other would feel the connection and knew they were lucky to have that so young. Dustin had lots of love to give and tried to share it as much as possible. Dustin and Megan used to tell each other that "They've had a heck of a Run." Hopefully this shocking and heart breaking loss will help you remember the bad, better, good and great times that we all had with this kind hearted, passionate and dedicated man who has pushed all of us to be a better person in some shape or form. Dustin fancied himself a "Junk" man from birth but that just meant he could see the value in anyone or anything.

Dustin and his family wish for you to cherish every second and always try. Dustin always managed to show love, respect and decency; even in times most wouldn't. Make sure to keep Dustin's legacy with you and alive honoring his life in your own special way. Instead of flowers the family and Dustin hopes you would do an unexpected and unsolicited act of kindness in his name.

Surviving are his wife, Megan Jean' Marie Aghabalian Dula Walters; brothers, Daniel Keith Walters, Jr. and spouse Lenia of Charlotte, Charlie Gladwell of Roaring River; grandparents, Hughes and Gretchen Vandervort of Hays; nephews, Ronald Walters, Nathan Walters, Damien Gladwell; nieces, Olivia Walters and Alena Carswell; step-mother, Kristi Walters of Roaring River; mother and father-in-law, Karen and Kenny Shumate of North Wilkesboro; grandparents -in-law, Reid and Steva Shumate of North Wilkesboro; grandfather-in-law, James "Cliff" Dula of Morganton; father-in-law, Ricky Dula of Morganton; sister-in-law, Juliet Bowling of Morganton; brother-in-law, Nicky Jon Dula of Morganton; dogs: Baxter, Willie and Sassy; cats: Boo Kitty and Peanut; hermit crabs: Biggie Smalls and Hermie; best friend, Delmer Stanley III of Jonesville; aunt, Janice Vandervort of Delray Beach, Florida; Uncles, John Vandervort of Wilkesboro, George Phillips of Daytona Beach, Florida, Gary Aghabalian of Palm Springs; many other cousins and family members.

Memorial service was March 7, at Miller Funeral Chapel with the family and friends providing the eulogy. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Humane Society of Wilkes, PO Box 306, North Wilkesboro, NC 28659. Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.

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