On Aug 26, 2011, Jean Carol Tabor Sykes, 73, formerly of Craig County, passed away peacefully in Lincolnton, N.C., where she had lived for the past eight years. Born in Bluefield, W. Va., Feb. 21, 1938 to Marvin Alvin Tabor and Blanche Marie Hill Tabor, Jean spent her childhood in Bramwell, W. Va. Her father “Knocker” Tabor supported his family with his business, Tabor Coal and Hauling. Jean was active in the Bramwell Millionaires Band, playing the French horn in numerous regional and state competitions. She also enjoyed playing piano from childhood throughout her life. Attending Bramwell High School, she was valedictorian of her senior class.
At 15, she met the love of her life, Gerald Leslie Sykes, son of Herman Leslie Sykes and Eliza Clemence Artrip Sykes of Bluefield, W. Va. They married the day after Christmas 1956 at Jean’s hometown church, Elizabeth Bowen Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in Bramwell. This church was a significant part of the lives of Jean and her family, all the way back to her great-grandfather, Henry Harrison Tabor, who with his sons and grandsons, helped build the church from the timber from his sawmill. The first Sunday-school service for the church was actually held at his sawmill shed in 1883; the current church held its first service in 1904.
Jean attended Concord College in West Virginia, then furthered her education in nursing at the Medical College of Virginia, graduating in 1959 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Gerald attended National Business College in Roanoke and then enlisted in the Army from 1958 to 1960. They lived in Pennsylvania where Gerald was stationed, and their daughter Jeanne Marie was born in January 1960 in Bluefield, W. Va. When Gerald left the military in 1960, they moved to Roanoke where Jean worked in nursing at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and Gerald worked at Johnson Carper Furniture Company, later acquired by Singer Furniture Co. Son Paul Wilson was born in December 1961 in Roanoke. They were active members at Raleigh Court United Methodist Church. In October 1966, they were blessed with daughter Heather Leigh.
Jean returned to work at Roanoke Memorial, and later Lewis Gale Hospital in Roanoke, in obstetrics and pediatrics. In the spring of 1972, Gerald and Jean moved to Craig County. Jean became active in the Extension Homemaker’s Club of Rt. 621, delving into arts and crafts including ceramics and embroidery, as well as canning, winning awards in the local county fairs for her jellies and pickles. She tirelessly “taxied” her children for band and sports teams through these years, and found time to become an Emergency Medical Technician along with her son Paul, both working with the volunteer Craig County Rescue Squad. She also volunteered with the Red Cross Bloodmobile. Her family was active in the New Castle United Methodist Church, where she often played the piano and directed the children’s choir.
In the spring of 1979, Gerald and Jean moved to Roswell, Ga., when he was transferred with Singer Furniture to Atlanta to assume his new position as vice president for the Furniture Division. Jean progressed in her nursing career at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, becoming a Childbirth Educator. She was certified in Lamaze, and taught numerous classes for years in childbirth education, sibling classes, and grandparent classes. Jean touched many lives during this time, loved and appreciated by her students for doing what she loved best. Gerald and Jean moved to Lincolnton, N.C., in the spring of 2003.
Avid travelers throughout their lives, they thrived at being on the move, managing to get to the Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, and criss-crossing the United States. Jean particularly was fond of the year they spent in Seal Beach, Calif., when Gerald worked with Costco after leaving Singer in the mid-1980s. She gathered innumerable postcards, photographs, as well as collectible spoons as a hobby from the places she visited, covering a wall with racks upon racks of them to display and remember.
Jean is survived by her loving husband of 54 years of Lincolnton, North Carolina. She was with Gerald until she passed, holding his hand in hers at night, loving him forever. Her daughter, Jeanne Marie Marsh and children Abbey Jean Marie Marsh and Cade Alton Lewis Marsh reside in Murphy, N.C. Son Paul Wilson Sykes, wife Lori Lee Means Sykes, and children Emily Gail Sykes and Tabor Alan Sykes live in Lincolnton. Daughter Heather Leigh Sykes Bronner and husband Eric Jay Bronner reside in Easthampton, Mass. Jean’s sister, Marilyn Tabor Parsons and husband Jack Parsons live in Knoxville, Tenn., and brother Marvin Wilson Tabor and wife WenXuan Tabor live in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bramwell High School Class '55
GEROLD SYKES MEMORIAM |