Turner Royal

Mrs. Birdie Mae (Turner) Royal, age 96 of Lutheran Home, Hickory, NC and formerly of S. Main St. Denton, NC died Saturday, February 13 in Hickory. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 PM Friday, February 19 at Holly Hill Memorial Park in Thomasville, NC conducted by Rev. Vern Peterson. Mrs. Royal was born July 17, 1913 in Jamesville, Va to John Henry Turner and Lillian Russell Tilghman Turner. She was a graduate of Exmore-Willis Wharf High School class of 1930 and a 1933 graduate of Northampton-Accomac Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. She later did post graduate work at the University of Virginia. She was working as a registered nurse in Thomasville when she met John Weldon Royal who she married in 1938. The couple moved to Denton in 1941 when Mr. Royal became associated with Denton Drug Store which he owned and operated until his death October 4, 1974. Mrs. Royal was a member of First Baptist Church in Denton, a former member and past president of the Denton Business and Professional Women’s Club, and had been active in Girl Scouts and Red Cross Blood Drives. Her hobbies included traveling, gardening and doing needlework. Mrs. Royal was preceded in death by her only daughter, Martha Royal Skeen. Mrs. Royal is survived by her son-in-law, William V. (Bill) Skeen of Hickory; grandson Darren M. Skeen and wife Vicki and great grandchildren Benjamin and Caroline, all of Durham; and by grandson Bryan C. R. Skeen and wife Christi of Norfolk, Va.A brother Norval Turner of Virginia also survives. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, PO Box 515, Denton, NC 27239