Obituary of Winston Church

Winston Church, age 80, of Elk Park, passed away on Saturday, June 5, 2021 at The Waters of Roan Highlands. He was born on September 9, 1940 in Avery County to the late Truman and Erleen McGuire Church. Winston was a member of Beech Mountain Baptist Church. He enjoyed fishing and traveling in his spare time and loved working as a taxidermist as well as immensely enjoying being outdoors. He loved animals and all of nature. Winston worked on Grandfather Mountain over a span of 40 years. His duties included gift shop manager as well as assisting Mr. Hugh Morton, owner of Grandfather Mountain, with various duties which included helping with getting pictures of Mildred the Bear and other animals in the habitat. Winston also enjoyed spending time with his family. Those he left to cherish his memory are his loving wife, Carolyn Church of the home; Son, Bradley Church of Deep Gap; Step Daughters, Donna (Jerry) Bare of West Jefferson and Pam Davis of Fleetwood; Grandsons, Nathan (Becca) Cheek of Fleetwood and Josh Bare of West Jefferson; Great Granddaughters, Kendra and Kylie Cheek of Fleetwood; Brothers, Hansel (Doris) Church of Canton, GA and Curtis Church of Elk Park; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Funeral services for Winston will be held Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Beech Mountain Baptist Church. Family will receive friends on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home in Newland, NC. Interment will be at Laurel Springs Baptist Church Cemetery in Deep Gap, NC. Flowers are appreciated or memorial donations may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation, 200 S.E. 1st Street, Miami, Florida 33131 Words of Comfort and Memories may be shared with the Church family at our website www.rsfh.net The care of Winston and his family has been entrusted to Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland (828) 733-2121.