Douglas Robert Shipman

A native of Buncombe County, he was a son of the late Willie Echols Shipman and Ruth Dickerson Shipman and was also preceded in death by a son, Robbie Shipman.

Mr. Shipman was a member of the Baptist faith, was an Army veteran of Vietnam and was the owner of the MEDRS Truck Brake Service.

He is survived by his wife, Elaine West Shipman; daughter, Saundra Bolick of Duluth, Georgia; son, Jimmy Lee Shipman of Swannanoa; step-children, Mary Stuart of Black Mountain, Sandy Marie Stuart of Asheville, Sandy Raymond West, Jr. of Yancey Co., Pamela Diane Snyder, John Arthur West and James Kevin West, all of Mitchell Co. He also is survived by a brother, J. Thomas Shipman of Asheville; a sister Margaret Day of Bessemer City, NC; 16 grandchildren and a number of nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at 2 pm Monday in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue. Interment will follow in Green Hills Cemetery.

The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service, from 1 until 2 pm, Monday at the funeral home.