Irina “Ira” Yarmolenko had a sunny spirit, a quick smile and friends everywhere she went. She wasn’t supposed to die at age 20. The UNC Charlotte sophomore was found Monday, May 5, 2008 next to her car on the banks of the Catawba River in Mount Holly.

Yarmolenko was born in the Ukraine but grew up in Chapel Hill. Her family moved to North Carolina in the 1990s as refugees and her parents found science jobs in Greensboro and later moved to Chapel Hill.
More »

Samuel Moyle Boone 89, of Chapel Hill, died Monday May 5th, 2008 at UNC Hospital.

Mr. Boone was a native of Gates County, NC, son of the late William Jordan and Minnie Belle Williams Boone. He was a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II. He was retired from UNC-CH Academic Affairs Library as librarian after 30 years of service, and went on to Duke University’s Perkins Library for 5 years.
More »

Marvin Poythress, 78, passed away Saturday May 11, 2008 after several years of declining health. A Chapel Hill native, Marvin was the son of the late Ila and Furman Poythress. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 50 years, Ann Phelps Poythress, and by his brothers Robert Poythress and Durrell Poythress.

Marvin graduated from the old Chapel Hill High School, located at that time on Franklin St. Though big in stature, he had a soft heart and was affectionately called “Teddy Bear” by his friends. As a lifelong active member of Damascus Church he served as treasurer and enjoyed singing in the choir. Marvin retired from UNC Hospitals after 33 years of service in 1983. After retirement, he continued working with UNC Athletics, where he began as a young man selling buckets of iced drinks up and down the bleachers. He then progressed from usher to supervising operations on Kenan Stadium’s southside. He enjoyed his many years working with basketball operations as well, especially enjoying the championship victories. After 50 years of working at Kenan Stadium, Marvin retired in 1999. The UNC Athletic Department established The Poythress Service Award presented to the volunteer staff member who most exemplifies Marvin’s work ethic, dedication and attitude. He loved his God, his family, his country and his Tar Heels.
More »

C. Matthew “Mac” Maynor, 68, of Chapel Hill, died in his home March 26, 2008. He was a lifetime resident of Chapel Hill, and the son of the late Clyde and Blanche Maynor.

Mr. Maynor is survived by his wife of 45 years, Patricia “Pat” Maynor; daughter Vicki Maynor Isley; son-in-law Duncan Isley; grandson, Angus Isley of Durham; sister Clydia “Holly” Holland; and two brothers, Ross Maynor of Lynchburg, Va. And Harold Maynor of Todd, NC.
More »

James Bernard Karpinos, 22, of Chapel Hill, died Saturday, April 26 in Transylvania County, NC. James was born in Winston-Salem, NC on August 3, 1985.

He was a 2003 graduate of Chapel Hill High School and a senior at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, majoring in sociology with a minor in environmental science. He spent the fall of 2007 studying at the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana.

More »

eanclaire Doerschuk, age 83, passed away Sunday, April 20, 2008. Beloved wife of Albert P. (deceased); dear mother of Claire M., Peter C., David O. (wife Peggy I.) and John A. (wife Karen); grandmother of Ethan A. and Kaitlynn M.

Private services. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Activities Department at Britthaven of Chapel Hill, 1716 Legion Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or to the Lighthouse Program at Harborview Healthcare, 3800 Park East Dr, Beachwood, OH 44122.

Mrs. Chrystine H. Culbreth passed away Saturday, April 19, 2008 at Carol Woods Retirement Community where she lived for many years.

Mrs. Culbreth was born in Kinston, NC. She graduated from Louisburg Junior College in Louisburg NC, and Scarritt College in Nashville, TN, where she earned her BA degree. Although she had been accepted into the graduate school she elected to work in Raleigh to be closer to Chapel Hill.

More »

Margaret Ellen Barrett, age 60, died Friday April 11. She was born on February 15, 1948 in the old Watts Hospital in Durham. She grew up in Chapel Hill and graduated from the Chapel Hill high School in the last class to graduate from the old high school downtown. She attended Brandeis University and later UNC-CH, obtaining first the B.A. and later the M.A.T. degrees. She had a variety of different employments over the years. When the Chapel Hill bus system was begun, she was one of the first bus drivers. Later, she worked as a pastry chef after first training as an apprentice in a small bakery in Lyon, France. For a time, she ran a sewing enterprise with a friend. For the last 20 years, she was employed as a teacher in the English as a Second Language program of the Burlington School System, in the course of which she became very attached to her students and their families.

More »

A celebration of the life of Margaret McCaull Carmichael Lester will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, April 19th, in the North & South Parlors of the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. For more information, contact Margot Carmichael Lester at 967-3477.

Robert A. Kistner of Chapel Hill, died Wednesday April 2, 2008 at his residence. Robert was a native of Illinois.  He moved to Chapel Hill in 1983.  He graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, and earned medical degrees from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Loyola Medical School (Chicago).  He served in the United States Navy in World War II.  Dr. Kistner had a family medical practice in the south suburbs of Chicago.  He served as Dean of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine for 20 years.  At the state level, he served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Regional Programs; the task force on medical education; and the Council on Continuing Education for the State of Illinois.  At the federal level, Dr. Kistner served as a representative to the White House Conference on Heath; a consultant to the Health Professions Educational Program; and a member of the Graduate Medical Educational National Advisory Committee of the HRA.

More »

George Odell Barham, 89, passed away at Britthaven of Chapel Hill on Saturday, April 5, 2008.
He was a veteran of WWII and served in the Army in the South Pacific.

His family wrote, “His patience and ingenuity and joy in life were an inspiration to us.”

More »

Betty June Hayes, former Orange County Register of Deeds, passed early Wednesday morning at the Duke In-Patient Care Facility hospice in Hillsborough.

She was born in Wink, TX, May 27, 1929, to Hardee Boyett and Annie Robbie Plott Boyett. Betty June came to Hillsborough with her mother when Mrs. Boyett returned to help her aged father, Thomas J. Plott. Mrs. Plott Boyett later divorced Mr. Boyett and subsequently married Paul Hayes of Hillsborough.

More »

Wei-Lee Kuo, 46, of Chapel Hill died Saturday, March 15, 2008 peacefully after a battle with ovarian cancer.

The former Taiwan native was a dedicated wife, mother, and friend to many. As a talented artist and an interior designer specializing in office space design, she worked for Alfred Williams & Company and Closet by Design. She loved to communicate with others.  She was the organizer of a Chapel Hill Lady’s club.

More »

Mr. Charlie A. Carden, Sr., 97, of Greentree Drive in Hillsborough, died Saturday, March 15, 2008 at Greensboro Commons in Greensboro after a brief illness.

Mr. Carden was born February 17, 1911, to the late George and Gertrude Carden.  He was a lifelong resident of Hillsborough and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, where he received the Purple Heart.  More »

Hazel Felker Kiser, 83, died Friday at Duke Hospice in Hillsborough.

She was born in China Grove, N.C. on September 14, 1924 and moved to Kannapolis as a child. She graduated from Canon High School in 1942. In 1952, she moved to Chapel Hill with her husband. She was formerly employed by Village Family Medicine as the office manager. She also worked for Central Carolina Bank and was a former church secretary for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill, where she was a member for over 50 years.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Richard Bryson of Yadkinville; and her son and daughter-in-law, Dale and Margaret Kiser of Pittsboro.

More »