W4FAR Repeaters (CTCSS 94.8) VHF:145.37 MHz (-); UHF: 443.55 MHz (+); DMR: 440.5375 (+)
In Memory Of
We would like to remember all of our Silent Keys that are no longer with us.
We miss you all.
Ed Mulholland - KA4WWV
Became a Silent Key on March 1, 2018
Ed Mulholland, 79, of North Wilkesboro passed away at his home on March 1, 2018. Ed was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 29, 1938.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Frances Chester Mulholland.
He is survived by his wife, Elaine Mulholland of the home; a son, John Mulholland and grandson, Magnus, of Asheville; a daughter, Melissa Call and husband, Jody; and a granddaughter, Sophia, and grandson, Carter, of Wilkesboro. Also surviving are his sisters, Mary Milberger and husband, Tom, of Indiana and Karen Christoff and husband, Bill, of Indiana; a nephew, George Milberger of Indiana, and a niece, Kristina Ross of California.
Memorial services celebrating Ed’s life will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, 2018, at Millers Creek United Methodist Church on N.C. 16 North. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2:30 p.m., prior to the service.
The family would like to send out a very special thanks to Wake Forest Baptist Home Health, Wake Forest Baptist Health Care at Home Hospice and all of their special neighbors, friends and church family for their care and support.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Millers Creek United Methodist Church, 3260 North Highway 16, Millers Creek, N.C. 28651
or Wake Forest Baptist Health Care at Home Hospice,
125 Executive Drive, Suite 110
Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697
Download the Final Call for Ed below.
Play the file: (Note: The net starts at 2:50 in, the final call starts at 4:15 in. Adobe Flash Player is required - watch for the "Allow" box from your browser.)
Ken Anderson - W8FRS
Became a Silent Key on February 9, 2019
Kenneth Ellsworth Anderson, age 79, of Wilkesboro, went to be with his Lord Friday, February 9, 2019 at Wake Forest Baptist-Wilkes Medical Center.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church.
Ken was born October 5, 1939 in Tripoli, Iowa to Glenn and Mildred Anderson, the 11th of 12 children. His family moved and Ken grew up in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. After graduating Grantsburg High School, where Ken was senior class president, he attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, where he met and married Karen Jean Neis. After graduating Moody’s radio engineering program, Ken served as chief engineer for Radio Station WEEC in Springfield, Ohio, and then worked as a missionary in Brazil, Honduras, Bolivia, and Alaska. He also worked with Bible Basics International in Tampa, Florida until moving to Wilkesboro in 2015. Until his death he remained active in Christian radio ministry and program production and was an active member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Ken was also an avid and life-long amateur radio operator and an active member of the local Foothills Amateur Radio Cub. While in Brazil his call sign was PY2ZAG, and in the US, W8FRS.
Ken was preceded in death by his parents and his ten older siblings.
Ken is survived by his wife of 55 years, Karen Jean (Neis) Anderson; three sons and their families: Kurt Anderson and wife Kathy, of Elyria, Ohio; Keith Anderson and wife Kimberly of Wilkesboro, and Kerry Anderson and wife Raquel of São Paulo, Brazil; thirteen grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and his younger brother, Wendell, of Dallas, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to either 1) BEA Ministries, P.O. Box 808, Xenia, OH 45385-0808 (designate “COMEV Brazil”) or 2) Friends In Action, Int’l, P.O. Box 323, Elizabethtown, PA 17022 (designate “Bolivia radio station”).
Fonda Kay Faw Rice - N4YCY
Became a Silent Key on December 4, 2019
Mrs. Fonda Kay Faw Rice, age 71 of North Wilkesboro passed away Wednesday, December 04, 2019 at her home.
Graveside services will be held 2:00 PM, Thursday, December 5, 2019 at Mountlawn Memorial Park.
Mrs. Rice was born January 18, 1948 in Forsyth County to Roby C. and Sue Lee Adams Faw. She was an RN at Avante of Wilkes Nursing Home.
In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by a brother Charles Dennis Faw.
She is survived by her husband; Barton Samuel Rice, Jr., of the home, a daughter; Jennifer Lee Rice Church-Smittle of Cave Springs, AR and two grandchildren; Kayla Lee Church Miller and Austin Scott Church.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, 401 Technology Lane, Suite 200, Mt. Airy, NC 27030.
