All Obituaries

  Kenneth Douglas Horne, 86, of Green Creek, NC, passed away peacefully at his home Friday evening, July 3, 2020, surrounded by his loving family after a long and courageous battle with cancer. A lifelong resident of Polk County, NC, he was born on October 12, 1933, the son of the late Ernest Ladson and Hattie Sims Horne and was the devoted husband of Hazel Jackson Horne for 67 years. Kenneth retired from Spartanburg Steel Products (Firestone) after 37 years of service and was a...

Deborah Kay Amburn age 68 of Columbus, NC passed away June 26, 2020 at Hospice of the Carolina Foothills in Forest City, NC. She was born in Polk County to the late Boney Russell and Beatrice Wilson. The family will have a private service. Sanders Funeral Home.

Clara Gandy of Tryon Estates passed away June 24, 2020 at St. Luke's Hospital. Arrangements will be announced. Sanders Funeral Home.

Murial Juanita Hord age 75 of Saluda passed away June 17, 2020 at Autumn Care of Saluda. Services will be held at a later date. Survivors include her sisters, Sarah Brooks of Landrum, SC and Frances Moody of Duncan, SC ; brother, Robert Byars of Columbus. Sanders Funeral Home.

Eric Thomas Turner passed away on Saturday, June 13, 2020, at home in Tryon, North Carolina.   Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was the son of the late Thomas Earl and Mary Shope Turner, who proceeded him in death.     Eric had a lifelong love of broadcasting, starting at the young age of 4 with a small tape recorder.  He was a 1982 graduate of North Gallia High School in Vinton, Ohio, and began his professional radio career in 1983 at WJEH-WYPC in Gallipolis,...

On June 10, 2020, Gale Forster Phillips (age 72) of Mill Spring, NC passed away peacefully in the arms of her husband and children. Gale was born to Paul R. Forster and Dorotha (Hartman) Forster on May 19, 1948 in Syracuse, NY. Gale graduated Cazenovia High School in 1966. She was an outstanding student, prom queen, cheerleading captain, and very well liked. She attended Oswego State College. In 1969, Gale spent several months hiking through Europe and then enrolled at the SUNY ag and tech...

Jay Kevin Waldrop age 60 of Saluda passed away June 7, 2020 at his residence. Arrangements will be announced. Sanders Funeral Home of Columbus, NC.

Tyler Rudy Simpson age 32 of Spindale, NC passed away May 30, 2020. Family will have a private service in Florida. Sanders Funeral Home.

Rochelle Lynne Miller age 81 of Lake Lure passed away May 28, 2020 at her residence. Born in Brooklyn, New York to the late Edward Miller and Anne Mockler Miller. Graveside service will be 2 PM Sunday at Green Hill Baptist Church in Rutherfordton with Deacon Andy Cline officiating. Sanders Funeral Home.

Lt. Col. Alan Carroll Leonard, J.D., a lifelong Tryonite who served as district attorney and assistant district attorney of North Carolina’s western prosecutorial districts for 23 years, as an advisor on legal and ethical issues to sheriff’s departments across the state of North Carolina, as Special Prosecutor for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Court, and who is described by his colleagues on both sides of the bench as “the finest trial lawyer I have ever...