James A. Reeves

LEICESTER - James A. Reeves, born on April 28, 1917 (age 90), beloved husband, father and grandfather, finished his journey here on Earth on October 13th, 2007 and is now in the presence of our Heavenly Father; joining his wife of 70 years, Clem Grooms Reeves and two daughters, Janet McCoy and Maggie Sue Rowland who preceded him in death. He was the last living sibling of 11 children in the family of James Ellis and Maggie Clark Reeves. He outlived 4 brothers who were younger than he and, as we kids liked to say, was tough as nails. He was a good man who worked hard, had a good long life and, when times were difficult, rode out the hard times without complaining. Although our Dad will be sorely missed, we know that at 90 years of age, he had a longer life than many; we were happy that he was not suffering at his death, and that we were fortunate enough to have had him for that long. His birth family were parents, James Ellis and Maggie Clark Reeves, brothers Frank, Roy Blaine, Walter, Clarence, Glenn, Paul, George, Howard, Herman and a sister, Lovely Reeves Ferguson. James, Clem and their children lived on Gilbert Road in Leicester, NC and he lived there until he could no longer live alone. Surviving are 4 of their children, Shirley A. Worley, James Earl Reeves and Lonnie Joe Reeves, all of Leicester, and Sheila Reeves of Greenville, SC. James and Clem had 16 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, many cousins, nieces, nephews and their children and grandchildren, most of whom live in the general Asheville, Winston Salem, NC and Upstate SC areas. Funeral services will be held 11 AM on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at the Little Sandy Mush Methodist Church with the Rev. Dennis Brown and Rev. David Warren officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Pallbearers will be his sons and grandsons, James Earl & Lonnie Joe Reeves, Dean Worley, Jeff McCoy, Jamie Reeves, Aaron Harris and Seth Reeves. Honorary Pallbearers are Steve Worley, Daryl Reeves, Travis Harris, Chris McCoy & Josh Reeves. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, October 16th, from 7-9 PM at the Anders-Rice Funeral Home, 1428 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC. Flowers are welcome or a donation may be made to the Little Sandy Mush United Methodist Church for upkeep of the cemetery fund.