Frances S. Black

She was predeceased by her parents, Herman and Pearl Sutton. Her only sibling is Sue Turnage (Rob) of Carolina Beach. In addition,there are two nieces and one nephew, namely, Dr. Ken Branch of

Candler, North Carolina, Denise Cannon (Jeff) of Wilmington and Susan Meier (Ollie) of Charlotte. They played an integral part of her life.

Frances graduated from Ayden High School and Kings Business College in Raleigh. She worked as a secretary for several businesses before moving to Ohio with her husband, Bob Gavalek, where she

was employed by Ohio Bell. After retirement and the death of her husband, she became caretaker for her mother and moved to New Bern to be closer to family.

In New Bern she married Okie Black, and they were very active in Tabernacle Baptist Church. They loved the church and the people in the congregation. They were avid readers of the BIBLE. Their

shelves were full of books on religion. Charles Stanley & Billy Graham were two of her favorite preachers.

After the passing of her husband and she could no longer attend church, she watched the

services on television. Her favorite pastime was listening to gospel music, especially songs

sung by Elvis Presley. There were a few CD’s that she played over and over, both in her house & car.

Private funeral arrangements are being made for a memorial service to be held in Wilmington at a later date. She will be privately buried at Greenleaf Memorial Park in New Bern.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Tabernacle Baptist Church, 616 Broad Street, New Bern, NC 28560.