For those in the Mocksville, NC area, there will be a DAR grave marking ceremony 15 April , 1 PM at the Joppa Cemetery for Basil Gaither. If you want to be recognized as a descendant, you will need to RSVP to Terri Engle (engle.terri @gmail.com) by 1 April.
Hope to see several turnout. Please cc soupcan5mg@gmail.com so I can look for you
Marilyn Gaither Ray
Mrs. Marilyn Gaither Ray, 92, Passed away Wednesday, March 15th at her home in Leesburg, Virginia.
Marilyn was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on February 5, 1931. She was the daughter of the late Sara (Bowers) Gaither and of the late Coite M. Gaither, Sr. She was the last member of her immediate family having been predeceased by her Brother Coite M. Gaither, Jr., and Sister Sarah Edna (Gaither) O’neal (Edward).
Marilyn moved to Washington, DC., in 1953 to work as a Secretary for Bolling Air Force Base. While working in Washington DC., she met William L. Ray (Bill) and the two later married on January 8, 1956, in Bethesda Maryland.
Marilyn was the proud mother of three sons, William (Deborah), Jeffrey and Russel (Kerry). The young family moved to Montgomery County, Maryland to be closer to William’s HVAC Mechanical business.
Marilyn enjoyed being a homemaker and was active in her son’s educational and athletic pursuits. She’d often travel back to her home state of North Carolina to visit her extended family bringing her sons with her. Those road trips were often adventurous and wonderful memories were made.
Marilyn was involved in many organizations over the years and spent eight years as a White House volunteer during the George W. Bush Administration. She immensely enjoyed those years as a volunteer and made many lasting friendships with fellow volunteers.
Travel, genealogy, antiquing, collecting, and shopping were some of Marilyn’s favorite pastimes. She and Bill were able to travel both the U.S. and internationally.
Marilyn is also survived by and will be greatly missed by her grandchildren: Bryan (Kristina), Kellie (Nic), Matthew (Kristin), Bethany (Geoffrey) and Zoe and her great grandchildren: Avery, Bryley, Carter, Andrew, Cooper, Ryan and Maren. As well as many nieces and nephews
The family will receive friends at Noon, one hour prior to services on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at Colonial Funeral Home of Leesburg, 201 Edwards Ferry Road, NE, Leesburg, VA 20176. Burial will follow services at Union Cemetery in Leesburg, VA.
Sandra Gaither Knott,Jeffersonville - Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, November 30, 2019 at Sacred Heart Church, 1840 E. 8th Street, Jeffersonville. Visitation will be held from 2 to 8 PM on Friday, November 29, 2019 at Scott Funeral Home, 2515 Veterans Parkway, Jeffersonville.
Sandra Gaither Knott passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of November 24, 2019. Continue reading
Jetty L. Wood Tucker, of Greensboro, 99, passed away at her residence on January 10, 2023, four days shy of her 100th birthday, following a brief illness. Service information will be published shortly.
Jetty was born on January 14, 2023, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Harry and Eula Gaither Wood, both who predeceased her. She attended James A. Gray High School, where she was editor of the blue and gray annual, and in the National Honor Society, and graduated as salutatorian. She then went to nursing school at City Continue reading
MOCKSVILLE – Margaret Ann Cartner Shew, of Mocksville, entered the gates of heaven on Friday, January 6, 2023.
Margaret was born the oldest of six children on December 15, 1933, to Claude Wilson and Louise Gaither Cartner. She was the oldest grandchild on both the Gaither and Cartner sides of her family. This birth position, along with being raised by a strong mother, prepared her for the destiny of serving in the matriarchal role of her family for many years. Continue reading
Dr. Herbert Gaither, 86, passed away on Friday, December 16, 2022 at his home. He was born and raised in Cumberland, MD, the son of the late Frank Preston and Elizabeth (McNeil) Gaither. He was a graduate of Allegany High School, Dickinson College, and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he was president of Nu Sigma Nu medical fraternity. Following a rotating internship at Harrisburg Hospital, he served two years in the U.S. Air Force as a captain and general medical officer. After a three-year Internal Medicine residency at Harrisburg Hospital and two years medical practice, he was certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Gaither practiced medicine for over 30 years in the Harrisburg/Camp Hill area. He was past president of the Harrisburg Hospital Medical Staff, and a board member of both Continue reading
Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither
(April 11, 1903 – February 18, 1994)
Alonzo "Jake" Gaither was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Florida A&M University (FAMU) for 25 years, from 1945 to 1969, compiling a record of 204–36–4. His won–loss record is among the best of any college football coach.
