MIRIAM V. BARNES
Feb. 20, 1918-Aug. 11, 2006
Miriam Vail Barnes, 88, died Friday in Wilmington.
She was a native of Pikeville and was the daughter of the late Ellie P. and Lala Fleming Vail. She received a bachelor of music degree from Greensboro College in 1938 and taught piano lessons and served as church pianist. She and her husband, the late Lowell E. Barnes, built and managed the Waterway Motor Lodge at the foot of the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge from 1965 until 1981.
For the last nine years she organized and accompanied monthly sing-alongs, and played for weekly chapel and Sunday afternoon church services in the Brightmore and Kempton Retirement Centers, where she resided. She was an active member of Wrightsville United Methodist church for 41 years.
She is survived by one sister, Enola V. Brown, and nieces, Shirley Roberts and Billie Brown of Satellite Beach, Fla.; nephew, Stephen Vail, of Pikeville, N.C.; son, James Barnes and wife Marsha of Wilmington; daughter, Mary Hebblethwaite and husband John of Athens, Ga.; granddaughter, Renee Jenness and husband Eugene of Kipling, N.C.; grandson, Kevin Hebblethwaite and wife Jennifer, of Sandy Springs, Ga.; granddaughter, Kelly H. Johnson and husband Jack of Westerville, Ohio; four great-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren; nieces, Carolyn Sandusky of La Palma, Calif., Rosalind Landes of Charlottesville, Va.; and nephews, Gary Bryant of Wilmington, Del., and Wayne Hopper of Grand Junction, Colo..
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m. at Wrightsville United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Methodist Home for Children Foundation, 1041 Washington Street, Raleigh, N.C., 27605-1259, or Wrightsville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 748, Wrightsville Beach, NC, 28480, or Greensboro College, 815 West Market Street, Greensboro, N.C., 27401.
Andrews Mortuary is serving the family and condolences may posted at www.andrewsmortuary.com
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on August 15, 2006 2:13 PM