Michael “Mike” David Crouse closed his eyes on January 30, 2022, and opened them in Heaven. Mike was born October 22, 1949, in Guilford County, North Carolina, to the late James Winfred Crouse and Jean McCluskey Crouse. Mike was a member of Union Cross Friends Church, where he served as a Sunday school teacher and elder.
Mr. Crouse served as County Commissioner from 1982–1994, and also served on the board for Yadkin Valley Economic Development District, Inc., for thirty-four years. Mike was the Principal for East Bend Elementary School for sixteen years. Mike was one who loved to talk to people about his Lord and Savior. Mike loved coaching basketball, and most of all he loved singing “Jesus Loves Me” to his granddaughter.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and daughter-in-law, Sarah Klosek Crouse. He is survived by his wife Pamela Shore Crouse; children Lance (Emily) Crouse, Brock Crouse, Kerry Crouse; granddaughter Peyton Crouse; and brother Bruce (Ellen) Crouse.
His funeral was held on February 3, 2022, at Union Cross Friends Church, with Robin Dixon and Jared Warden officiating. Masks were worn for the visitation and service. Burial followed in the church cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Union Cross Friends Building Fund, 2533 Union Cross Church Road, Yadkinville, NC 27055.

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Nancy Jane West Raiford died peacefully in the early morning hours of February 13, 2002, just a few weeks shy of her ninetieth birthday. She was a beautiful woman, strong of faith, who loved her family, her friends, and the rural community of Corinth, Virginia, where she spent most of her life. She was predeceased by her husband of fifty-nine years, Harry Elton Raiford. He was the love of her life.
The daughter of Charles Washington West and Vera Johnson West, she was born March 30, 1932, the youngest of six siblings. She was the last surviving member of that generation of Wests. She loved her brothers Pete, Dink, Russell, and Marvin, and her sister, Margaret, and spoke of them often until her last days. She had family pictures all around her room and liked nothing better than to tell you a story about each one.
Nancy Jane was born and raised in Ivor, Virginia, and attended school there. After high school she went to business school in Richmond, and afterward worked as secretary to Judge Carlton Holladay in Wakefield for many years.
Nancy and Elton were family farmers for decades, raising traditional crops and some livestock. For more than fifty years they lived in the cutest, neat and tidy home surrounded by Nancy’s beautiful flowers and the tallest pine trees you’ve ever seen. They never had children but dedicated themselves to their Friends Meeting and community.
Nancy and Elton loved to have fun together throughout their lives, and in their younger days they were quite the daredevils with fast boats, motorcycles, go-karts and even a small airplane for a while. Nancy may be best known for her extraordinary talents on the piano, and she played for hundreds of church services, weddings, and funerals during her lifetime. She took her treasured white piano with her to the nursing home after Elton died and, at age eighty-nine, was still entertaining others with her pretty music.
In addition to her parents and husband, Nancy was predeceased by brothers Charles W. “Pete” West (Alethia), Walter T. “Dink” West, J. Russell West (Mary Ann) and Marvin F. West (Millie); and a sister, Margaret W. Schutte (Harry). She is survived by three sisters-in-law, Virginia Rowan, Joyce R. Uzzell (Jesse) and Jean R. Seely; many nieces and nephews, including a special niece, Alice W. Scott; and numerous great nieces and nephews.
A graveside service was held at Ivor Cemetery on February 17, 2022, with Pastor Amanda Smith officiating.

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Patricia Susan Cash Bright, of Pfafftown, North Carolina, died June 16, 2022, at Moses H. Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Patricia was born on June 11, 1927, in Iredell County, North Carolina, to the late Herman Cash and the late Grace Myers Cash. Her brother Joe passed away in 1999. She was married to the late William “Bill” Shuford Bright. Her son, John L. Bright, died on September 11, 2020.
Pat studied music at Pfeiffer Junior College and Woman’s College (now University of North Carolina at Greensboro). She was active in her church, Winston-Salem Friends Meeting, serving on Ministry and Counsel and contributing to the music program of the Meeting. She played the piano and the organ for services as needed and was choir director for almost five years. She also sang in the choir.
Survivors include her daughter, Susan Bright Hunt and husband William of Greensboro; son, George Bright of Raleigh; nieces, Cathy Cash and Cindy Jackman and their children Neal, Tracy, Zach, John, and Jan.
A memorial service was held June 24, 2022, Salem Funeral Home Reynolda Chapel in Winston-Salem. In lieu of flowers, please consider American Kidney Fund, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852.

