Elizabeth Deese

Elizabeth “Cropsey” Howell Deese, age 93 of Albemarle, passed away on September 13, 2011 at Stanly Manor. The family will receive friends at Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle on Friday, September 16 from 12pm until 2pm followed by the funeral service at 2pm, officiated by Rev. Brad Lynch. The burial will follow at Stanly Gardens of Memory. At other times the family will meet at 2210 Waverly Street. Mrs. Deese was born in Stanly County on November 16, 1917, to the late James Franklin Howell and the late Cora Mae Kennedy Howell. She is also preceded in death by her husband, Houston Lee Deese; her sons, James Lee Deese, and Raeford Eugene Deese; and grandson, Richard Avery Rabb, Jr. She is survived by a daughter, Gaynelle Deese Rabb and husband Richard of Simpsonville, SC; and grandchildren, Jeff Deese and his wife Tammy, Greg Deese, Gary Deese, Matthew Deese, Leigh Anne Mulligan, Eric Deese and his wife Wendy, Beth Madden and her husband Mike; 12 great-grandchildren and 4 great great-grandchildren. Mrs. Deese was a lifelong member of and served in many capacities at North Albemarle Baptist Church. Mrs. Deese was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She had a keen mind and a caring personality. Memorials may be made to North Albemarle Baptist Church, 401 Park Ridge Road, Albemarle, NC 28001, Stanly Manor Box 38, Albemarle, NC 28002, or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Deese family.