DORA BATTS VAIL
Jan. 31, 1925-June 27, 2017
Dora Blalock Batts Vail, 92, Pikeville, passed away June 27, 2017, in Blacksburg, Va.
She was born in Fremont, N.C., Jan. 31, 1925, the only child of Rufus Milton Batts and Abbie Blalock Batts. Her father died when she was eight.
She graduated from Fremont High School as salutatorian and from Peace College in Raleigh, and remained in contact with "Peace Girls" until her death.
She worked at Wayne Wholesale Grocery and Pate-Dawson Motor Co. in Goldsboro before marrying Martin Allen Vail Sr. in March 1949 and moving to Pikeville, where she was bookkeeper for him in his businesses, Western Auto and True Value Hardware.
She was a member of St. Joseph United Methodist Church, where she held several offices.
She served as a member of the Wayne County Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee for nine years, and was named Pikeville's Most Distinguished Woman in 2004.
Martin Allen Vail Sr. passed away in September 2001, following their 51 years of marriage.
She is survived by three children, Donna Vail Morgan and husband, Dr. George E. Morgan III, of Blacksburg, Va., Martin Allen Vail Jr. and wife, Janet Barbee Vail, of Morehead City, N.C., and Dawn Vail Price and husband, Dr. Jerry Theodore Price, of Smith Mountain Lake, Va.; grandchildren, Abbie Vail Morgan of Bakersfield, Calif., Dr. Rachel Dawn Price of Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Jordan Naomi Price of Fayetteville, Ga., Capt. Jerry Theodore "Ted" Price Jr. of Savannah, Ga., and Samuel Martin Price of Lynchburg, Va.; sister-in-law, Eleanor Vail Cook of Boerne, Texas; special nephew, Albert Jesse "Jay" Vail III of Pikeville; special niece, the Rev. Phyllis Vail of Goldsboro; and special cousin, Robert "Bob" Smith and wife, Ann, of Windsor, Va.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 30, 2017, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Shackleford-Howell Funeral Home, 102 N. Pine St. in Fremont.
A service to celebrate her life will be held Saturday, July 1, 2017, at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph United Methodist Church, 200 W. Church St., Pikeville, by the Rev. Rose Hicks and the Rev. Phyllis Vail. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in Fremont.
Memorials may be made to St. Joseph United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 43, Pikeville, N.C., 27863.
Light a candle at www.shackleford-howell.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on June 29, 2017 7:36 AM