March 30, 2009 – 11:02 pm
Spartanburg, S.C. – Betty Mann Oglesby Johnson, age 80, of Roebuck, S.C., passed on to heaven on March 30, 2009.
Betty was born on August 27, 1928 in Laurens, S.C. to the late Thomas Hendrix and Ethel Mann Oglesby. In time, her family moved to Roebuck, where she graduated from Roebuck High School. She married Pat Johnson on May 31, 1947 after graduating from North Greenville Junior College.
Betty filled the role of a pastor’s wife as she began raising three children. In 1959, the family moved to Bangladesh as Southern Baptist Missionaries. They returned to the states after serving in missions for 10 years.
March 30, 2009 – 11:00 pm
Grady Hugh Turner
Spartanburg – Grady Hugh Turner, died Monday morning, March 30, 2009, at his home.
Mr. Turner was born in Spartanburg on March 31, 1935. He was the son of the late Grady Maxwell Turner and Lillie Mae Parks. Mr. Turner retired from Hoechst Celanese. He was a member of the Montgomery Masonic Lodge and First Baptist Church of Spartanburg.
Spartanburg – James Willis Smith, 87, completed his life on Monday, March 30, 2009 at Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home.
Jim was born in Hobart, Oklahoma to the late Robert and Eva Smith. He enlisted in the United States Navy at the outbreak of World War II and served until the end of the war on a destroyer escort.
Jim was a pioneer in the field of information technology and was on the design team for Univac I, one of the first computers developed for commercial use. He served as an executive with several major corporations prior to his retirement in 1987 from Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Pittsburgh, PA.
U.S. Veteran Robert Earl “Bob” DeLapp, Jr.
Spartanburg – Robert Earl “Bob” DeLapp, Jr., died Sunday morning, March 29, 2009, in the Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home.
Mr. DeLapp was born in Reidsville, N.C. on July 14. He was the son of the late Robert Earl and Florence Griffin DeLapp. He faithfully served his country in the United States Navy during World War II. Mr. DeLapp was a graduate of N.C. State where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Textile Engineering. He retired from J.P. Stevens and Tuscarora Yarns, Inc. Mr. DeLapp served on the board of the Spartanburg National Bank and was an avid golfer. He was a member of the Greenville Cotillion Club and the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Spartanburg.
Spartanburg – Simonne A. Leclair, wife of the late Paul O. Leclair died Friday, March 20, 2009 at the Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home.
Mrs. Leclair was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was the daughter of the late Henry and Adeline Ayotte Couture. She was a member of St. Catherine Roman Catholic Church, Manchester, MA.
Mrs. Leclair is survived by her daughter, Judi White of Spartanburg; her daughter-in-law, Judith, of Dover, New Hampshire; four grandchildren, Amy White Condon and her husband Patrick, Kristy White Shepherd and her husband Frank, Paul Michael Leclair and his wife, Colleen, Thomas Leclair and his wife, Valerie; and eight great-grandchildren, Catherine and Abigail Condon, Grace Shepherd, Samantha, Megan, Ryan, Ian and Cameron Leclair; and Kate Simone Leclair. She is predeceased by her son, Paul H. Leclair.
Woodruff, SC – Norma Gavilan Barli died March 15, 2009 in Spartanburg, SC. She was a native Floridian who spent most of her life in Florida before relocating to Woodruff, SC in 2000.
Born in Tampa, FL, on June 6, 1927, she was the youngest of Charles and Sara Gavilan’s four children. Norma attended the Academy of the Holy Name and Florida State College for Women, which became Florida State University during that time. She spent most of her childhood between Tampa, Key West and Havana.
