Francis Pless

Francis Lamar Pless, age 74, of Asheville died Saturday, December 23, 2006, at Asheville Speciality Hospital on Mission Hospitals Campus. He was the son of the late Roy Lamar and Helen Eugenia Pugh Pless and was also preceded in death by a niece, Laura Lynn Pless. He was a 1950 graduate of Canton High School and a 1954 graduate of North Carolina State College, where he served in the R.O.T.C. Francis also served as director of Camp Daniel Boone as well as District Scout Executive of the Daniel Boone Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1973 he joined Diamond Brand Camping Center and later served as Retail Sales Manager. He retired in 1997 after 25 years of service. Francis enjoyed family genealogy and documented much of his family history. He was a United States Army Veteran with service in Germany. He is survived by his wife Anne McGinnis Pless, of Asheville; one daughter, Judy Pless Lathrop and her husband, Greg, of Asheville; one son, David Pless, of Haywood County; two brothers, Robert Eugene Pless of Moravian Falls, NC, and Charles David Pless and his wife, Doris, of Knoxville, TN; two grandchildren, Vanessa and Lance Lathrop and many nieces and nephews. Graveside services will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 27, 2006, at Bethel Cemetery, with full military honors provided by the United States Army. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Groce United Methodist Church on Tunnel Road in Asheville with the Reverend Carl S. Johnson and the Reverend Tom Swift officiating. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at Wells Funeral Home of Canton. Memorials may be made to Groce United Methodist Church, 954 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC, 28805; Western Carolina Rescue Mission, 225 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 or The American Red Cross, 100 Edgewood Road, Asheville, NC 28804.

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