HITCHINGS

Horace “Ed” Edgar Hitchings Jr. passed away Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, at his residence.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at Southern Pines United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Pinelawn Memorial Park. Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, at Boles Funeral Home, in Southern Pines.
Mr. Hitchings was born in Sarasota, Fla., to the late Horace Edgar and Mildred Marks Hitchings, and graduated from high school in Miami. He moved to Raleigh when his father was transferred with the Seaboard Railroad. Upon completion of his B.S. degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina, Ed received his commission from the U.S. Navy. As an officer in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserves, he was stationed primarily in Newfoundland, being honorably discharged in November 1966.
He was very active in the Boy Scouts of America, holding many jobs, including district commissioner; served the United Way of Moore County as president and campaign chairman; was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, serving as president and lieutenant governor; and served as president and chairman of the Sandhills Area Chamber of Commerce. He was a 31-year employee of Carolina Power and Light Company, working as a marketing and customer service manager.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Patsy Hitchings; sons Steve Hitchings and wife, Donna, David Hitchings and wife, Gayla, and Ken Hitchings and wife, Angie; grandchildren Nate Hitchings and fiancee, Patricia Catapano, and Sarah, Hunter, Lauren and Connor Hitchings; and stepbrother Richard Stevenson and wife, Nan. He was predeceased by his parents and stepmother, Lois Hitchings.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Liberty Home Care and Hospice, 300 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Southern Pines, NC 28387; or Southern Pines United Methodist Church, 175 Midland Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387. Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines is assisting the family.