Obituaries - July 3, 2008

Staff
Published: July 2, 2008

Howard Board Arthur Jr.
Howard “H.B.” Board Arthur Jr., 78, of Madison Heights, died on June 22. He was the husband of Minabelle Williams Arthur of Madison Heights for 56 years.
He was born on June 23, 1929, in Altavista. He was the eldest son of the late Howard B. Arthur Sr. and Lottie Tucker Arthur.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Roger Arthur of Orlando, Fla., and Jimmy Arthur of Winston Salem, N.C.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Dr. James Howard Arthur and wife, Cindy May, of Amherst; a daughter, Linda A. Foster and husband, Charles, of Madison Heights; six grandchildren, Laurie Foster, Michael Arthur, John Foster, Benjamin Arthur, Timothy Arthur and Katelyn Foster; a sister, Joyce Ferguson and husband, Thomas, of Chatham; three brothers, Swanson Arthur of Concord, Samuel Arthur and wife, Glenda, of Dunnellon, Fla., and Bobby Arthur and wife, June, of Gladys.
He was a retired bus driver with 39 years of service with the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company and a member of Randolph Memorial Baptist Church.
A funeral service was held on June 25 at Randolph Memorial Baptist Church. Interment followed at Meade Cemetery.

Ruth Staton Burford
Ruth Staton Burford, 73, of Forest died on June 24.
Born in Lynchburg on March 6, 1935, she was a daughter of the late Estil Staton and Katherine Myers Staton and was the wife of Donald Layvonne Burford.
She was retired from General Electric.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by three daughters, Cheryl B. Stinnett and her husband, David, of Forest, Gwen B. Wilmer and her husband, Brad, of Forest and Serena B. Viar of Amherst; eight grandchildren, Jason Stinnett and his wife, Katie, of Pearisburg, Candace Grahl and her husband, Tim, of Lynchburg, Mary Kathryn Wilmer of Lynchburg, Ethan Wilmer and Taylor Wilmer, both of Forest, Wendy Viar, Joshua Viar and Matthew Viar, all of Amherst; and one great-grandson.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Floyd Staton and Orville Staton, and by a sister, Frances Creasy.
A celebration of her life was held on June 26 at Fort Hill Memorial Park.

Rebecca D. Hamilton
Rebecca D. Hamilton died on June 23.
She was born March 11, 1946, in Bedford County, to Albert Scott and the late Catherine Scott.
She was a member of Sharon Baptist Church.
She is survived by her husband, Steve Hamilton of Big Island; three children, Phyllis Miller, Margaret Dabney and Curtis Dabney, all of Big Island; her father, Albert Scott Jr. of Big Island; one brother, Albert Scott III of Big Island; one sister, Ollie Reid of Brookneal; one daughter-in-law, Sharon Dabney; two sisters-in-law, Kathy Buck and Crystal Crouch; one son-in-law, Fletcher Miller; two brothers-in-law, Michael Reid of Brookneal and Wayne Hamilton of Madison Heights; mother-in-law, Minnie Clark of Big Island; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; friends and a host of nephews and other relatives and friends.
A funeral service was conducted on June 27 at Sharon Baptist Church. Interment was in the church cemetery.

Henry Gilbert Hudson Sr.
Henry Gilbert Hudson Sr., 84, died on June 24. He was twice married, first to the late Elizabeth Reese Hudson, then to the late Barbara Gowen Taliaferro Hudson.
Born January 24, 1924, in Amherst County, he was a son of the late John Clarkston Hudson and the late Betty Pearl Cash Hudson Campbell. He was a retired builder and a member of St. Stephen’s Baptist Church.
He is survived by two daughters, Delores Stinnett and husband, Carson, of Amherst, and Helen Bobbitt and husband, Don, of Myrtle Beach, SC; three sisters, Virginia Wright of Amherst, Lillian Pauline Campbell of Lynchburg and Betty Corinne Flannery and husband, Larry, of Madison Heights; three brothers, William Hudson of Madison Heights, Bernard D. Hudson and wife, Anne, of Amherst and Jimmy Campbell of Altavista; five grandchildren, Tony Stinnett and wife Lora, Donny Bobbitt Jr., Denise Wooldridge and husband, Tony, Dawn Chaos and husband, Mark, and Chris Hudson; and four great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a son, Henry G. Hudson Jr.; two sisters, Agnes Bailey and Dolleen Hudson, and two brothers, Jack Lee Hudson and Edgar Hudson.
Funeral services were conducted on June 27 at Driskill Funeral Chapel. Burial followed in the Amherst Cemetery.

