Indians end Rebel run

For the second year in a row, the Rebels made a semifinals exit from the Hogoheegee tournament. This year the exit came courtesy of Rural Retreat, with a 3-2 win.

Patrick Henry opened up a 2-0 lead, besting the Indians 25-20 and 26-24, before Rural Retreat roared back to the win, handling the Rebels 25-20, 25-16 and mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. While her family considered her the best baker and cook, she was also celebrated as a talented gardener, both vegetables and flowers. Many respected her preserving and canning skills. She enjoyed quilting as a pastime hobby. Miller was an involved and dedicated member of the Elk Creek Community. Her presence will be greatly missed.

Burial was in the Forrest Cemetery in Elk Creek.

Reins~ Sturdivant Funeral Home in Independence is serving the Miller family.

Obituary is a courtesy of Grubb Funeral Home.

Gordon Allen Palmer

Gordon Allen Palmer, known affectionately as Gordy, 85, died Oct. 21, 2023, at home.

He was born on April 23, 1938, in Bishop.

Palmer was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He had a warm and welcoming personality, always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. He had a great sense of humor and was known for his funny jokes and stories that he shared with everyone he met. He was a loyal and generous friend, and his presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

15-10.

Also in the Hogoheegee tournament, Northwood continued to be dominant, hanging a 3-0 loss on Chilhowie.

The Panther crew stung the Warriors 2518, 25-17 and 25-11.

Marki Palmer finished with 24 digs while Sydney Carter had 17 digs and 10 kills. Karlee Frye dished out 12 assists.

Palmer is survived by his wife of 65 years, Rita Shrader Palmer; daughters Kelly Conrad and Jennifer Heatherington and son-in-law, Tim Heatherington; grandchildren Declan Heatherington, Carys Heatherington, Lydia Santillan and Natalie Conrad; brothersin-law, Chuck (Ronnie) Shrader and Tom Shrader; sister-in-law, Joyce Shrader; and six nieces and nephews and seven great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father Harry Palmer, mother Gertrude Robinson Palmer, brothers Glenn Palmer, Gerald Palmer and sister Judy Miller.

Palmer graduated from Tazewell High School in 1956. He then went on to serve in the U.S. Navy as an Air Traffic Controller for 26 years, reaching the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer. During his military career, Gordy served at several Naval Air Stations including NAS Oceana, VA; NAS Brunswick, GA; NAS Adak, AK; NAS Cecil Field, FL and NAS Jacksonville, Florida, as well as aboard the aircraft carriers, the USS Constellation and USS Saratoga.

After retiring from the Navy, he served as a Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Instructor in Hilliard, Florida for 15 years. He was well-liked by his students and highly respected for his expertise and dedication in his field.

In addition to his Naval career and time with the FAA, Palmer was proud to be a Mason for more than 56 years. He was a devoted member of more than one lodge as he moved across the country with the Navy and was most recently active in the Bland Lodge AF & AM 206 in Bland, where he enjoyed spending time with his lodge brothers and helping new initiates.

In his free time, Palmer enjoyed reading, hunting, fishing, boating, gardening and taking on mechanical or construction projects to improve his family’s quality of life. He had a passion for helping others and cherished spending time with his friends.

A visitation will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at the Highland Bland Funeral Chapel on Main Street, followed by the funeral service at 3 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Darlene Marshall. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Gordy’s memory be made to the Bland United Methodist Church.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to Highland Bland Funeral Chapel, Bland, for their assistance during this difficult time.

John Allen Pruett

John Allen Pruett died Oct. 21, 2023. He was born on Dec. 5, 1946, in Bandy to Oscar Lee and Becky Pruett. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Janis Nichols and his wife of 51 years Shirley. He graduated from Richlands High School in 1965 and from Southwest Business College in 1969. He married his college sweetheart Shirley on May 6, 1967. He was called to preach in 1972 and pastored several churches in Southwest Virginia. Each of his church families were special to him. He felt strongly God placed him in each church to help strengthen parishioners and bring others to know Christ. Each church was unique to him. He was employed at Southwest State Mental Health Institute in Marion for 35 years until he retired in 2004 to help babysit his granddaughters.

Pruett wore many different hats during his life. He was a husband, father, Poppy, an uncle