THURMAN ODELL ARTIS
March 22, 1944-July 12, 2011
FREMONT -- Thurman Odell Artis, 809 Martin St., Fremont, was born March 22, 1944, in Wayne County to Marvin and Ethel Smith Artis.
He attended Wayne County Public Schools, and graduated from Norwayne School in 1962.
He married Aileen Cox in 1963, and they moved to New York. To this union, three children were born.
In New York, he worked various jobs such as cab driver and linen delivery truck driver until he found his true love as a long distance truck driver. He retired from JB Hunt Transportation, having driven a total of 1,456,470 miles over a 24-year span. He received the One Million Mile Safe Driver award.
He was also a lifetime member of Norwayne Alumni Association.
He dedicated his life to Christ in April 2009. He faithfully attended services at his home church in Queens, N.Y., as well as St. James Disciples of Christ upon his stay in Fremont.
He leaves to cherish his memories his former wife, Aileen Cox Jones; his oldest daughter, Juanita Boyd (William) of Greenville, N.C.; son, Damion Arits of Bronx, N.Y.; his youngest daughter, Kimberly Ashby (Robert) of Greensboro, N.C.; his grandchildren, Kelly Boyd, Joshua Boyd, Benjamin Boyd and Aaron Ashby; his siblings, Marvin Ray Artis and Donnelver Artis of Detroit Mich., Annette Mills (Phillip) of Spring Hope, N.C., Sherman Artis of Stone Mountain, Ga., and Craston M. Artis Sr. (Edna) of Goldsboro, N.C.; his uncle, George Artis of Goldsboro; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A service of remembrance will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. James Church of Christ in Fremont, with a visitation one hour prior to the service. Thereafter, Mr. Artis' delicate vessel, along with his precious family, will be escorted to Turner Swamp Church Cemetery to say their final good-byes.
Mr. Artis is peacefully resting at E.M. Matthews Funeral Home, where his family is receiving prestigious service.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 15, 2011 1:48 PM