Stephen Guy Mirabella
Stephen Guy Mirabella, 52, of Lowesville, died on June 3.
He was born on Aug. 16, 1955, in Queens, N.Y. to the late Guy and Grace Mirabella and was preceded in death by his sister, Elyse, of Charlottesville.
He is survived by his loving wife, Sigrid; daughter, Tamera Morgan, and her husband, Kirk, of Long Island; and cousins, Marietta Munoz, Gus Munoz, Jasmine Munoz, Jake Munoz, Matt Munoz, Frank Russo, Chuck Russo, Alice Russo, Jason Russo, Chris Russo, Christopher Russo, and Todd Russo.
He was a poet, artist, teacher, writer, historian, and musician. In the words of Darrell Laurant, columnist for Lynchburg’s News and Advance, “Steve Mirabella was, hands down, the most talented person I’ve ever known.” (June 19, 2008)
He spent his formative years and early adult life in Bayville, Long Island, where he became an accomplished musician and artist. As a musician, he played blues guitar and rhythm guitar professionally at nightclubs and concerts. As an artist, he created unique chamois leather fire-paintings, taught classes at community arts centers, and received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts. As a sculptor, he created formidable bronze figures that are found in homes and museums throughout the Northeast, including the National Museum of American History.
In 1994, Steve and his wife Sigrid moved from Long Island to a former farmhouse in rural Amherst County, where they adopted a succession of injured and abused animals, and he began his second “career” as writer, historian, and teacher. As a respected art critic, he wrote reviews, encyclopedia entries, and articles for a number of journals and periodicals. He also wrote a textbook on medieval history, and won prizes for fiction and poetry. In 2004, he was elected Visiting Scholar of medieval and renaissance history at the American Academy in Rome. As an educator, he became one of the most popular teachers at James River Day School in Lynchburg and St. Anne’s-Belfield School, where, most recently, he was the recipient of the Middle School Teaching Award.
A memorial service was held on July 1 at Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church. St. Anne’s-Belfield School will be holding a community service in mid to late August.
A private graveside service was held at Bayville Cemetery, Long Island, with arrangements made by Oyster Bay Funeral Home, Oyster Bay, New York.

Dorothy Martin Smith
Dorothy Martin Smith, 80, of Forest died on June 26. She was preceded in death by her husband, Isaac Lewis Smith.
Born July 6, 1927, in Amherst County, she was a daughter of the late Ernest and Nancy Staton Martin. She was retired from CVTC after 32 years of service. She was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, in Amherst, and attended Madison Heights Baptist Church.  She was also preceded in death by her son, Oscar Lee Mays, and a brother, Raymond L. Martin.
She enjoyed her time spent with the Golden Merrymakers. Every month, she looked forward to assisting her friends in preparing birthday celebrations for residents at Guggenheimer Nursing Home.
Survivors include two sons, Barry Douglas Mays of Buena Vista and Larry Gene Mays and wife, Bonnie, of Madison Heights; a daughter, Deborah Ann Smith Waddell and husband, Greg, of Lynchburg; three sisters, Carrie Martin of Lynchburg, Myra Mays of Amherst and Ruby Staton and husband, Lannie, of Buena Vista; a brother, Ernest S. Martin of Amherst; three grandchildren, Joseph Douglas Mays and wife, Mandy, of Amherst, Tracy Lynn Mays Grant and husband, Josh, of Big Island, and Krystal Dawn Mays of Madison Heights; a great-grandson; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
A funeral service was conducted on June 30 at Madison Heights Baptist Church. Interment took place in Fort Hill Memorial Park.

Norman Benjamin Snyder
Norman Benjamin Snyder, 82, of Lynchburg, died on Wednesday, June 25.
Born in Lynchburg on Oct. 16, 1925, he was a son of the late Robert Reeves Snyder and Iva Ballard Snyder. He was retired from VDOT; member of American Legion Post 16 and Heritage United Methodist Church. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran having served in the Japan Conflict on the US LST722.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers and three sisters.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Cecil Brown Snyder; a son, DeWayne Snyder and wife, Jackie of Lynchburg; two daughters, Sharon Allen of Lynchburg, Norman Gay Snyder of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; a sister, Peggy Burks and her husband, Lloyd of Amherst; a sister-in-law, Ruby Snyder of Lynchburg; six grandchildren, Amy Plymale and husband, John, Casey Allen, Jessica Banks, Brittany Snyder, Kalsey Allen, Keri Snyder; and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral service was conducted on June 27 in the chapel of Heritage Funeral Service.

Ralph Carter Styles
Ralph Carter Styles, 63, of Forest, died on June 25.
Born in Lynchburg, he was the son of the late Paul Edward Styles and the late Jenny Gregory Styles.
He was the retired owner/operator of Styles Acoustics after 32 years of service.
He is survived by his fiancee, Betty J. Neff of Forest; one son, Kevin Styles and his wife, Merry Lynn, of Alton; two daughters, Debra Davis of Madison Heights and Dana Styles of Rustburg; two brothers, Glen A. Styles of Goode and A. Lewis Styles of Monroe; one sister, Alberta Rogers of Morgantown, W.Va.; five grandchildren; and friends.
A memorial service was conducted on June 28 at Whitten Timberlake Chapel.

John William Szelesta
John William Szelesta, 79, of Monroe died on June 25. He was the husband of the late Dorothy Demarest Szelesta.
Born in Hackensack, N.J., he was the son of the late Adam Szelesta and the late Beatrice Budzejko Szelesta.
In addition to his wife and his parents, he was preceded in death by one daughter, Margaret Kalyn; one sister, Sandra Petnel; and one brother, Adam Szelesta.
He was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parrish in Amherst and he served his country in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He was a retired custodian of the Bergen County, N.J., Public School System. He was an avid baseball fan and for many years coached Little League Baseball.
He is survived by five children, Eileen Joan S. Sabatine and her husband, Ed, of Alabama, Mary Ellen S. Capecci of Englewood, Fla., Lorraine Lynn S. Cymny and her husband, Gary, of West Milford, N.J., John Joseph Szelesta and his wife, Angita, of Monroe and Joseph Kerry Szelesta and his wife, Mary, of Hampden, Maine; one sister, Josephine S. Susini of Toms River, N.J.; nine grandchildren, Sean, Ian, Sara, Shaylyn, Jessy, Daniel, Anthony, Christopher and Victoria; and five great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial was conducted on June 30 at St. Francis of Assisi in Amherst. Interment followed with military honors by the Honor Guard of Fort Lee at Holy Cross Cemetery.