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Reva A. Smallwood, age 101, was welcomed into the arms of her loving Lord and Savior on 4/29/2022 and reunited with her loving husband Ralph E. Smallwood.
Reva was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was born in Dennison, Ohio, on 12/11/1920. She was married for fifty-seven years to the love of her life, Rev. Ralph E. Smallwood. She worked side by side with Ralph as he ministered in various Wesleyan and Friends churches. She was a member of Bethel Friends Meeting in Asheboro, North Carolina. She loved witnessing to others of the love of her wonderful Lord and Savior.
She is survived by her daughter, Judith Johnson (husband Gerald) of Greensboro, son Steven Smallwood of Lexington, daughter-in-law Frances Smallwood of Greensboro, along with eight grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren, and two siblings. She was preceded in death by her husband, Rev. Ralph Smallwood, and son, David Lee Smallwood.
A graveside service was held at Bethel Friends Meeting cemetery on 5/5/2022, with Ben Hurley officiating.
Memorials may be made to Bethel Friends Meeting, 2519 Bethel Friends Road, Asheboro, NC 27205; Cross Road Retirement Community, 1302 Old Cox Rd., Asheboro, NC 27205; or Community Home Care and Hospice, 533 S. Fayetteville Street, Asheboro, NC 27203.

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Robert Samuel Morrow, of Snow Camp, North Carolina, passed away quietly in his sleep on May 24, 2022.
Bob was born on May 14, 1930, and was raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. Education and serving others was important to Big Bob. After serving four years in the Air Force, he received his BA in Industrial Arts from East Tennessee State, receiving Driver Ed qualifications at Lenior Rhyne, and a Master’s Degree from North Carolina State. In November 1954, he married Ruth Virginia Waltz. They recently celebrated their sixty-seventh anniversary.
Big Bob taught at many schools before moving to Greensboro, where he served as the Director of Vocational Education for Guilford County until he retired in 1993. At this time he became active in Plainfield Friends Meeting, Quaker Men, Silk Hope Ruritan, North Carolina Friends Disaster Service, and the American Legion. He used this time as an opportunity to travel to disaster areas to rebuild homes and communities, all while keeping up his favorite hobby of gardening.
In addition to his parents, Robert and Lola Vaughn Morrow, he is preceded in death by his daughter, Patricia Lynn Haywood; and grandson, Thomas Andrew Haywood. He is survived by his wife Ruth; son, Edward Morrow, Sr. and wife Ellen; grandchildren, Eddie Morrow (Jennifer), Emily Morrow, John Haywood (Satina), and Sarah Ball (Martin); and eleven great-grandchildren.

