William Roscoe Poplin, Jr.

William Roscoe Poplin, Jr., 66, of Asheville and Charlotte, died Friday, January 7, 2005, at the VA Medical Center. A native of Elkin, he was a son of the late William Roscoe Poplin, Sr. and Margaret Troutman Poplin. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill and was a veteran of the US Air Force where he worked on the Minuteman missile systems. Mr. Poplin traveled Western North Carolina as a technical representative and business equipment salesman and more recently worked as a purchasing representative in Charlotte. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Charlotte, a former member of the Moose Lodge and was co-founder of the first group home for the handicapped in Asheville. A loving man dedicated to his family, he is survived by his wife, Wanda Graham Poplin; two daughters, Carla Jacinta of Charlotte and Reuey Molena of Candler; two sisters, Ellen Margaret Price of Colorado Springs and Miriam Ellen Abernathy of Vale; a brother, James Furches Poplin of New Hampshire; three grandchildren, Tia Michelle Messer, Nathan Ryan Messer and Logan Stafford Rampey; three great-grandchildren, McKayla Briana Russell, Aaron Jalin McClure and Isaiah Ryan Messer and his mother-in-law, Ruby F. Boone. Funeral services will be 2:00 pm onday in the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery Chapel with the Rev. Dr. Buddy Corbin officiating. Burial will follow in the veterans cemetery. His family will receive friends from 4:00-5:00 pm Sunday at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue and request that memorials be made to Alverta Bolick Home for the Handicapped, c/o Calvary Baptist Church, 531 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806.