Mountain View Memorial Park

Born in Greenville, he was a son of the late Tave and Lillie Brookshire Batson.Mann served in the in the United States Army during World War II having fought with the 99th division in the Battle of the Bulge. He served as past Mayor of Travelers Rest from 1997 until 2001, past Magistrate of Batesville Township for two years, had served two terms as a Greenville County Council Member, serving one of those terms as Chairman, and authored five books on the history of Northern Greenville County. Mann was also a teacher, principal, and superintendent for two SC districts.He is survived by a daughter in law, Frankie Peden Batson; three grandchildren, Lee Batson-Henson (Silas), Sally Batson Wallace (Kevin), and Ginny Batson (Jason Dykes); and one great grandson Mann Kreiler.He was preceded in death by one son, Stephen Michael Batson; one brother, Jack Batson; three sisters, and Allie Mae Stockton, Ida Lee Buchanan; and Alma McCrary.The visitation will be held Sunday, May 7, 2017 from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Northwest. A graveside service will be held Monday, May 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. in Mountain View Memorial Park.Memorials may be made to Amedisys Hospice Care, 250 Commonwealth Dr., Suite 105, Greenville, SC 29615.Online condolences may be expressed here.

Eileen Ward, 81, of Cheyenne passed away Feb. 10 at Davis Hospice Center surrounded by her family.Eileen was born July 29, 1935, in Torrington, a daughter of the late Charles B. and Ethel E. (Jones) Kessler.Eileen was a graduate of LaGrange High School. She married James D. “J.D.” Ward on June 28, 1943, in LaGrange. She worked for 25 years for Laramie County School District 1 as a secretary, 10 years with Darling School Photography, and also enjoyed caring for her home. She was active as a member of the Military Wives Club, the LaGrange Homemaker and the Airport Golf Club.  She was also a member of First Congregational Church.Eileen is survived by her children, Margie (Dick) Demoney, Peggy (Roy) Schamel and Jim (Theresa) Ward; five grandchildren, Summer Houghton, Misty Demoney, Carter Ward, Kari Farley and Tyler Ward; nine great-grandchildren; and dear friend, Sandy Darling.She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, J.D. Ward; three brothers, Wayne Kessler, Dale Kessler and Ellis Kessler; and sister, Leona Krakow.Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Monday at Schrader, Aragon and Jacoby Funeral Home.  A memory service will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Lakeview Chapel at Schrader, Aragon and Jacoby Funeral Home.  An interment service will follow at Mountain View Memorial Park.Donations in Eileen’s memory may be made to Davis Hospice Center.This is a paid obituary.

Photo: Paul Clark)Harwood Home for Funerals owner Rick Harwood is considering another site for a controversial crematory he has proposed for his downtown Black Mountain, he told town alderman last week.Harwood and his family have been “hurt” by comments from people opposing a rezoning request regarding the crematory he proposed for his West State Street business, he told aldermen Oct. 10. Several residents have raised concerns about having a crematory close to their homes and to Black Mountain's busy commercial district.Despite what he said were hurtful comments, Harwood said he would "still be here for this community” and "always be here for this community.” To help people understand the nature of crematories and his business, Harwood invited people at the packed aldermen meeting and crowded overflow room to his funeral home. There, he said, they would meet Don Collins, an equipment representative of the company that makes the incineration machine Harwood is buying.  Collins, no relation to the alderman by the same name, has been in the funeral and cremation business for more than 40 years, he told aldermen. His company, Matthews Environmental Solutions, has been making incineration machines for more than 60 years.“We are the largest provider of cremation equipment in the world,” Collins said. “Matthews has over 4,300 cremation units in the United States and other parts of the world right now. Today’s equipment is designed to be more environmentally friendly.”Collins said Harwood has made a down payment on a cremation machine. Construction cannot begin until the proper permits are granted by Buncombe County, as well as the state of North Carolina, Collins said.“This machine is 12-and-a-half feet in length and weighs 24,000 pounds,” he said. “This is a heavy-duty piece of equipment.” Its safeguards "work on the emissions as much as possible to eliminate them,” he said. Any smoke left after the incineration is recirculated through a system of purifying baffles before being expelled into the air.All m...