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Robin Gray, of Searsboro, Iowa, passed away September 24, 2021, surrounded by family at his home on his farm under hospice care.
William Robert “Robin” Gray was born on December 5, 1948, to William and Mae Meredith Gray in Steubenville, Ohio. His family moved back to the family farm when Robin was a baby. Robin enjoyed running track and playing football in high school, graduating from Lynnville-Sully High School in 1967. He graduated from William Penn College in 1971 with a BA degree in biology. At Penn he ran cross country and track. In 1971, Robin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an officer and also ran on the Marine Corps track team. He was honorably discharged in 1974 and began working for Grinnell Reinsurance.
Robin and Nancy Miller were united in marriage on September 16, 1972, at Indianapolis, Indiana. They lived in the Grinnell and Washington, Iowa, areas, where he served as a claims adjuster. They are the parents of two daughters, Jennifer and Susie. In 1979, the family moved to their present heritage farm where they were still actively farming.
Along with farming, Robin planted thousands of trees on their farm. He loved the outdoors, and his family most of all. He enjoyed deer hunting, Canadian fishing trips, making maple syrup, and was a sport and travel enthusiast. Over the last decade, Robin found great joy in the challenge of running and hiking. He competed in many half and full marathons, including finishing thirty-first out of 5,668 in his age group at the Boston Marathon. In 2014, Robin completed hiking the Appalachian Trail. Over the past five years, he hiked about 1,600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Robin was a township trustee, and an active member of the Grinnell Friends Church for nearly fifty years.
Robin is survived by his wife Nancy, of Searsboro; his daughters Jennifer (Josh) Nunez of Cedar Falls and Susie (Jon) Duke of Grinnell; his grandchildren, Viviane, Valentina, Victor, &Veronica Nunez, and Weston Duke; his sister, Susan Reiley of Great Falls, Montana, as well as many other relatives and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Stanley Gray.
Funeral services were held on September 30, 2021, at the Grinnell Friends Church. Burial was held on October 1 at the Lynnville Friends Cemetery.  Memorial contributions may be directed to the Grinnell Friends Church.

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Ruth Emily (Starbuck) Stuckey, of Wilmington, Ohio, died on June 11, 2022, at the age of ninety-five.
The second of four daughters, Ruth was born in Salem, Ohio, into a tightly knit Quaker community. She graduated from Olney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio, in 1945. Determined to attend a Quaker college, she enrolled at Wilmington College, met fellow student Roy Joe Stuckey, married the love of her life in 1948 and set up housekeeping on the College Farm on Fife Avenue. Ruth graduated in 1952, and, in so doing, became the first in her family to do so.
Ruth was a lifelong member of the Religious Society of Friends and their communities at Salem, Barnesville, and Wilmington. She was a founding member of Campus Friends Meeting on the Wilmington College campus. With deep roots in the Monteverde Friends community in Costa Rica, Ruth and her husband organized over thirty Costa Rica study tours highlighting Monteverde, and celebrating their own lifelong values and interest in farming.  
Ruth had the gift of hospitality, and her unwavering belief in “that of God” in every person instructed her children and inspired all who knew her. She greeted everyone with love, consideration, a kind word, and that smile of hers that could light up a room and bring joy to every heart.
A memorial service was held on Sunday, June 26, 2022, in the T. Canby Jones Meetinghouse on the campus of Wilmington College, under the care of Campus Friends Meeting. 
You are greatly loved, dear Ruthie.

