ATLAS PRICE JR.
Oct. 9, 1930-Dec. 1, 2009
SEVEN SPRINGS -- Atlas Price Jr., former Wayne County commissioner and retired tobacco warehouseman, died Tuesday afternoon at his home, 408 Main St. in Seven Springs.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at the Wayne County Court House, courtroom number one, downtown Goldsboro, with the Rev. Phyllis Vail and the Rev. Paul Rose officiating. Entombment will follow in Pineview Cemetery, Seven Springs.
Well-known in political arenas, both locally and on the state levels, he was unassuming and did many things for many people, with most of his endeavors done quietly.
A 1949 graduate of Seven Springs High School, he held various careers through the years. It was at Stallings Air Field in Kinston that he worked in operations and meteorology, in the ASCA office as reporter and assistant supervisor, at D.M. Price and Sons Inc. in farm supply sales and at Carolina Tobacco Warehouse in Goldsboro where he was weigh master and later general manager. In addition, he also farmed and held other agribusiness interests.
Proud to be a lifelong member of the Democratic party, he enjoyed a long tenure of political service to Wayne County and eastern North Carolina. This included being a former member of the Wayne County Board of Education and the Wayne County Board of Commiss-ioners, from which he retired in 2008.
A charter member of Pricetown Volunteer Fire Department, he had been a member of Zion United Methodist Church for 55 years prior to his becoming a member of Seven Springs United Methodist Church in recent years.
He was a member of Mount Olive Woodmen of the World Lodge 508, Goldsboro Elks Lodge, Wayne County Farm Bureau, Wayne County Livestock Association and Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Price served in many other capacities and he received many awards of recognition for his service. The ultimate reward he received was the recent bestowing of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine upon him by North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue.
Mr. Price is survived by his wife, Carolyn Herring Griffin Price; a son, Atlas Joseph "A.J." Price of Pricetown community; A.J.'s special friend, Cathy Snovel of Seven Springs; three "special" daughters, Karla Griffin, Kelly Griffin and Allie Griffin Price and husband, Larry, all of Seven Springs; a nephew, Dortch Price of Pricetown commun-ity; a niece, Faith Wilson of Mount Olive; a sister-in-law, Hazel LaValley and husband, Albert "Red" LaValley, of Williamston; and his beloved poodle, "Camie."
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Imogene Jennette Price; his parents, Atlas Price Sr. and Aleath Dail Price Outlaw; several half-brothers and sisters; and a beloved Sheltie, "Cutter".
Visitation will be at Tyndall Funeral Home in Mount Olive tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. and at other times at the residence.
In lieu of flowers, his family asks that any memorial gifts be made to the Eternal Cross Fund, c/o Seven Springs United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 64, Seven Springs, N.C., 28578, or the Wayne County Humane Society, P.O. Box 821, Goldsboro, N.C., 27533.
Mr. Price is in the care of Tyndall Funeral Home of Mount Olive.
"Atlas Price Jr. -- his was a life of faithful service."
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on December 3, 2009 1:47 PM