Wilmer Ethel Atkins Rumbley

Wilmer Atkins Rumbley, 96, peacefully went to be with the Lord late Wednesday evening, March 20, 2013, at Morehead Nursing Center where she had been in residence since September, 2010.

Her funeral service will be held at 2 PM on Monday, March 25, at Hampton Heights Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Ridgeview Memorial Gardens in Eden.

Mrs. Rumbley was born on April 22, 1916, in Woolwine, Virginia; she was the daughter of the late Samuel and Ida Weaver Atkins. As a young woman, she left Woolwine to find a job in the big town of Leaksville (now Eden). She would end up working at Spray Cotton Mill, Fieldcrest, and then retiring from Karastan. Not only did she work outside the home, raise five boys, and take care of her aging in-laws, but also, she was a charter member of Hampton Heights Baptist Church where she willingly served in various capacities during her lifetime. Having had five boys, she felt it necessary to offer her assistance in the nursery. She was a member of the Ladies Sunday School class and an active member of the Willing Workers and the Baptist Women. Her favorite thing to do was to cook and bake for her sons and their families up until she had a stroke in 1996.

She is survived by her sons, Larry Rumbley and wife, Frances of Eden, Ron Rumbley and companion, Maureen Jordan of Whitsett, Braxton Rumbley and wife, Jeanne of Eden, Ken Rumbley and companion, Carolyn Tidwell of Cramerton; four grandchildren, Brandon Rumbley and wife, Michelle, of Eden; Brian Rumbley, and wife, Melissa of Reidsville, Misty R. Helsabeck and husband, John of Raleigh, Laura R. Goard and husband, Greg of Eden; and seven great-grandchildren, Tatum and Keegan Rumbley, Nicholas and Emma Rumbley, Katie and Maddie Helsabeck and Will Goard.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Allen Reid Rumbley; her son, Malcolm Reid Rumbley; her three brothers, Jesse, Brice and Reuben Atkins; four sisters, Annice Hinson, Lizzie Earles, Ozella Wilmouth, and Maltie Wilmouth.

The family is especially grateful for their mother's special friends, Faye Bailey, Kay McNeely, and Darlene Riddle, as well as the nurses at the Morehead Nursing Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Hampton Heights Baptist Church, 1323 Washington Street, Eden, NC 27288.

The family will receive friends on Sunday evening, 6 - 8 PM, at Fair Funeral Home and other times at the residence of Mrs. Rumbley at 915 Carter Street, Eden.