T. Doyal Franklin

T. Doyal Franklin, at the age of 96, made his way home to his Maker Friday, April 11, 2014 at the Burke Hospice & Palliative Care in Valdese, NC. Doyal had been in hospice care at home since January and was admitted to the Burke Hospice facility March 20, 2014. Over the past months and especially the last several weeks he has received exceptional care by the superb staff of Burke Hospice. The family is truly grateful for the attention given to our father as he moved on to be with his Lord and other loved ones.Doyal was born on October 30, 1917 in Morganton, NC to Donald McKinley and Mullie Duckworth Franklin. Doyal was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of 63 years, Mabel Smith Franklin, and all of his brothers and sisters: Vernon Franklin, Eloise Franklin Fortune, Inez Franklin Fortune, and James Franklin. He is survived by a son, Dr. Thomas D. Franklin, Jr. and his wife, Annie Faye Franklin, and a daughter, Nancy Sue Franklin; two grandsons, Michael Thomas Franklin and his wife, Amy Marline Franklin, and Dr. Jonathan Doyal Franklin and his wife, Nazia Benazeer Franklin. There are six Franklin great grandsons: Ethan Michael, Weston Riley, Eli Gregory, Holden Thomas, Bishop Jaeden Desmond, and Gavin Prisk; and two Franklin great granddaughters: Alia Grace and Anya Nevada. He also is survived by two sister-in-laws, Lucille Smith Bolinsky and Phyllis R. Franklin along with many nephews and nieces.Doyal was a jack-of-all trades. His dad was a carpenter and they built many homes along the way. He met his wife, Mabel, while he was a taxi driver in Morganton and she was a nursing student at the Grace Hospital School of Nursing. He later ran a Texaco gas station on Hwy 70 west and then worked as a brakeman for Southern Railway for 10 yrs. He then farmed on Jamestown Road raising milk cows, hogs, chickens, and New Zealand white rabbits. He was the Charlotte Observer distributor for several years in the ‘50s where he had a crew of paperboys that still remember those days. He retired from Broughton Hospital in 1979 after working there for twenty years as a psychiatric aide. He had a passion for fishing, for building things and growing shrubbery and fraser firs on Jonas Ridge where he built a home, with a detached garage and cellar, two barns, a tractor shed, and two wood sheds from timber he had harvested from the Pisgah National Forest marked by the forest rangers for removal. He kept his fish pond stocked with rainbow trout for easy fishing for his buddies and grandkids. He always was a hard, physical worker and did not understand why people had to exercise. He will be truly missed by all his family, friends and neighbors on Harris Drive in Morganton and on Jonas Ridge and all over the area.The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Thursday, April 17, 2014 at Sossoman Funeral Home. Graveside services will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery at 2:15 p.m. Pallbearers will be Michael Franklin, Jonathan Franklin, Bob Franklin, Sam Franklin, Rick Franklin, Kevin Hunt, Robert Clark, and Roy Pritchard. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Burke Hospice and Palliative Care at 1721 Enon Road, Valdese NC 28690.