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Ruth Marie (Weisenberger) Alber, a remarkable woman, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, Quaker activist, and world traveler, passed away on February 1, 2022 at age 95.
Ruth Marie was born on November 14, 1926, to Grace Helen (Walker) and Walter Valentine Weisenberger in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her mother had tuberculosis and passed away in a sanatorium on April 27, 1929, when Ruth was not quite three. Walter married Ruth Elizabeth Thorne, who raised young Ruth as her own. Her sister Nancy Esther was born in 1936. Walter established industrial arts and woodworking shops in high schools so the family moved frequently—Charlevoix, Pontiac, and Detroit, Michigan, sometimes returning to a previous city.
They lived in Charlevoix during Ruth’s second or third grade years. Ruth used to time her crossing of the draw bridge to when the bridge was up. She was late to school several days before her teacher and parents caught on. In 1945, they moved to Marion, Indiana, the second semester of Ruth’s senior year in high school. Marion High School almost didn’t permit Ruth to graduate as the Michigan requirements were different from Indiana’s. The Phillip Alber family, with son Charles, lived across the street. Ruth and Charles met at the Marion Friends Church, worked together at the J.C. Penney store, and started courting. They married June 9, 1946, a week after Charles’ college graduation, and celebrated seventy-three-and-a-half years of marriage before Charles passed away January 27, 2020. Daughter Elizabeth Lee was born in 1947, son James Charles, age 6, was adopted in 1951, and son David Bruce was born in 1952. Jim passed away August 25, 2020.
Instead of college, Ruth wanted to go to nursing school. The program she wanted to enroll in closed at the end of the war. But Ruth was active in other ways: motherhood, church life, YWCA board member, gardening, and canning. As a YWCA board member, Ruth raised enough money to add a cabin to Camp Sing-A-Long.
In 1957, Ruth and Charles answered a call to work at a Friends’ mission in Kaimosi, Kenya, for four years. While Charles taught at the men’s teacher training school and ran the printing press, Ruth managed the household, was the mission director’s secretary, ran the women’s teacher training school canteen, taught classes on child care and how to manage a house, and, at different times, cared for three Kenyan babies. She also observed some surgeries at the mission hospital, further whetting her nursing desires.
When the family returned to the states in 1961, Ruth enrolled in a nursing program. She took two city buses to class and to Methodist Hospital every day. She earned an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) in 1964. Although she was one of the oldest, she was the top student in her class. She worked eight years as a visiting nurse and nineteen years as a school nurse for Decatur Township. After she retired, she volunteered at the St. Thomas More’s Free Medical Clinic in Mooresville, where she took patient history, blood pressure, and weight, found needed donated items such as diabetes supplies, medicines, and canes, and kept the coffee pot full.
Ruth and Charles believed in tithing their time as well as their money. In addition to their four years in Kenya, they delivered Meals on Wheels, took elders grocery shopping, and bagged food for the food pantry. Based on their time in Kenya, Ruth gave many talks to Friends women’s groups about her life there and the Kenyan women’s lives. Both were active in their local Meeting, and in Friends’ work nationally and internationally.
Quaker Haven Camp, on Dewart Lake in Indiana, meant a lot to both of them. They served as counselors and as directors several years. Ruth was very active in the United Society of Friends Women, both at West Newton Friends Meeting and Western Yearly Meeting. She served as Western Yearly Meeting USFW president for six years. She also served on the Outreach Board, Nominating Committee, and Executive Council for several years for Western Yearly Meeting. For West Newton, Ruth served on Ministry and Counsel, and as USFW President.
Ruth and Charles loved to travel. They visited six continents and fifty-three countries. They especially enjoyed going by freighter, where they could stay in port more than one day and get to know the ship’s officers.
Ruth and Charles have two children, Beth (Loring) Prosser and David (Mary) Alber; five grandchildren: Julia (James) Rose, Rebecca (Lauren Parker) Prosser, Matt (Colleen) Alber, Greg (Amy) Alber, and Amanda (Jonathan) McGuire; thirteen great-grandchildren; and one sister, Nancy Neher. Ruth is preceded in death by both of her parents; her husband, Charles William Alber; and one son, James Charles Alber.
Ruth was known for her integrity, work ethic, faith, and her commitment to family, friends, and community. She will be missed.
A memorial service was held at West Newton Friends Meeting on February 19, 2022. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Ruth’s memory to West Newton Friends Meeting, 6800 Mooresville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46221; or to Friends United Meeting, 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374.

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Susan Diane Coltrane unexpectedly went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, March 7, 2022. Susan was born in Guilford County, December 20, 1956, a daughter of the late Robert and Huldah Osborne Coltrane.
Susan retired from Randolph County Public Library after thirty-two years of service. Susan was a birthright member of Cedar Square Friends, a devoted youth leader at various Quaker Meetings, and was currently serving Asheboro Friends. She enjoyed traveling, reading and being with her family and friends.
Surviving are her two sisters, Barbara C. Bullin and Sandra C. Sims (Jeff); nieces, Kim Player (Jason Crouse) and Shelby Sims; nephews, Danny Bullin (Rita), Randy Bullin, and Logan Sims; a great-nephew, Eric Bullin, and numerous extended family members.
A celebration of Susan’s life was held March 13, 2022, at Cedar Square Friends Meeting, with pastors Ben Hurley and David Millikan officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Kids Klub, P. O. Box 987, Asheboro, NC  27204; or Cedar Square Meeting, Youth Group Mission Trip, 7546 Harlow Rd., Archdale, NC  27263.

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