Paul B. Robinette II - KD4OZI
Became a Silent Key on January 29, 2020
Paul Benton Robinette, age 72, passed away on January 29, 2020 surrounded by his family.
Paul was born in Jackson County, Welston, Ohio to Paul and Juanita Robinette. Paul had a passion for God, his family and people. He valued quality time with his family and enjoyed telling stories of the good ole days. Paul enjoyed making others laugh. He had a career with IBM for 30 years from January 1968 to 1998. He also had a part time career at West Lake Hills Police Department for 10 years. Paul started with amateur radio in 1988 and received a plaque for Outstanding Service to Amateur Radio, the ARRL, the ARRL NC Section, and Western North Carolina in December 2019 (KD4OZI).
Paul is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Rhoda Robinette; daughters Elizabeth Robinette and Christine (Robert) Price; son, Paul Robinette III; granddaughters, Faeryn, Illiana, Deborah and Rebekah; and his grandson, Zack.
A visitation will be held at Trinity of Fairview Baptist Church on February 8, 2020 at 2pm. A memorial service will follow at 3pm. Friends are invited to the homeplace following the service.
Sigmund Wallace “Wally” Holcomb Jr. - K4MZY
Became a Silent Key on March 24, 2020
The owner of a longtime Elkin family business, Sigmund Wallace “Wally” Holcomb Jr., died March 24 at The Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
A private graveside service will be held at a later date.
He born Nov. 2, 1938, in Elkin, to Sigmund and Laura Ruth “Larry” Holcomb.
Raised in Elkin, Holcomb graduated from Elkin High School in 1958. He played basketball, football and tennis. The tennis team, coached by Lewis Alexander, regularly took on and defeated much larger metro schools. “It was hard for us to get matches, we were so good. We just always won,” Wally said shortly before he died.
As a teenager he became an avid ham radio operator and maintained a license throughout his life.
He attended UNC and then transferred to Wingate College where he played on the tennis team. In one match he defeated the top-ranked player in the state. “My backhand was really good that day. I didn’t miss many backhands.”
He joined the US Air Force for four years where he served in northern Michigan. “It was cold. The first year it was miserable, but the second year I learned to ski and we would go just about every day we could.”
That same year he left the Air Force and moved back to Elkin, where a son, Sigmund III, was born. He joined Xerox and moved to Charleston, SC, and then to Augusta, GA, where a second son, Clayton, was born. In 1969 he moved back to Elkin. “My dad and my Uncle Jones talked me into coming back and joining the family business, Holcomb Bros. Plumbing and Heating.”
A third son, Jones, was born in Elkin.
Wally joined the Elkin Jaycees and Sertoma and was a contributing member for years to come. He resumed playing tennis and could be found playing regularly on the courts at Cedarbrook Country Club. He played regional and state tournaments. “I’d win some and lose some.”
He also gained a private pilot’s license and would fly friends and family locally and cross-country.
In 1985 he took over the management of Holcomb Bros. and under his leadership the company provided services on many major construction projects, including the new Lowes headquarters in North Wilkesboro.
Following a divorce, Wally met Marcia Cockerham. “I went to the bar at the Sheraton in North Wilkesboro. I saw her there and asked her to dance. I asked her to dance about five times and she kept saying no.” Eventually they danced, love bloomed and in 1991 they were married at Galloway Episcopal Church in Elkin.
The couple took an interest in sailing, with Wally the skipper regularly in yacht races on Lake Norman on their boat, “The Hawk,” a 31-foot Hunter. He put the same energy into sailing that he had into tennis. “We were pretty good. We won a few races. I loved the challenge.” They enjoyed inviting friends along as crew and companions. Their lives revolved around sailing, racing and activities at Lake Norman’s F Dock.
In 1999 he sold Holcomb Bros. and he and Marcia retired to Beaufort, NC. They sold “The Hawk” and bought an old Pearson 424, a 42-foot sailboat, and spent five years completely rebuilding it. They spent the next five years aboard the rechristened “Half Moon,” sailing as far north as the Chesapeake Bay, as far south as The Bahamas and the Florida Keys and around the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. “Those were good times, Marcia and I doing it together.”