Gaither was born in 1903 in Dayton, Tennessee. His father was a preacher, and as a youth Gaither expected to also become a preacher. He graduated from Knoxville College, where he played football as an end in 1927. Gaither's father died around that time, and Gaither became a high school football coach to help support his family. Gaither later completed a master's degree at Ohio State University in 1937.
Gaither went to work as an assistant to head coach William M. Bell at Florida A&M College for Negroes (as it was called then) in 1937. The FAMC Rattlers had an undefeated (8–0) season that year, and won their first black college football national championship. The school won the national title again in 1942. Bell left to enter military service in 1943. After two years of problems in the football program, Gaither was hired as the head football coach for Florida A&M College in 1945. One story is that the president of the college could not find anyone else to take the job.
Gaither worked very hard to motivate his players. He would say, "I like my boys to be agile, mobile, and hostile." It is reported that he would hide an onion in his handkerchief to work up tears in his pre-game pep talks. He built up an effective recruiting network; in the days of Jim Crow, he had the pick of every good black high school player in Florida. Indeed, by the 1960s did not even bother to recruit players from outside the state.
Gaither instituted an annual coaching clinic at FAMU in the late 1950s. He recruited major college coaches, including Paul "Bear" Bryant, Frank Broyles, Darrell Royal, Woody Hayes and Adolph Rupp, among others, to staff the clinics.
Gaither introduced the Split-T formation in 1963, and it was soon adopted at other colleges. In 1969 Florida A&M defeated the Spartans of the University of Tampa, 34–28, in the South's first football game between a white college and a historically black college.
Gaither also coached basketball and track in his early years as football coach. He later became Director of Athletics and Chairman of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at FAMU. He continued to hold the last two positions after he retired as coach until his retirement from teaching in 1973.
When Gaither retired from coaching in 1969, his Florida A&M teams had a 204–36–4 record, for a .844 winning percentage. Thirty-six players from Gaither's teams were All-Americans, and 42 went on to play in the National Football League (NFL). Gaither was named Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Decade. He was named College Division Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association in 1962, and was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. He also received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award that year, and the Walter Camp Man of the Year award in 1974. The Jake Gaither Trophy has been awarded to the best Black collegiate football player each year since 1978. The Jake Gaither Gymnasium is located on the FAMU campus.
Gaither died in Tallahassee, Florida in 1994. The Jake Gaither House where he lived is now a cultural center.
Information provided by Wikipedia
EDWARD T. GAITHER, grocer and provision dealer, located on North Main Street, Carthage Mo., was born in 1831. His father’s name was Silas, and his mother’s maiden name Elizabeth Campbell. Edward T. Gaither was reared principally in Franklin county, Missouri, his father’s family moving there in 1838. He was brought up on a farm, and has lived on one more or less ever since, although teaching school some fourteen years. He served four years in the Confederate army in the trans-Mississippi department, under General Marmaduke. In 1879 he came to Carthage, Missouri, where he has since been in the mercantile business. In March, 1882, he and his partner, Mr. Quinn, opened the grocery, provision, and feed store where they are now in business. They have a large and complete stock in their line, and are surpassing their most sanguine expectations. Mr. Gaither owns a finely improved farm, and it is regarded as one of the best in this region of the country. He was married April 8, 1866, to Sarah J. Rickner, of Jasper county, Missouri, whose father was one of the first settlers of the county, who died in 1861. They have six children living and one deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Gaither are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Gaither is to be commended for his business success, and commands the respect of the community generally
The Annual Meeting/Reunion will be held this Saturday in Statesville, NC. For those wishing to attend in person and those who would like to join us by Zoom, please contact Larry Campbell at soupcan5@yadtel.net before Friday evening. The education portion will be on the first three John Gaithers.
Our Statesville, NC reunion is fast approaching! The schedule for the meeting is as follows;
Friday, 4 PM Meet and greet at the meeting room in the hotel. Supper will be on your own with Outback and Village Inn Pizza within sight.
Saturday 10 AM Our program on John Gater I by Nancy Jones and Mary Jane Simpson
Saturday 2 PM Business Meeting
We will attempt to zoom the program and the business meeting. If you would like to try with us, email Larry Campbell (soupcan5@yadtel.net) to get an invitation. Also, if there is enough interest for a Friday morning tour of the Gaither sites and other points of interest, contact the same Larry Campbell.