Melvin Jackson Vest Sr., 88, of Bonlee, died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, Pinehurst.
The funeral was held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, at Bonlee Baptist Church, with the Rev. Darrell Williams officiating. Burial followed in Hope Cemetery, with Masonic and military rites. The family received friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, at Smith and Buckner Funeral Home, Siler City, and other times at the family home.
Mr. Vest was born Sept. 18, 1923, the son of Craven Jackson and Ethel Pankey Vest. He was a native of Richmond County and a member of Bonlee Baptist Church, where he was a Sunday school teacher and member of the Adult Sunday School Class No. 3. He was past master and a member of Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge No. 143 A.F. & A.M. He was president of Vest Textiles Machinery and Parts, and a World War II Navy veteran. Mr. Vest was an avid bowler, loved to fish and play golf.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian Binkley Vest; a grandson, Andrew Tillman; and brothers Everett, Charles, Edwin, Fred, Robert and Baxter Vest.
He is survived by two daughters, Kathy V. Horton and husband, Earl, of Cowpens, S.C., and Melva Anne Viscarra, of Durham; three sons, Johnny C. Binkley and wife, Charlene, of Raleigh, Robert Tillman and wife, Irene, of Goldston, and Melvin Vest Jr., of Apex; two sisters, Elsie Burns, of Archdale, and Roberta Locklear, of Laurinburg, NC; a brother, Richard Vest, of Archdale; 10 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Bonlee Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 75, Bonlee, NC 27312. Online condolences may be made at www.pughfuneralhome.com.