Obituaries

Celebrate and remember those from our precious alma mater who have passed. We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends.

Kate D. Welch

Kate D. WelchKate Deitz Welch, 91, of Bryson City peacefully passed from this earthly life on June 6, 2026, at home with her family present. Kate was born March 15, 1935, to the late Hoyle and Inez Deitz of Dillsboro. She graduated from Western Carolina University in...

Sally M. Monteith

Sally M. MonteithSally Campbell, age 108, a Jackson County high school English and Journalism teacher for 34 years died at her home on Friday, June 5th. A native and lifelong resident of Sylva, she was the daughter of the late Sam and Ida Monteith and the wife of...

Philip D. Buchahan

Philip D. BuchahanPhilip Dean Buchanan was born on Dec. 26, 1943 in the lovely town of Sylva in the North Carolina mountains to Thomas Dewey Buchanan and Inez Vesta Carver Buchanan. He attended Western Carolina University for his undergraduate work. Here, his...
Jo P. Allman

Jo P. Allman

Jo P. AllmanJo Pryor Allman, born December 1st, 1928, was the youngest of the twelve children of William and Edna Huntley Pryor. Lovingly and appropriately named after Jo March of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, she grew up on a mountain farm in the Middlefork...

Marcia B. Moore

Marcia B. Moore

Marcia B. MooreMarcia Bird Moore, age 70, of Cullowhee, North Carolina, passed away on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. She was born on June 18, 1954, in Jackson County to the late Dr. Charles Wells Bird and Ellen Burnette Bird. She is survived by her mother, Ellen; her...

Geraldine B. Jackson

Geraldine B. Jackson

Geraldine B. JacksonJerry was born in Lexie, Mississippi, on February 14, 1933 to Versie Mae (Johnson) and Chancie Ray Breeland. She graduated from Lexie High School and Copiah-Lincoln Junior College on a basketball scholarship. After graduating she went to the...