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The Rev. Luther Crady Jr. joined the church triumphant on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Luther was born Dec. 9, 1931, in Fagus, Mo., to the late Luther Crady Sr. and Najgy Adams Crady and was big brother to Jerry, Donald, Tony, Barbara and Wanda. He served as a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant in the Korean War. While serving as youth minister at North Charleston Methodist Church, he met and married his beloved Patricia Harned, wife of 49 years. After several appointments as a United Methodist minister throughout the Low Country of South Carolina, Luther earned a Master’ s of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and later took a Master’ s of Education from the University of South Carolina. Pat and Luther were blessed with three children, Karen, Brian and Edwina. After moving to North Carolina, the family grew with the addition of Karen’ s husband, Bob Summers; and Brian’ s wife, Beth Boette; and grandchildren Jason and Jeremy Summers and Brandon and Brianna Crady. After 45 years as a United Methodist minister, Luther and Pat retired to Clemmons to be near their family. All his life, Luther was an avid reader, eager to learn about everything and publishing his own book, By the Waters of Babylon, in 1997. He was a passionate gardener, realizing God’ s majesty through the beauty of a flower or the power of a thunderstorm. He was a volunteer with Meals on Wheels and at Forsyth Medical Center. To the people he served and most of all to his family, Luther inspired a sense of honor and dignity, instilling the importance of honesty, hard work, integrity and above all else love. He is survived by his loving family, through whom his kindness, strength, patience, warmth and love will live on always. A celebration of life was held Sunday, June 1, at Flag Springs United Methodist Church, 5852 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the nurses, staff and chaplains at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home. “The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” - 2 Timothy 4:6b-7.
Dewey Ward Hylton Jr.
Dewey Ward Hylton Jr., 61, husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, deacon, friend and Hokie, died Friday, May 30, 2008, in Winston-Salem of melanoma cancer. He was born Nov. 16, 1946, in Covington, Va. Dad was born to a dedicated Christian mother and a brilliant mechanic. He was raised on a farm, the second of seven children. He enjoyed milking the cows early in the mornings, which was later evident in the firm grip of his handshake. Sometime between all the chores and hard work required when growing up on a farm, Dad found the time to have fun. He loved the outdoors; he tent camped and shot his first deer at 12. After he learned to drive, he and a friend drove two of his sisters to the theater and dropped them off, promising to pick them up afterward. After the movie, the girls jumped back into Dad’ s car. After realizing two strangers were sitting in the front seat, the girls jumped out screaming. Dad and his friend enjoyed the practical joke from a nearby hiding place. Dad was also a good big brother. He allowed his younger brothers to tag along when out with his own friends. He received a black eye not only for picking on his big sister, but also for protecting his younger brother from a school-bus bully. The bullies even picked on Dad for being a “nice guy” all the time. His family has always been close, full of fun and love. During his nearly 39 years of marriage, he was just as loving, dedicated, adventurous and fun. Mom and Dad truly completed each other; they did everything and went everywhere together and were seldom apart. He “wrestled” in the floor with my sister, myself and our dog. He crawled around the floor with his grandchildren on his back, pretending to be a horse. He made 8mm movies of our childhood and digital movies of our children. We grew up tent camping, water skiing, watching and playing sports. Dad was a graduate of Alleghany High School and Virginia Tech, and a true Virginia Tech fan; but when the Hokies weren’ t involved, he liked to root for the underdog. He was an avid golfer and even planned vacations near golf courses. Dad was particular about his appearance, which was a reflection of his ideals. He was always clean-shaven and wore suits on Sundays. On Fridays, he wore a red shirt to show his support of our overseas troops. This bled into the things around him too; he was meticulous about lawn care and kept his cars well-maintained and clean. Dad loved watches; as far back as I can remember, he always had several of them. He would receive them as awards and gifts and buy them from the flea market. If it looked nice, or at least interesting, he liked it. He passed that love on to me. One of the last things we did together was to buy him a new watch. I wear it now for that reason. I think it is clear that everybody loved dad because he first loved them. While the phrase ‘ he never met a stranger’ might be cliche, it fit dad particularly well. He seemed to know everybody; those that he didn’ t, he was first in line to greet, whether they were church visitors or new neighbors. Though I work in a completely unrelated field (Dad was a pharmaceutical rep, I work with computers), when I would introduce myself to a new customer they would often identify me as “Dewey’ s son” and would have known about me already. They would always be happy to talk about how much they liked him; just today, a neighbor said something very nice. She said that if all his neighbors would get together and think really hard, nobody would be able to think of a single negative thing to say about him. In at least two neighborhoods, Dad created, maintained and distributed a neighborhood directory so the neighbors could know each other as well. Dad also loved the Lord and his church. He was always very involved in the Lord’ s work everywhere we’ ve been. He taught Sunday school, visited the sick and elderly, acted as treasurer and was a deacon. He participated in outreach ministries offering building maintenance and handyman services and left the country to visit missionaries. He sang in the choir, sometimes soloing during Christmas and Easter cantatas. Dad was generous with his time, heart and talents. He has been called a pillar of his church, though hearing that would have embarrassed him. He was a very humble man, neither requiring nor wanting recognition. Simply put, Dad was a man of strong faith who often said and lived the following: “Always leaning on Him, and looking up.” Mr. Hylton was preceded in death by his mother, Eleanor Eggleston Hylton; and a sister-in-law, Lynn Hylton. Surviving are his wife, Judy Lockhart Hylton of the home; his father, Dewey “Cotton” Ward Hylton Sr. of Callaghan, Va.; a son, Dewey Edward Hylton, and wife Cindy of Welcome; a daughter, Mary Beth Hylton Harker, and husband Kevin of Wilmington; two brothers, Charles Hylton and Darius Hylton and wife Carolyn, both of Callaghan; four sisters, Betty Atkins and husband Barry of Clifton Forge, Va.; Peggy Walton of Callaghan; Linda Snead and husband Steve of Salem, Va.; and Ruth Johnson and husband Scott of Salem, Va., and two grandchildren, Allison Marie Hylton and Matthew Ward Hylton, both of Welcome. The funeral service wias conducted Monday, June 2, at Union Grove Baptist Church, where he was a member, with the Rev. Ken Harris, Dr. Harold Fletcher and the Rev. T.W. Bailey officiating. Burial followed in the church cemetery.