Marcia and Wally eventually built a house in Beaufort and sold the boat in 2005. Wally, idled ashore, went back to work in the plumbing and heating business out of New Bern.
In 2018 Wally and Marcia returned to the Tri-County Area, settling in Wilkesboro, to be closer to their children.
“My family was the best part of my life.”
Ernest Mauldin - KI4SYU
Became a Silent Key on June 1, 2020
Mr. Hubert "Ernest" Mauldin, 76 of Hamptonville, passed away Monday, June 1, 2020 at Forsyth Medical Center. He was born May 29, 1944 in Surry County to Hubert and Annie Trivette Mauldin. Ernest was a graduate of West Yadkin High School and a member of Zion Baptist Church. He was a farmer, a merchant, and truck driver. His greatest pleasure was being with family and friends. After a stroke 24 years ago, his involvement as a HAM radio operator brought him numerous friends he dearly loved and enjoyed. A true outdoorsman, his intense love of John Deere tractors and equipment was a source of pride.
In addition to his parents, Ernest was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years on December 24, 2015, Judy Everidge Mauldin. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Jerome and Donna Mauldin; grandson, Heath (Kayla) Mauldin; great grandchildren, Colton & Adlee; step granddaughter, Heather (Ritchie) Holbrook; step great grandchildren, Ross Holbrook and Sydni (Austin) Griffith; great-great step grandchild, James Griffith; a sister, Pattie (Hoyt) Reece; niece, Lucinda Reece; and several special cousins and friends.
A graveside service will be conducted, Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 2:00PM at Zion Baptist Church with Pastor Kent R. Oviatt officiating. The family requests everyone attending the service, dress in casual attire.
Memorials may be made to Zion Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 714 Union Grove Road Union Grove, NC 28689.
Gentry Family Funeral Service in Yadkinville is serving the Mauldin family.
SERVICES
Graveside Service
Sunday, June 07, 2020
2:00 PM
Zion Baptist Church
714 Union Grove Road
Union Grove, NC 28689
Carroll Lowe - KC4LOW
Became a Silent Key on September 20, 2021
Mr. Carroll Douglas Lowe, Jr., age 58 of Millers Creek, passed away Monday, September 20, 2021 at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston Salem.
A graveside service will be held 1:00 PM Sunday at Scenic Memorial Gardens with Rev. Chris Hefner officiating.
Carroll was born May 10, 1963 in Hertfort County, NC to Carroll Douglas Lowe, Sr. and Kaye White Lowe. He was National Director with the Ruritan Club, and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Wilkes Vocational Workshop. He was involved with many charities. He worked for Lowe’s Home Improvement for 26 years.
He is survived by his wife of the home, Sandra Curry Lowe; his parents, Carroll Douglas Lowe, Sr. and Kaye White Lowe of Ahoskie, NC; one sister, Lisa Lowe Brown and husband, Randy of Boone; one niece, Brittany Story and husband, Austin of Vilas; one nephew, Derek Brown and wife, Leslie of Lenoir; one great niece, Hadley and one great nephew, Ryland; his mother in-law, Dorothy Curry of Winston Salem; and five brothers in-law; and three sisters in-law; and several cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Ruritan National PO Box 487 Dublin, VA 24084.
Jimmy Holbrook - KB4GKI
Became a Silent Key on September 23, 2021
Jimmy Lee Holbrook, age 58, of Ronda, passed away Thursday, September 23, 2021, at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital. Jimmy was born in Surry County, February 8, 1963 to James R Holbrook and Frances Cockerham Holbrook.
A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, September 26, 2021, at Macedonia Baptist Church by Rev. Mike Smith, Rev. Larry Macemore, and Rev. Kent Oviatt. The family will receive friends from 2:00-3:00 p.m. prior to the memorial service.
Johnson Funeral Home is serving the family.
Robert Norman Robbins - W4HF
Became a Silent Key on September 19, 2022
Norman Robbins, of Wilkesboro, passed away Monday, September 19, 2022 at his home.
Per his wishes, the family will have no memorial service.
Please keep Shirley and the rest of the Robbins family in your thoughts and prayers.