CSM Elijah B. Pressley

A native of Buncombe County, he was a son of Bertha Davis McHenry of Candler and the late Elijah B. Pressley Sr. He was also preceded in death by a brother, James D. Pressley. He was a member of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church.

Sgt. Pressley served 30 years in the US Army before retiring in 1978 as a Command Sergeant Major. He was a member of the Spring Lake, NC Lodge, A.F. & A.M., the Meridian, MS Scottish Rite and Eastern Star and the Charlotte, NC Oasis Temple. He was also a member and former Post Commander of VFW Post 5352.

In addition to his mother, he is survived by his wife, Beverly Warren Pressley; a daughter, Brenda L. Simmons and her husband Thomas of Walkertown, NC; a son William Pressley of Candler; three sisters, Ruby Green and her husband Henry of Candler, Linda Carol Pressley of Madison County, and Narissa Gibson and her husband Art of Bryson City; four brothers, Edward and Ronald Pressley of Asheville, James D. Pressley of Candler and Donald and Darlene Pressley of Madison County; four grandchildren, Timothy W. Johnson and Heather, Michael and Megan Simmons; brother and sister-in-laws, Phillip Warren and his wife Mary, Robert Warren and his wife Sylvia, Judith Jackson and Peggy Thompson and her late husband Henry and a number of nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church with Revs. Bobby Winebarger and Tommy Huntsinger officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with an Army Detachment from Fort Bragg providing full Military Rites.

His family will receive friends 7-8:30 Monday at Groce Funeral Home, Patton Avenue, where the body will remain until being placed in the church 30 minutes prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.