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| Lelon's children with Brenda Faye Wiggins Eason |
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| Lelon Woodrow Eason Jr. |
| Norma Renee Eason Warren March 8, 1970-Feb. 20, 2020 Hampton, VA |
| Jennifer Lynn Eason July 12, 1981 NC-March 8, 1999 Burgaw, Pender, NC |
Courtesy Stancil Reunion Archive |
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Courtesy Stancil Reunion Archive |
Lelon Woodrow Eason Sr., affectionately known as "Woody," was born on June 14, 1939, in Beulah Township, Johnston County, North Carolina. He was the second child of Grover Cleveland and Myrtle Stancil Eason.
Woody graduated from high school in Wilson, North Carolina. On November 21, 1967, he married Brenda Faye Wiggins in Hall's Township, Sampson County, at a preacher's house. At the time, Woody was a police officer, and Brenda worked for Carolina Power and Light.
Together, Woody and Brenda had three children: Lelon Woodrow Eason Jr., born on January 21, 1969; Norma Renee Eason, born on March 8, 1970; and Jennifer Lynn Eason, born on July 12, 1981.
After spending some time in Florida, Woody and Brenda moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina. Woody had completed two years of college and served as a police officer with the Wake Forest Police Department. Following his retirement from the force, he worked for B & W Hardware in Wake Forest.
Tragically, Woody experienced the devastating loss of his youngest daughter, Jennifer Lynn, on March 8, 1999. Jennifer, who was only 17 and in the 11th grade, died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Burgaw, Pender County, while on her way to visit her older sister Renee for her birthday. Her visitation and funeral were held at Bright Funeral Home, and she was laid to rest in the mausoleum at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens in Wake Forest.
Less than a year later, Lelon "Woody" Woodrow Eason Sr. died unexpectedly at home on November 28, 1999, at the age of 60. His visitation and funeral were also held at the Chapel of Bright Funeral Home, and he was buried in the mausoleum at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens.
After Woody's passing, Brenda remarried Gerald "Jerry" Wayne Hill. Jerry died following a brief illness on September 16, 2010, which was Brenda's birthday. Brenda later married Edward “Ed” Hamilton Merry on September 2, 2012, at the East Hampton United Methodist Church in Hampton, Virginia. Ed is a retired pastor of that church.
Woody and Brenda's daughter, Norma Renee Eason Warren, passed away at the age of 49 on February 20, 2020, in Virginia.
Brenda, Ed, and Lelon Jr. continue to regularly attend the annual Stancil Family reunions in Wilson, honoring their family's legacy.