Elsie Guinn Tolley, 87, 1008 Marbleton Road, Unicoi, went home to be with the Lord, Monday, January 12, 2015, at Unicoi County Hospital Long Term Care.
She was a native of Mitchell County, N.C., and a daughter of the late Luther and Nancy Jane Whitehead Guinn.
Mrs. Tolley had worked for Industrial Garments, V.A Center and North American Rayon. She was a charter and founding member of the Fork Mountain Freewill Baptist Church in Roan Mountain.
Mrs. Tolley was a wonderful and loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved the Lord and her family. She will truly be missed by all who knew her.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by six brothers, Blaine Whitehead, Oliver, Bob, Dan, Jack and Howard Guinn; seven sisters, Julie Roberts, Posie Tolley, Liza Guinn, Mabel Ingram, Vicie Tolley, Lillian Jones and Mary Whitehead; two grandsons, Raymond B. Tolley Jr. and Tommy Joe Tolley; a granddaughter, Stacy Yarber; and a great-grandson, T.J. Yarber.
Survivors include her loving husband of 69 years, Blake Tolley; four children, Phyllis Tolley of Unicoi, Margaret Gregg and husband Dallas of Unicoi, Bruce Tolley and wife Goldie of Elizabethton and Raymond Tolley of Unicoi; a sister, Effie Carver of Hampton; nine grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Mrs. Tolley will be conducted at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 15, at New Hope Freewill Baptist Church, Marbleton Road, with Rev. Kenneth Grindstaff and Rev. Norman Loveless officiating. The family will receive friends at the church from 5 p.m. until the service hour and other times at the home of her daughters, Margaret, 1008 Marbleton Road, Unicoi, and Phyllis, 117 Village Lane, Unicoi. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, January 16, in the Guinn Cemetery in Hampton with Rev. Donnie Harris officiating. Active pallbearers will be Anthony and Dwight Gregg, Holden Tolley, Steve Nelson, Jerry Gill, Marcus Wilcox, David Cigarro and B.J. Tolley. Honorary pallbearers will be Jim Carver, Roy, David, Joe, Keith and Kent Tolley, Doyle Jones, Dalton Gill, Cody Pyron and Caleb Arrwood. For those attending the graveside service you are asked to meet at the church by 10:10 a.m. Friday to go in procession to the cemetery. The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Jason Colinger, Vikki Bryant, Candace Short and the entire staff of the Unicoi County Hospital Long Term Care for the loving care and kindness they provided. Condolences may be made online at www.wadugger.com.
Woodall-Anderson and Dugger Funeral Home, 108 W. Watauga Avenue, Johnson City, (423) 928-2245, is serving the Tolley family.