Bessie Mae Pinner

Bessie Mae Banks Pinner, 97, passed away Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at Care Partners Hospice in Asheville. Mrs. Pinner was born in Buncombe County to the late Henry Doke Banks and Ollie Elizabeth Fox Banks. She was also preceded in death by her husband, William Pinner; a brother, Clyde Banks and four sisters, Lillian Jones, Lona Boone, Annie Lee Gasperson and Pearl Gasperson. Bessie was a lifelong resident of Buncombe County and a member of Long Shoals Baptist Church. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother. She enjoyed making quilts and had made numerous over the years. She is survived by her four children, Bill Pinner and his wife, Debra of Hendersonville, Howard "Russell" Pinner and his wife, Dorothy of Idaho, Wilma Jean Smith and her husband, Ray of Greeneville, TN and Willa Mae Williams of the home; twelve grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, September 23, 2016 at Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian on Long Shoals Road with Reverend Roger Rearden officiating. Burial will follow at Roberts Memorial Park in Arden. The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 2:00 PM prior to the service at the funeral home on Friday. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may either be made to the John F. Keever Solace Center or to Long Shoals Baptist Church.