JULIA A. STRICKLAND
Feb. 25, 1938-Jan. 26, 2009
KINSTON -- Julia "Bet" Alphin Strickland, 70, of Kinston, went to be with her Heavenly Father on Monday at 12:15 a.m. at Kitty Askins in Goldsboro after a long battle with the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Howard-Carter Funeral Home with Hospice Chaplains Layne Rogerson and Allen Stocks officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. Interment will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Westview Cemetery.
She was born in Lenoir County on Feb. 25, 1938, to the late Manley and Julia Jones Alphin, and was preceded in death by brothers Bruce Alphin, Keith Alphin, Beverly Alphin and C.W. Alphin; and her little Pomeranian, Pansi.
Bet was a loyal member of Kinston Elks Lodge No. 740, where she held the office of Exalted Ruler (President) from April 2006 through March 2008. She served the lodge well and will be remembered for her dedication, creativity and the great meals she cooked on meeting nights and family fellowship nights.
Bet worked in most, if not all, of the sewing factories in Kinston, and was also employed at Texfi and Frosty Morn. She later owned and operated Taylor's Fabric Shop, Downtown Auction, Let's Celebrate and Strickland's Florist. At the time of her retirement, she was employed at Don's Florist in Goldsboro.
She enjoyed cooking, decorating, event planning, and doing charity work. She had a great passion for helping veterans in the N.C. State Veterans Nursing Homes in Fayetteville and Salisbury. The N.C. State Elks Association presented Bet and her husband, Jack, the "Thad Eure Distinguished Service Award" in May 2008 for their work with veterans and other Elks Programs.
Members of the BPOE were Bet's extended family which she loved very much and the Elks across North Carolina showed her a lot of love and remained loyal to her during her long illness. She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and mother-in-law.
Bet is survived by her husband of 23 years, Jack, of the home; daughter, Terry Stroud and fiancé, James Coogle, of Kinston; son Dwayne Deaver and wife, Sissy, of Kinston; grandsons, Leslie Ray Stroud IV and Buddy Deaver; granddaughter Nikki Deaver; great-grandson Hagan Stroud; brothers, Wilbur Alphin and wife, Dorothy, and Gene Alphin and wife, Ella Mae, all of Kinston; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She is also survived by stepsons, the Rev. Timothy Strickland of Mount Olive and the Rev. Chad Strickland of Princeton; stepgranddaughter Sara Strickland; stepgrandsons Caleb Strickland and Nathan Strickland; and her Yorkie, Prissi.
Flowers are welcome, or memorials may be made in Bet's honor to the Elks National Foundation, 2750 N. Lakeview Ave., Chicago, Ill., 60614.
Arrangements are being handled by Howard-Carter Funeral Home.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on January 27, 2009 1:46 PM